As a member of the Panel of Chairs, I chaired 2 debates in the Grand Committee Room, Westminster Hall on 20 January 2026 from 4pm. The debates were:1. That this House has considered cultural opportunities in County Durham: moved by Mary Kelly Foy MP, it was responded to by The Vice-Chamberlain of His Majesty’s Household, Sir Nicholas Dakin MP; and 2. That this House has considered ADHD diagnosis: this debate was moved by Bill Esterson MP and responded to by The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Dr Zubir Ahmed MP.

The Bill returned to the Commons from the Lords. It will make sentencing reforms in line with the recommendations made by the Independent Sentencing Review in May 2025. Chapter Five of the review -'Taking a victim-centred approach' recommended that the Government continues the provision of free copies of judge’s sentencing remarks to victims of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences.

Lords Amendment 7 would have required a  Judge of the Crown Court to approve the release of sentencing remarks.

There was a motion to disagree with this amendment, which passed: Ayes 319, Noes 127.
The Government's motion in lieu of the Lords amendment, to create a statutory right for victims to obtain free transcripts of sentencing remarks within 14 days, passed without division.
 

I visited the exhibition at the New Art Gallery on Saturday 17 January 2026. 
The Walsall Society of Artists was founded in 1949, with the aim to "help in the work of beautifying the town". The Annual Exhibition is open until 15 February 2026.  I encourage you to visit the exhibition on the ground floor of the New Art Gallery where you can also vote for your favourite work of art.

The Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood, made a statement on Chief Constable Craig Guildford's admission that false information, acquired through the use of Microsoft's Copilot AI Chatbot, contributed to the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa last year.

I asked the following:

"Is the Home Secretary able to say who was the most senior police officer who reviewed all the evidence—AI or otherwise—and signed off the decision?"

The Home Secretary responded:

"Ultimately, the final decision on the West Midlands police’s recommendation to the safety advisory group was from the chief constable."

As a member of the Panel of Chairs, I chaired the three debates in the Grand Committee Room, Westminster Hall on 13 January 2026 from 2.30pm:

1 That this House has considered the potential merits of regulating airport drop-off charges: moved by Yasmin Qureshi MP, it was responded to by The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Keir Mather. 

2 That this House has considered the impact of the Arctic and High North on UK security: the motion, by Graeme Downie MP, was responded to by the Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns MP.

3 That this House has considered the potential merits of reforming Northern Ireland’s political institutions: moved by Sorcha Eastwood MP, the motion was responded to by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Matthew Patrick MP.