On Tuesday 19 December 2023, an Urgent Question was tabled by the Opposition to ask the Secretary of Defence for a statement on the situation in Ukraine, and I asked the Minister a question: "In August this year, the then Defence Secretary said that he would publish the action plan for Ukraine in 2023. Will it be published before the end of the year?"

The Minister answered by saying: "I simply say to the right hon. Lady, as I have been saying throughout, that we are delivering action every week in Ukraine. The amount of ordnance we have supplied and continue to supply—particularly in terms of air defence, which is now increasingly crucial—is huge. I have listed the many numbers. Some of it, of course, we cannot talk about. There are technologies that we are testing out there, ensuring that our munitions are successful. What I can say is that if we look at the work of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, for example—as I say, I cannot talk about the detail—we can see that it has had a huge bearing on the impact of what we have donated into theatre."

The Minister failed to answer the question. His predecessor pledged to publish the action plan for Ukraine in 2023 and we are fast approaching the end of 2023 and yet no action plan has been published by the Government.

Following the horrendous killings in the Church compound of the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said "The information provided by the Cardinal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem gives a picture of seemingly deliberate and callous killing by IDF soldiers of innocent civilians: an elderly woman and her daughter in the grounds of a church. This killing has to stop. It can never be justified."

On Tuesday 19 December 2023, an Urgent Question was tabled regarding the conflict between Israel and Gaza, and I asked the Minister for Development and Africa Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP a question: "Does the Minister agree with Cardinal Vincent Nichols’s version of events that took place in the compound of the Holy Family church?"

The Minister answered by saying: "The right hon. Lady will understand that I am not in a position to make that judgment, but I have heard with great respect what the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster has said."

Everyone is alarmed about the events in the compound which is a safe place and provides sanctuary and shelter for those fleeing from the war. 

In the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt MP said he would cut the main 12% rate of employee national insurance contributions by two percentage points to 10% as of 6 January 2024. Despite this, the UK continues to face the largest fall in real living standards since records began in the 1950s and are forecast to be 3.5% lower in 2024-25 than their pre-pandemic level. With the economy flatlining and Britain's total debt far higher than before the pandemic, the tax burden is here to stay and will not decrease under this Conservative government.

At Treasury Questions on Tuesday 19 December 2023 I asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer a question: "Will the Chancellor confirm how much higher the tax burden is forecast to be at the end, compared with at the start, of this Parliament?"

The Chancellor answered by saying: "What I can confirm is that, as a result of the measures I took in the autumn statement, it will be lower at the end of the scorecard period than it would otherwise have been, and a lot lower than it would be under any Labour Government."

The Chancellor did not answer the question. It is vital to know specifically how much higher the tax burden is forecast to be by the end of this Parliament.

I met the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at the Advent Event in Parliament on Monday 18 December 2023 at the Advent Event held in Parliament. Both the Archbishop and Sir Keir Starmer spoke about the Advent message and the call for peace in the world.

 

I welcomed Politics students from E-ACT West Walsall Academy on a tour of Parliament on Monday 18 December 2023. I gave the students a tour of the Houses of Parliament and talked to them about the British political system, the UK Constitution, the structures of Parliament and how MPs hold the Government to account. The students visited both Chambers, learning about British politics with a hands-on view of  Palace of Westminster and Whitehall. We had Q and A about the work of MPs and how we scrutinise legislation. I also showed the students how we vote.  

Parliament organises regular tours for constituents and schools to visit and learn more about the Houses of Parliament. Find out more by visiting: parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/