I was pleased to host the IKEA Annual Retail Reception in the Jubilee Room in the House of Commons on 10 February 2026 supported by Total Politics.MPs were invited and were able to talk to IKEA co-workers from around the country. 

Welcome everyone especially those MPs with IKEA in your constituency and those who want one speak to Matt:  I recently visited on a Sunday and was a rainy day and I thought everyone would be at home, but it was packed.I wanted to buy a Bondskaret hat and coat stand; in bright yellow, to liven up the office. I have one in Parliament and one in Walsall. I also picked up some preserved flowers, lovely yellow forsythia, and the glass jar.  I carried the box and flowers and vase from Aisle 33 location 49 to the checkout only to drop the vase. And a lovely co-worker Winnie from Wednesbury asked her co-worker to get another one. Those of you who have been to one of these events will know how IKEA moves on to the issues of the day:Good design at a reasonable price:  designed by Ilse Crawford I noticed a pendant light shade; I had to have it -but I have recycled the old one.Sustainability: recycling  preloved goods. You can find an area in stores where there are items that people no longer need.Then last year Better Neighbourhoods and a partnership with Shelter which drew attention to homelessness.  And now this year, the issue that confronts usfood waste and sustainability.Ikea have already moved forward with Plant balls; and there are specials I know in Wednesbury where families can eat cheaply.Now there is a serious focus on food waste and sustainability which we need to focus on if we are to survive as a planet.So, thank you to everyone who has worked on this event and all the co-workers up and down the country and especially those who came here to Parliament to prepare the food bringing us the wonderful every day.We have seen Peter Jelkeby the Former CEO moved to Germany but it gives me great pleasure to introduce: Deputy CEO UK and Ireland, Mustafaa El Garaa

We were treated to food that was prepared by IKEA's own food service co-workers from IKEA's restaurants, including traditional Swedish meatballs, plant-based meatballs, Gravalax wraps and pastry cups with creme fraiche, mayonanise and prawns with cod roe on the top and of course Daim cake and almond pastries.  The event was well attended by MPs to network with IKEA co workers to hear about this year's theme: "Food Waste and Sustainability".Businesses in the UK generate 42% of food waste, prompting IKEA to set a goal in 2017 of halving food waste in its restaurants and Swedish Food Markets by 2030.In 2023, IKEA became the first global company to halve food waste, reaching their goal in 2022, 8 years before their target of 2030. IKEA estimates that its efforts have saved the equivalent of 37.8 million meals from going to waste.I am pictured (right) with Mostafa El Garaa, IKEA's Deputy Country Retail Manager for the UK and Ireland, and Matt Maguire, Public Affairs Manager at IKEA.

Walsall FC and Foundation set up a stall at the Pallett Track Stadium and when I visited the Stadium on 7 February 2026, I signed a card for Amelia Kolpa, a girl from Rowley Regis in the Black Country who has neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that starts in a type of nerve cell called a neuroblast.
The campaign to 'Make Amelia's Birthday Magical' started when Amelia and her mum, Katarzyna Bartczak, wanted to mark Amelia's eighth birthday on 3 March by breaking the record for the most birthday cards received in the UK, aiming for 8000 cards.



The campaign went viral with people as far as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA sending in cards to contribute to smashing the record.

Less than a month before Amelia’s birthday, 80,000 cards have been delivered to the family. Amelia is planning to create a huge collage of them to display on a wall. 



Having beaten the cancer, it returned and Amelia is currently receiving palliative care. 



 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) published the findings of its investigation into the way State Pension ages (SPA) were communicated to 1950s-born women in March 2024. Whilst the investigation did not concern the principle of SPA equalisation, which successive administrations have supported, but the way in which this was conveyed to those women affected.

In December 2024, the Government issued a formal response, having carefully considered the Ombudsman’s findings. It emerged that important information about the effectiveness of the letters used to communicate SPA changes had not been provided when this decision was made. For that reason, in November 2025 the Government decided to reconsider its response to ensure it was based on all available evidence.

Following an extensive review of historical documents, Ministers have now accepted the Ombudsman’s finding that maladministration occurred, and that this contributed to delays in sending letters to women born in the 1950s. The Government has repeated its apology for this failure. However, the Secretary of the State for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, announced on 29 January 2026 that the Government does not consider that compensation would be appropriate. 

I was a signatory to a letter to the Secretary of State and the Pensions Minister, with other MPs coordinated by the APPG calling for the Government to engage with the WASPI women and to reconsider their decision. You can read the full text of the letter below:

Dear Ministers,

Re. Pensions Update 29 January 2026 on the PHSO Report Response

We collectively represent millions of women born in the 1950s and express our grave disappointment that the Government has once again chosen to reject compensation for the 1950s women affected by state pension age changes. This was the wrong decision, but you have the opportunity to put this right.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that maladministration and injustice had occurred and, as a result, they recommended compensation.

