With a new year well underway, I’m committed to making 2025 a big year of progress for Monmouthshire. Here's a look at what I’ve been working on so far.

In Parliament, I led a Westminster Hall debate to address the urgent issue of poor water quality in the UK’s rivers, lakes, and seas. It was an important opportunity to bring together MPs from all parties to discuss the pressing issues affecting waterways across the UK, including Monmouthshire’s rivers such as the Wye and Usk.

I also recently attended two committee sessions to scrutinise the Water (Special Measures) Bill, a vital piece of legislation aimed at protecting our rivers and holding water companies accountable for pollution. These are both big steps forward to cleaning up our rivers, but there is much more to do.

As member of the Women and Equalities Committee, we recently released a report calling for the extension of parental bereavement leave and pay to include pre-24-week pregnancy losses.

Pregnancy loss can be a devastating experience for women and their families, yet current legislation only provides statutory parental bereavement leave and pay if a child under 18 passes away or in the case of a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The report highlights that over 1 in 5 pregnancies end before 24 weeks, and the grief experienced by women and their partners is no different. This needs to change and I urged the Government to implement the report's recommendations.

In Parliament, I spoke on important topics such as AI investment in Wales and expressed my support for the new Crown Estates Commissioner for Wales. Additionally, I met with Jonny Reynolds, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, to ensure that the Government’s industrial strategy delivers for rural areas like Monmouthshire.

Back home, my team and I are constantly carefully working through hundreds of emails each week to support residents. In just seven days, we responded to over two hundred emails and helped more than thirty residents with issues ranging from housing to healthcare. As your MP, I will do everything I can to support you with any issue you may face, it's what I love most about the job!

I’d love to hear from you about the things that matter most to you, so please email me at [email protected] or call 01291 200139 with any concerns or issues you may have and how you’d like to me to help.