News

I serve as the Vice-Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Libraries, Information and Knowledge. On Thursday 10 March 2022, the APPG released the following statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Libraries, Information and Knowledge (APPG LInK) wishes to express our deep concern over the impact of the current invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces on the safety and security of the Ukrainian people as well as the threat which this action poses to libraries, archives and the public record in Ukraine. We note the Statement of Solidarity with librarians and archivists in Ukraine, produced by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) with signatures from more than 800 leading national institutions including the British Library, the National Library, Wales and the National Library Scotland.

The Boundary Commission for England is responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England. The Commission is due to make recommendations for new constituency boundaries by 1 July 2023. On Monday 7 March 2022, the Commission held a Public Hearing for the West Midlands at the Guildhall, Worcester, and I spoke at the hearing. The Commission’s proposals would remove the wards of Bentley and Darlaston North and Darlaston South from the Walsall South constituency, and add the wards of Streetly and Aldridge Central and South. The constituency would then be renamed ‘Walsall’. The great swath of Green Belt land and Barr Beacon Ridge which separates Walsall’s urban core from Streetly and Aldridge Central and South is a significant barrier physically and to community ties. Local ties and community cohesion enable proper political representation and therefore political engagement.

The Walsall Black Sisters Collective was founded in July 1986 by a group of young Black women who met to discuss issues that affected them. WBSC has grown to offer community-based provision to meet the health and social needs of BME communities and the wider community in the borough of Walsall. On Saturday 5 March 2022, I spoke at WBSC’s 35th Anniversary Ball.

World Book Day have kindly donated a selection of the books written for this year’s World Book Day 2022. On Friday 4 March 2022, I visited Woods Bank Academy and Moorcroft Wood Primary with the books so that they could be added to the schools’ libraries. World Book Day tokens enable children across the country to access specially written new titles by leading children’s authors. According to the National Literacy Trust, 400,000 children in the UK do not have a book of their own. World Book Day’s mission to expand children’s imagination and life opportunities through reading is essential. 

Happy World Book Day 2022 to everyone celebrating today, a wonderful opportunity to recognise the value of reading.

On Tuesday 1 March 2022 I attended an event in Parliament to support World Book Day on its 25th Anniversary. I am delighted that the Early Day Motion I tabled marking this achievement and welcoming this year’s campaign has been signed by 36 Members. The EDM states: