Monday began with questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. On the topic of the importance of education in developing a highly skilled workforce, I asked what assessment there had been of how effective current personalised support is for neurodivergent individuals. You can read a transcript of my question here in Hansard or watch it here on ParliamentTv.
This was followed by an Urgent Question to the Secretary of State for Defence on the treatment of women officers in the Royal Navy. Here I asked about the risks faced by women who report abuse, such as missing out on career progression, and what the Minister planned to do to ensure that this doesn’t happen. You can read a transcript of my contribution here in Hansard or watch it here on ParliamentTv.
In the afternoon, I took part in a Westminster Hall debate prompted by an e-petition calling for energy companies to be renationalised. Here I made two interventions. Firstly, to ask if it would be cheaper to bring failed energy companies, such as Bulb, back into public ownership, rather than spending large sums of public money to bail them out. I then questioned how the Government can rule out the possibility of nationalisation without having made a formal assessment of how effective it would be to do so. You can read a transcript of my contributions here and here in Hansard and watch them here and here on ParliamentTv.
On Tuesday I participated in a Westminster Hall debate on public sector pay and proposed strike action. I asked what assessment will be made on the detrimental impact that low wages and unsuitable pay offers will have on the NHS workforce, particularly on retention and recruitment of staff. You can read a transcript of my question here in Hansard, or watch it here on ParliamentTv.
Wednesday saw another Westminster Hall debate, this time on visas for international doctors studying and working in the UK. I made two contributions here. Firstly, to highlight how difficulties obtaining trainee GP visas leads International Medical Graduates to leave the NHS or work in other departments and to ask if the Home Office had taken this into consideration. Then to ask about the detrimental impact the general backlog that the Home Office is currently experiencing has on International Medical Graduates. You can read a transcript of my comments here and here in Hansard or watch here and here on ParliamentTv.
Thursday began with Oral Questions to the Secretary of State for International Trade. I highlighted a survey of small and medium sized enterprises which found that four in five had made no assessment into what they may need from a trade deal with major international markets and asked what measures the Government were taking to engage such enterprises more effectively. You can read a transcript of my question here in Hansard or watch it here on ParliamentTv.
I also had the chance to ask the Minister about what assessments that they had made of the trends in services trade with the EU recently and how they might go about increasing that trade going forward. You can read a transcript of my question here in Hansard or watch it here on ParliamentTv.
This was followed by Business questions to the Leader of the House. Here I raised the issue of the contaminated brownfield site at Shawfield and South Lanarkshire Council’s bid to the levelling up fund. I highlighted the positive impact that rectifying this situation would have on the local community and environment and asked for an update on the progress of the funding. You can read a transcript of my contribution here in Hansard, or watch it here on ParliamentTv.