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Nigel Huddleston's April Report
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April Newsletter

April has been a month filled with some hugely significant political moments. The first few weeks of the month were dominated by the events in Syria, specifically the Prime Minister’s decision to join the US and France in strikes against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability after the attack in Douma. Much has been made of the fact that the decision was taken without recalling Parliament but as I said in my statement at the time, I wholeheartedly support the actions the Prime Minister took. The situation in Syria demanded a swift response and the decision by the Prime Minister was taken on the basis of a significant body of classified information, as well as advice from the Attorney General, National Security Adviser, Chief of the Defence Staff, and members of the Cabinet. As I said in the House of Commons Chamber following the Prime Minister’s statement on the strikes, the obvious and inevitable consequence of seeking prior parliamentary approval for airstrikes would have been to give the Syrian regime a heads-up on our plans. A debate on what, where, how and when the attacks would take place would have given the regime the opportunity to move the very weapons that we were seeking to destroy.

Another significant issue to emerge this month has been the Windrush cases. The Windrush generation is an important group who have built their life here and contributed enormously to our country. It is simply not fair or reasonable that some members of this generation have struggled to access the public services they are entitled to and the Government has accepted that the suffering caused by this situation is unacceptable. A new dedicated team has been set up to help these people evidence their right to be here and I hope it can conclude its work as quickly as possible. While I was sad to hear of Amber Rudd’s resignation as Home Secretary, I think the Prime Minister has made an excellent appointment in Sajid Javid who, as many readers of this newsletter will be aware, is a fellow Worcestershire MP. Sajid has been vocal in his concern about the Windrush cases, speaking candidly about how he instinctively thought that his family could have been affected and I know he will work tirelessly to put things right.

This month also saw the Government take action which will make it easier for tour operators and travel companies to challenge fraudulent holiday sickness claims. The rise in fraudulent claims has caused reputational damage for British tourists and operators and threatened to push of the cost of overseas package holidays for British holidaymakers. I have been lobbying the Government to take action to tackle fraudulent sickness claims for quite some time and was delighted by the announcement.

In Parliament, I have been continuing to support the Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock with the passage of the Data Protection Bill and the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition to contributing to the debates on Syria in the House of Commons, I also questioned the Chancellor on whether consideration could be given to making health promoting expenditures such as gym memberships tax deductible in recognition of the cost-saving benefit it could bring to the NHS. I was also pleased to speak in support of the Assault of Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which is an important piece of legislation that increases protection for emergency workers who are assaulted while carrying out their duties. Every day, emergency service workers across the country leave their families to go to work in what are often highly stressful, demanding conditions. Whether they are a police officer, a prison officer, a firefighter, or indeed any other emergency worker, they have taken the brave decision to work in public service protecting their fellow citizens and they should be able to do so without fear of being attacked.

In March I spoke in a Westminster Hall debate about upgrades to the Cotswold Line and this month I met with the Managing Director of Great Western Railway, Mark Hopwood. Worcestershire residents have faced a significant deterioration in the service in recent months and a number of constituents have contacted me to raise their concerns with GWR and press for urgent improvements to performance on the line. My fellow Worcestershire MPs, Harriett Baldwin and Robin Walker, have been receiving similar comments from their own constituents so we met with GWR together to discuss the performance on the line in more detail. We were told that the training of drivers has now been completed in Worcester, which should lead to a noticeable improvement in performance on the line.  We also reiterated calls for more frequent services on the line, improved connectivity for the region and discussed the ongoing progress with Worcestershire Parkway station, which is due to open next year.

I was pleased to be visited in Westminster by more local schools this month, including Swan Lane First School, and went to parliamentary receptions including a Diaebetes UK event and the Aerospace, Defence and Security (ADS) reception where I met a young man from Evesham who is enjoying his time as a software apprentice. I was also present at the historic unveiling of the statue to Dame Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. 

I also spent two days with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme this month – one at Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) Northwood and the other at RAF Halton, which has the primary role of recruit training in the RAF.

Back in Worcestershire I went to a number of events across the constituency. These included the #LoveEvesham event, the Concert for Heroes at the Chateau Impney, the National Care Home Day event at The Hawthorns, Evesham Abbey Trust’s funding announcement and the annual pancake morning at Evesham Baptist Church. I also visited local businesses including Kanes Foods and the Abbots Grange Hotel in Broadway.


This is a busy week as I am leading a Westminster Hall debate this afternoon on the issue of grandchildren’s access rights to their grandparents, which I know is an issue that unfortunately affects many of my constituents. If you are interested in watching the debate, it will be streamed live on www.parliamentlive.tv and I will post a link to the transcript of the debate on my website tomorrow.

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Nigel Huddleston MP · House of Commons · London, SW1A 0AA · United Kingdom

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