Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 8th September

I returned to Parliament this week following the summer recess, and it didn’t take long to get back into the fast pace of Westminster.

During Justice Questions in the House of Commons chamber, I took the opportunity to raise the issue of unwanted contact between victims and defendants at court, highlighting the potential impact on securing convictions. Research from Victim Support shows more than half of victims have unwanted contact with defendants at court, causing them to feel intimidated and scared.

If victims do not feel confident or safe enough to provide the evidence to secure a conviction then the whole judicial process could be jeopardised. I therefore asked the Minister for Victims, Dr Phillip Lee MP, what the Government was doing to ensure that separate entrances, waiting rooms and facilities are standard across all criminal courts.

With my colleague Robert Buckland MP we supported two national campaigns. As part of National Organ Donation Week we attended a special event in Parliament hosted by NHS Blood and Transplant and Kidney Care UK.

Many people do not know that family support is required for transplants to go ahead, so the aim of the week was to get people talking about organ donation and to discuss their wishes with their families.

We also ‘wore it pink’ this week to help promote Breast Cancer Now’s ‘wear it pink’ day on Friday, October 20. It was great to see MPs from all parties coming together to support this event, which aims to raise awareness and money to help the charity’s life-saving research.

One of my interests in Parliament is retail, having previously served as the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Retail and vice-chair of the APPG for Town Centres.

I had a very interesting meeting this week with the British Retail Consortium to discuss many issues covering the challenges and opportunities for our High Streets.

I will continue to support measures to boost retail, something which is vital for our economy.

I also met with the National Literacy Trust to discuss literacy levels in Swindon and their exciting and ambitious plans for Literacy hubs in Swindon supported by the very generous backing of W H Smith.

Reading is an enjoyable and crucial part of a child’s education so it is vital that we make reading and literacy as exciting as possible.

I have worked closely with the NLT and most recently was delighted to host one of their events for local schools at my community office and they will have my full support for this fantastic project.

Finally, a very important stage in the Brexit process began this week as MPs started debating the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Labour have made it clear they wish to oppose this. Having changed their position 13 times on Europe already they should think again on this vital vote.

The Bill helps deliver the outcome the British people voted for by ending the supremacy of EU law in the UK, but it’s also the single most important step we can take to prevent a cliff-edge by providing legal certainty for businesses, individuals and consumers ready for the day we leave – a welcome move.

Whatever side we were on in the Referendum, the decision has been taken and we all have a responsibility to deliver a good Brexit deal. There is no place for reckless party politics on such an important issue.