It's impossible to start this week's catch-up without first referencing the terrible events in Ukraine.
Russia has no just cause for its actions and it is only right that the UK stands by the Ukrainian people, providing aid and support and applying tough sanctions to bring President Putin to book.
This week's update actually spans two weeks as Parliament was on recess for Half Term and I took the opportunity to travel to Norway to join the Royal Marines in their cold weather training in the Arctic Circle.
I've said before how much I admire the Marines and my time with them in the High North has done nothing to change that view. They are playing a key role in our response to Russian aggression and I sleep sounder know that.
After returning to Westminster it was another busy week.
On Monday the Prime Minister made a statement on living with Covid. It is a simple fact that we must now learn to live with the disease as a daily fact of life. The steps we took to protect the NHS and our World-leading vaccination programme mean that the risks are relatively low compared to two years ago. I was disappointed to see that the Labour opposition opposed lifting restrictions, preferring to maintain the unprecedented control the state has over our lives.
On Tuesday I met with senior advisors from No.10 to discuss both the Clean Air Zone and the Places for Everyone plan.
The Mayor has badly bungled both, ignoring concerns of local residents in furtherance of his own ego.
I asked to government to look closely at what options they have to intervene.
Later in the day I went to a session with the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to talk about what I think we need to see in our communities in order to get things moving. It was good to have an honest exchange and get some ideas out there.
On Wednesday I had the privilege of sitting on the Bill Committee for the British Sign Language Bill, recognising BSL as a native language of the UK. It will do a huge amount to support the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
This week I also spoke with representatives of the British Expat community to brief them on their new rights under the Elections Bill. Thousands of Britons, including around 300 people from Heywood and Middleton live outside the UK and their right to vote is now protected for life.
The end of the week has, rightly, been dominated by Ukraine. I've spoken to both the Foreign and Defence Secretaries to better understand the situation and my office is here and ready to support those with loved ones in Ukraine.
If you have any concerns, please get in touch. There's an appalling amount of misinformation being banded about on Social Media, some of it from Senior Opposition Politicians. It's shameful and dangerous, so please treat everything you read with caution.
