2022

This week the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill returned to Parliament for the third reading. The Bill seeks to undo parts of the Protocol, which was agreed in October 2019 and governs trade agreements between the UK and EU in Northern Ireland.

On Tuesday 19 July, I was a member of the committee scrutinising the Remote Observation and Recording (Courts and Tribunals) Regulations 2022. This is a statutory instrument that seeks to govern who can attend remote proceedings, and how this is regulated.

In October 2019 the Government agreed the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, to govern trade arrangements between the UK and EU in Northern Ireland, as part of its deal to leave the EU. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill now seeks to undo parts of the Protocol. The Bill had the first day of its Committee Stage in the House on Wednesday 13 July 2022.

It is a long-established protocol that a Member of Parliament should be notified in advance when another Member visits their constituency. A Member of Parliament is elected to represent those who live in their constituency, and lack of proper notice of visits disregards that relationship. On Wednesday 13 July 2022 I raised a Point of Order regarding several breaches of that protocol by the Members for Walsall North and Aldridge-Brownhills.

At an Urgent Question on Wednesday 13 July 2022, the Foreign Secretary was asked to make a statement on the state of emergency declared in Sri Lanka.