Debt Awareness Week is fast approaching and I want to make you aware of what help there is to support my constituents. 

Money Wellness has launched a free Household Bills Calculator, designed to help households understand how upcoming changes to everyday bills - such as energy, water and council tax - may affect their monthly budget. It brings together confirmed and forecasted price changes, enabling people to plan ahead and take early action if they may come under pressure as April’s increases take effect.

You can view the tool here: https://www.moneywellness.com/cost-of-living-calculator

Many households find it difficult to track how small increases across essential bills can add up. The calculator provides a clear, personalised breakdown in under two minutes, along with guidance on what to do if someone is worried about keeping up with their bills.

Money Wellness is a free, FCA regulated debt advice provider, and the tool was created to encourage early engagement and to support people before they reach crisis point.

The Government extended the parliamentary session to Spring 2026. This had been announced in Parliament in September 2025. Therefore this is the second Finance Bill of the 2024-26 session. On 11 March 2026, the Bill was debated in the House of Commons. There were three votes: 

New Clause 11, which would require the Chancellor to undertake and publish an assessment of the potential merits of uprating annually the relief allowance amount for agricultural property by the change in the value of agricultural land, was rejected: Ayes 174, Noes 292.






Amendment 5, which would remove the freeze in income tax thresholds from the Bill, was rejected: Ayes 172, Noes 283.











Amendment 6, which would remove the changes to the thresholds for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief from the Bill, was rejected: Ayes 175, Noes 292.













The Bill was then read the Third time and passed: Ayes 292, Noes 161

I attended the Libraries Alliance event on 11 March 2026 which brought together a wide ranging group of people who support our Libraries both local and national and as a networking event.  

Richard Ovenden who is Bodley's Librarian at the University of Oxford gave a speech and highlighted the importance of Libraries. He said there were 5 main sectors which benefit from Libraries: 

1. Education

The education sector, particularly higher education, has become even more critical in the post-pandemic world. the demand during the pandemic was enormous.  Demand for learning has grown, and higher education institutions must become agile in order to support their users. Libraries must be supported to meet the increasing demand.

2. The Knowledge Economy

Organisations such as EBSCO,  a major provider of library technology and e-books, have extended beyond traditional academic materials to provide resources for  musicians for musical scores, actors and the creative industry more widely.  

3. The Research Economy

Library staff are active within the 'research to innovation' space, creating intellectual property for us.

4. Digital Economy

Big tech scraped knowledge and they are now coming for libraries  which have had take some data offline to stop AI companies from accessing it. There needs to be regulation of the AI industry.

5. Heritage Economy

Genealogical research remains a popular area of interest, generating income for companies.  The core mission is to preserve and share knowledge, establishing libraries as guardians of facts and truths.

In February 2025 the Government announced a fourth round of the Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) for 2025/26. The package offers a total fund of £5.5 million, from which libraries run by local authorities in England can apply for funding of between £50,000 and £500,000. The funding can be used for a range of projects “to upgrade buildings and technology so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them”. The funding will be distributed by Arts Council England.

The House of Commons met on 10 March 2026 to debate and vote on the Bill, which follows recommendations from Sir Brian Leveson's Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, to reduce the Crown Court caseload, improve timely access to justice, and allocate resources more proportionately.

It changes how cases are allocated between magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court, removes defendants’ right to elect Crown Court trial in triable‑either‑way cases, reforms appeals, and expands magistrates’ sentencing powers to retain suitable cases.

It also creates new judge‑alone trial modes, including a Crown Court Bench Division and provisions for complex fraud cases, to free jury capacity for more serious matters. 

A reasoned amendment to the Bill was rejected and the Bill was read a second time: Ayes 304, Noes 203









The Bill has now been committed to a Public Bill Committee which will be brought to a conclusion on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

I chaired the following two debates on 10 March 2026 in Westminster Hall:

"That this House has considered Government support for English rugby." The motion was moved by Edward Morello MP and responded to by Ian Murray MP, who is the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts.

The second motion, "That this House has considered technology sovereignty" was moved by Dame Chi Onwurah MP and responded to by Kanishka Narayan MP, the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology.