IT HAS been another busy period in Westminster as the year gathers pace.
A significant highlight of recent days was when the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to the UK and gave a historic address to both Houses of Parliament.
It was a memorable occasion that I was honoured to be in attendance for.
The President gave a powerful speech, and the UK continues to proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends against the barbaric Russian invasion.
The past month has also seen significant changes to the machinery of government.
To ensure the whole government is geared up to deliver for the priorities of the British people, the Prime Minister has created, or redesigned, four government departments in The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, The Department for Business and Trade and The Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The changes will help ensure the right skills and teams are focused on the Prime Minister’s five promises – to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.
Indeed, as part of these changes, I am pleased to be able to say I was promoted and appointed as a Minister of State in the new Department for Business and Trade.
I am already getting stuck in with my new role, as we continue to back British businesses at home and abroad, promote investment and champion free trade.
In Parliament we have been busy implementing a whole range of legislation including moving forward with the Online Harms and Economic Crime bills, and also bringing in a range of smaller bills to protect rights and improve people’s lives, such as protecting pregnant women from redundancy and securing the distribution of tips to hospitality service workers.
Water safety and sewage has also received a lot of attention recently and I was pleased to vote for the first-ever plans to tackle sewage overflows.
We’ll be working with the water companies to eliminate pollution over time and I’m proud we are increasing the monitoring and setting targets into law.
Nigel Huddleston
Mid Worcestershire MP
