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Weekly Whip w/c 11th January

Monday 11th January

Monday started off with a statement from the Chancellor who has been notably quiet as of late. He came to the House to update MPs on the most recent packages of support for individuals and businesses during the pandemic.

The Green Liberal Democrats are pleased to announce that Kishan Devani, BEM, FSRA has been appointed as Honorary Vice President.

Green Liberal Democrats' Chair, Keith Melton, said:

"We are delighted to have Kishan join GLD as Honorary Vice President. Kishan's excellent work on community cohesion (for which he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2020) and racial equality, together with his tireless campaigning will be of great value as we reach out to our diverse community of Liberal Democrat activists."

For years, this Government have promised our fishing industry a sea of opportunity, but, today, our boats are tied up in harbour, their propellers fouled with red tape manufactured in Whitehall.

Our boats are tied up in harbour, their propellers fouled with red tape manufactured in Whitehall.

Boats that are able to go to sea are landing their catches in Denmark-an expensive round trip of at least 72 hours, which takes work away from processors and other shoreside businesses in this country.

I tabled the Immigration (Health and Social Care Staff) Bill 2019-21, which was due for its second reading on Friday.

Lib Dems will continue to fight for healthcare workers' rights

But the Government have decided to axe all sitting Fridays until the end of March, meaning dozens of Private Members Bills will effectively be shut down.

It's been a huge privilege to come to know many Tamil people in my constituency and across the UK since being elected to Parliament back in 1997, and I can therefore say with total certainty, that the contribution of British Tamils to our country and society has been exemplary, with the hard work, intelligence and dedication of so many amazing British Tamils.

It is completely unacceptable that parents have received woefully inadequate food parcels in place of free school meals.

The Secretary of State must urgently investigate this situation.

The amount of food parents have received to feed their children is not anything like enough to provide an adequate, nutritious lunch every day.

Over the past year, Liberal Democrat MPs have tabled a number of Private Members' Bills that would make important changes to help build a fairer country, tackle deep-rooted inequalities and ensure a more effective response to the Covid pandemic.

Eleven key Liberal Democrat Bills were due to have "Second Reading" - the next stage of their progress through Parliament - over the next three months.

The 'spy powers bill' is a step too far - all parties should unite to oppose it in the Lords

The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill would give police informants total immunity. Yet the government has failed to provide any evidence as to why that's necessary

Having served as a police officer for more than 30 years, I know that it is an undesirable but necessary part of policing to rely on informants, or "covert human intelligence sources" as they are now known. And, on occasion, those informants need to be tasked to commit crime.