Easter Editions
A glimpse into my work as your proud MP for Chatham and Aylesford.
Welcome!
Thank you for taking a moment out of a busy day to read this.
£20 million for Luton!
I was absolutely delighted to hear from the Minister in March that Medway is to receive £60 million in Pride in Place funding, it was difficult not to break the embargo, and especially pleased that Luton, where I served as a councillor for a decade, will receive £20 million of that total.
Those of you in my Medway ward will know Luton well. Its challenges are both well documented and, at times, sensationalised. It remains one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Kent, with a decaying urban fabric and too many families facing low incomes, poor educational outcomes, and limited qualifications. Crime is higher than average, and, uninspiringly, satisfaction with the neighbourhood remains stubbornly low.
That said, there have been a number of programmes in recent years, particularly the Big Local, which have demonstrated the power of putting local people in charge, Luton’s potential and have been widely praised at both a local and national level.
Pride in Place 2.1 is about investing in communities like Luton that have too often been overlooked, with a focus on restoring local pride, strengthening community cohesion, and delivering tangible changes to the places people live.
In the coming weeks, Medway Council colleagues and I will come together to discuss the requirements for the programme’s chair, who will go on to establish and lead a board responsible for shaping and delivering this work. Watch this space!
Banning Social Media for Children?
In early 2026, hundreds of you wrote to me about your thoughts on raising the minimum social media age to 16. Naturally, many of you are parents, work in education, or work in children’s services. There’s certainly a national conversation underway and that has only intensified in recent weeks, with Parliament actively debating the issue, while the Government continues its consultation on possible restrictions. For those of you who I haven’t spoken to about this, I’m in two minds.
You might know that, right up until days before the 2024 election, I was a secondary school teacher. From that perspective, I completely understand why so many people support a ban. Social media can make an already challenging classroom even harder, and there’s no doubt it can have a negative impact on young people’s wellbeing.
But then I’m reminded of my students who used social media responsibly: to be creative, to express themselves, and for some of our more marginalised young people, to find community and support they couldn’t always find offline.
Social media, especially for those who are vulnerable, can be problematic, but it’s about whether a ban is the right answer. Would removing access make young people safer, or risk pushing them into less regulated spaces where the dangers may be greater?
In the short term, I think it’s important we watch closely how Australia’s under-16 social media restrictions are working in practice, alongside the evidence emerging from the UK’s own consultation. This is a complex issue and, if the evidence from a comparable society, or from listening carefully to young people here at home, challenges our assumptions, we should be open to changing our minds.
I’d encourage you all to take part in the Government’s consultation (open until May): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation.
Inside Maidstone Crown Court
Pleasure to visit Maidstone Crown Court today to meet with barristers to discuss the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, Part 1 and Part 2. Everyone I spoke with is committed to improving the broken system and while clear views were expressed, there was a shared goal: a criminal justice system that works after years of underinvestment and neglect.
The visit was part of the Bar Council’s Court Day in Constituencies, designed to give MPs, like me, a close-up view of how courts operate locally.
The scale and complexity of the system is huge. Cases depend on multiple moving parts, staff, interpreters, technology, scheduling and even small delays can ripple through the day’s work. Between 2024 and 2025, the national Crown Court backlog rose by over 9%, reaching nearly 80,000 open cases, with Maidstone seeing a smaller but still significant increase of nearly 2%.
The visit comes at a time when there’s a lot of conversation in Westminster about court backlogs, jury trials, and proposals for reform. MPs are debating how to tackle the rising number of cases waiting for trial, discussions are ongoing about the future of jury trials in certain offences, and there are wider conversations about investment in court buildings, staffing, and technology.
My thanks to Nina Ellin KC, criminal barrister at Six Pump Court, for taking the time to meet with me and share her insights on the day.
Repeating Roundtables
Roundtables seem to be everywhere in 2026, and my office is no exception, but two in particular really stood out.
The largest private employer in our part of Kent is BAE Systems and, as you may know, they are investing over £200 million in a new state-of-the-art factory of more than 32,000 square metres. I recently co-hosted a roundtable with BAE at their site in Rochester, which, somewhat confusingly, sits within the Chatham and Aylesford parliamentary boundaries, to talk about their long-term investment in Medway.
It was a really positive discussion about how we, as local stakeholders, can work more closely with BAE to make the most of this opportunity. That includes creating more local jobs, supporting training, and helping more people live and work in the area. We also talked through some of the challenges that come with growth, such as housing for staff and improving public transport, and how we can tackle those together.
Secondly, and perhaps a bit unexpectedly for a non-football fan like me, I joined a roundtable with Chatham Town FC to talk about their continued growth. Under Gary and Kevin, the club has gone from strength to strength. They are now performing so well that they are starting to think about practical questions like capacity, where future teams will train, and how to accommodate a growing number of supporters.
It was great to have people from Medway Council and other local partners in the room, all focused on how we can support the club as it continues to grow. There is still a long road ahead off the pitch, and no quick fixes, but this is a real community asset and one we can all be proud to get behind.
While we’re on the topic of roundtables, I will also be hosting my own thematic series with local people. The first session will be an introduction to SEND and the Government’s plans for SEND reform. If you are not already in touch with me about this, please do get in touch using the subject line “SEND Roundtable YES”. I hope this will be the start of an ongoing conversation that helps build our shared understanding of emerging policy, and gives you the opportunity, through me as your MP, to speak directly with decision-makers.
In Parliament
It’s been a busy few weeks in Parliament. On the Public Accounts Committee, we’re looking closely at how taxpayers’ money is being spent and whether big government projects are actually delivering value. This currently includes a programme of inquiries into areas such as support for British Steel, major infrastructure like Northern Powerhouse Rail, investment in research, shared services, and projects like Sizewell C.
Alongside that, I’m also serving on the Courts and Tribunals Bill Committee. That means going through the Bill line by line with other MPs, checking the detail, debating changes, and making sure the legislation works properly before it becomes law.
Lastly
Here are five reasons to be hopeful:
Waiting lists at Medway Maritime Hospital have fallen by more than 6,700 since the General Election.
UK Government funding boost for veterans’ services locally, with organisations in Aylesford set to benefit from Operation Valour, helping improve access to support on health, housing and employment for those who have served.
Medway is set to receive an extra £880,000 in from the UK Government for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) capital funding compared to last year, taking the total to around £5.7 million.
The James Williams NHS Healthy Living Centre has now opened in Chatham. Over the past 12 months, the first floor of the Pentagon Shopping Centre has been transformed into a modern space for GP practices, clinics and community health services.
Medway is set to receive £250,000 from a new UK Government fund to improve local playgrounds, helping create better spaces for children and families in areas that need it most.