In your Oral Statement on 29 January, you stated: “[w]e also agree with the Ombudsman that: women did not suffer any direct financial loss from the delay”. However, this sadly represents only part of the PHSO’s determinations which conclude with recommendations to compensate, not on the basis of ‘direct financial loss’ but on the basis of a ‘lost opportunity’ injustice. This has caused significant concern that the findings and recommendations of the PHSO’s report have not been fully considered in making the decision not to compensate.

To quote the full paragraph directly from their 2024 final report’s summary of findings, in the section ‘Injustice’, page 8, paragraph 12:

“We find that maladministration in DWP’s communication about the 1995 Pensions Act resulted in complainants losing opportunities to make informed decisions about some things and to do some things differently, and diminished their sense of personal autonomy and financial control. We do not find that it resulted in them suffering direct financial loss.” (Emphasis ours.)

Then in their consideration of ‘Financial loss that is not direct financial loss’, p68-69 they state:

“We do not think it is appropriate to quantify losses stemming from lost opportunities to make different choices in the way that we do with direct financial loss…. The sample complainants told us they lost out financially because they made decisions they would not have made if they had known, or known earlier, that their State Pension age had changed. Even if the sample complainants would have made different choices, any financial loss resulting from the choices they made is not direct financial loss. Their loss would flow primarily from the choices they made, for which DWP is not directly responsible or accountable. To decide what is an appropriate amount of compensation in these circumstances we apply our severity of injustice scale… When considering where a ‘lost opportunity’ injustice sits on the scale, we consider the significance of the opportunity that was lost.” (Emphasis ours.)

Finally, in their consideration of injustice, section E. 5, page 83, paragraph 459, they state:

“For most sample complainants we consider the primary injustice is that they were denied opportunities to make informed decisions about some things, and to do some things differently, because of maladministration in DWP’s communication about State Pension age. That is a material injustice.” (Emphasis ours.)

On the issue of financial remedy they state, at section F.3.1, paragraph 489:

“We have explained our thinking about where on our severity of injustice scale the sample complainants’ injustice sits. We would have recommended they are paid compensation at level 4 of the scale.” (Emphasis ours.)

Then at paragraph 502:

“As a matter of principle, redress should reflect individual impact. But the numbers of people who have potentially suffered injustice because of the maladministration, the need for remedy to be delivered without delay, and the cost and administrative burden of assessing potentially millions of individual women’s circumstances may indicate the need for a more standardised approach. HM Treasury’s ‘Managing Public Money’ requires compensation schemes to be efficient, effective and deliver value for money. It also says the administrative costs associated with compensation schemes should not be excessive.” (Emphasis ours.)

And finally at paragraph 503:

“Parliament may want to consider a mechanism for assessing individual claims of injustice. Or it may consider a flat-rate payment would deliver more efficient resolution, recognising that will inevitably mean some women being paid more or less compensation than they otherwise would.” (Emphasis ours.)

As such, the PHSO clearly determined that compensation should be paid on the basis of ‘injustice’ and they advised that Parliament may wish to consider either an individual or flat rate compensation scheme. At no point in the report did they determine that issuing no compensation at all should be an option.

We believe that the PHSO’s advice to Government was clear and ignoring it is not only unprecedented, it also undermines the authority of the Ombudsman and sends a damaging message to the public about how the state responds when it gets things wrong.

Women pensioners have lost their homes and their savings, and their health has been impacted over this matter. The Government have rightly apologised for the wrong; now they need to put that wrong right.

We urge you to urgently engage with the impacted women and reconsider this decision again.

As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Classical Music, I was delighted to visit the Southbank Centre for 'Classical Mixtape: A Live Takeover' on Thursday 5 February 2026.The multi-venue event, a mixtape brought to life, featured classical music favourites and film soundtracks, performed by all six of the Southbank Centre's resident orchestras: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; London Sinfonietta; Aurora Orchestra; Chineke! Orchestra; London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra.

The event started with the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and the original orchestra on The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, music from the films. We were then invited to roam at our pleasure between rooms, where each orchestra was performing a 20-minute set on repeat throughout the evening.
The final event at the Royal Festival Hall for a final performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra, including music from Star Wars and The Planets.The pictures below show the session by Chineke! where the audience mingled among the musicians in the Ballroom. 

On 4 February 2026 I chaired the third Delegated Legislation Committee, to consider the Draft Energy-Intensive Industry Electricity Support Payments and Levy (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

These regulations aim to increase electricity price support to energy-intensive industries through the British industry supercharger. Energy-intensive industries include foundational manufacturing sectors that are critical to the UK’s economic security and the delivery of the modern industrial strategy. They include steel, chemicals, cement, electrical components and gigafactories.

The uplift is expected to take effect from April 2026.