2018 February 01

As Shadow Leader of the House, I responded to the debate on Baby Leave for Members of Parliament.

This week I raised the quarterly police figures which show a 14% rise in recorded crime in England and Wales. Domestic burglary is up 32%. That is mirrored in Walsall South: a young couple who just got married had their wedding jewellery stolen, and another constituent gave me a video of a gang entering a home and marching people upstairs to rob them. There is only one police station in Darlaston, and that is closing. It is unfair to say that the Government are protecting the police budget. I asked for an urgent debate or a statement from the Minister on how much more money will be given to local councils to protect local services?