On Monday, 23 October, I met His Excellency Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, and His Excellency, Yassin Saeed Noman, the Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the UK during a meeting in Parliament to discuss the situation in Yemen. 

Mr Grundberg has been  Ambassador of the European Union to Yemen since 2019, bringing over 20 years of experience in international affairs, including over 15 years working in conflict resolution, negotiation, and mediation, with a focus on the Middle East.  He previously headed the Gulf Division at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm during the time that Sweden hosted the United Nations-facilitated negotiations that culminated in the Stockholm Agreement in 2018. 

Dr Yassin Saeed Noman ​Ahmed held various roles in the Republic of Yemen, notably as Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen between 1986 and 1990 when Yemen unified forming the modern-day Republic of Yemen, and Speaker of the House (or President of the House of Representatives of Yemen) between 1990 and 1993. Since 2012 he also serves as a Political Advisor to the President and Deputy Chairman of the National Dialogue Conference. 

Mr Grundberg is working with all parties towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Yemen is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. It is in the grips of an ongoing conflict that has killed more than 10,000 civilians and injured tens and thousands more since it began in 2015. Over 2 million people have been displaced as Yemen’s civil war continues to rage. Food, medicines and shelter are in desperately short supply. Fields and cities are littered with landmines and explosives, making it impossible for families to return home and aid cannot reach those reliant on it to survive. 

I want to see a permanent ceasefire in the country and a political reconciliation between the warring factions. 

I tabled a question for Education Questions and I was called for question 15 on the Order Paper. The question was: "What steps she is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs in Walsall South constituency."

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, David Johnston MP, answered questions together with a general answer: "In March, we published our improvement plan to transform support for children with special educational needs, and last month we launched nine regional change programme partnerships to drive reform. By 2024-25, we will have increased high-needs funding by 60% since 2019-20, and we have approved the opening of 78 special free schools."

My follow-up question to the Minister: "There is a crisis in funding for SEND in Walsall South. In Old Church Primary, 78 pupils have special needs, which is 19% of the school total. How can the Minister target the funding to the schools that really need it? Does he agree that when Ofsted inspects, it should take into account children with special needs in schools such as Old Church so that these are mitigating factors?"

David Johnston answered "The right hon. Lady makes an important point about the role of Ofsted and ensuring that it assesses that provision. It is worth saying that there will have been a 36% per-head increase in Walsall between 2021-22 and 2024-25, but I would be happy to meet her to discuss the issue further."

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reports that 13% of pupils in the UK have special educational needs or disabilities. Statistics show children in the lowest 3 bands on the deprivation index had the lowest SAT results ever last year, and NASEN (the National Association for Special Educational Needs) said the Government's ‘SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan’ came too late for many children and young people with SEND.  I will raise this issue with the Minister. 

On Wednesday, 18 October, I attended the University of Wolverhampton reception in the Lords to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lord Swraj Paul as Chancellor and the achievements of students at the Walsall Campus. The University of Wolverhampton provides the West Midlands and beyond with highly qualified, professional graduates, and its mission is to create opportunities for graduates.

The University's Walsall Campus has a multi-million pound Sports Centre, with excellent facilities, expert staff and highly equipped sports science laboratories, and a 12-court, multi-activity sports hall, a six-lane, floodlit athletics track, all-weather floodlit pitch, throws and jumps area & a dance studio. The Walsall Campus is also home to the British Judo Association who live, train and compete right on campus. 

I met Abi Daré, (above) a Nigerian University of Wolverhampton alumni and author of the New York Times Bestseller 'The Girl with the Louding Voice'. I also met alumni Theo Johnson, a Film Maker, Actor, Script Writer, BBC 1Xtra Presenter and Motivational Speaker.

The University of Wolverhampton is once again in the top ten universities for social mobility, and at the reception, presented its widening participation credentials: 

71% of students are the first in their family to enter university – this ranks the University of Wolverhampton first in the country for such students;
More than half of students are mature (aged 21 and over);
55% are from Global majority backgrounds;
77% live within a 20-mile distance of the University;
89% of alumni are employed or continuing their education within 15 months of graduating, and 77% of those are within the West Midlands region.

If you want to find out more, or are looking to apply, please visit www.wlv.ac.uk

I chaired an evidence session on Wednesday 18 October 2023. In the year leading to the 75th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, and the Coalition for Genocide Response hosted a series of Parliamentary events engaging with several issues pertaining to the implementation of the duties under the Genocide Convention and look at recent and contemporary cases of genocide.  Todays session covers the Genocide against Rohingya and Myanmar and the question of justice and accountability.  

The Rohyngya are indigenous people to the Western Rakhine State of Burma, and are predominantly Muslim. Despite their indigenous status, the Burmese Government refuses to recognise their identity as Rohingyas, labelling them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. After the events of October 2016, when nine Burmese police officers were killed by an armed militia, the situation deteriorated. The killings led to widespread, systematic, and indiscriminate attacks against Rohingya Muslim civilians. The events of October 2016 put Burma firmly onto the United Nations radar.  What followed can only be described as genocide and crimes against humanity. 

The two speakers were Tun Khin (in the main picture), co-founder and President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Tun was born and raised in Arakan State. His grandfather was a Parliamentary secretary during the democratic period of Burma. His mother's grandfather was the first Judge in Northern Arakan State. Although well established and respected alongside a million other ethnic Rohingya Tun Khin is not recognised as a citizen of Burma.  Zoya Phan (left) is a Burmese political activist and Campaign Manager of the human rights organization Burma Campaign UK.  Zoya is also the author of the memoir 'Little Daughter', and in 2010 she was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. She was forced to flee her village after an attack by the military junta when she was just a teenager.