I’m beyond delighted to be continuing in my important role, now as Minister of State at DWP, as the Minister for Disabled People, Health, and Work with a fantastic team of Ministers & officials. I’ve been involved in this department for almost 5 years & it’s a HUGE honour. I’ll continue focussing on social mobility, young people, and all their transitions into the workplace too. It’s a great honour to serve & that comes with responsibility but also support & true kindness from both my Parliamentary Team and an understanding family.
I’m honoured to join at the Steve Willis Apprentice Graduation night at the fantastic Hickstead Showground. I always love joining these events as they're the perfect chance to celebrate the hard-working apprentices and congratulate them on their determination and dedication. A big thank you to the fabulous Burgess Hill Lions who are always so supportive, particularly for this event, and who have raised money for charity and during the annual Graduation Night Charity Auction which fundraised around £2000. I wish them luck embarking on the next exciting chapter of their career journey.
Tesco's launch of ‘Best of British’ section online is a huge step in the right direction. The campaign for a ‘Buy British’ button aims to make it easier to buy homegrown produce, supporting our nation’s farmers. Tesco following the lead of Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Waitrose and the Co-op by making this small but meaningful change which puts our farmers and consumer choice first.
I was very pleased to attend the recent Building Digital UK event in Parliament and to have been updated on what they are doing in Mid Sussex in regard to our connectivity. It's great to see the significant progress and growth in gigabit-capable coverage since 2019 which explains much of the constant local roadworks! This is so important for not only people to live and work, but also for supporting local businesses. I raised several issues from constituents about the ongoing poor mobile network coverage particularly in Cuckfield and even in central Haywards Heath which I’m working on as this is unacceptable.