Dear John,

This week marks four years since I was first elected your MP for Edgbaston and as the first female Sikh MP. I was born and raised in this constituency and so it has been my absolute privilege to represent you and your families during this time.

In the last four years I've been able to help over 24,000 constituents who have contacted me with issues ranging from speeding, education or health issues to more complex cases needing a change in legislation like the dangerous cladding on people's homes.

I have always followed the ethos that an MP uses their voice to amplify those of underrepresented communities and it was a privilege to be recognised for this last year, when I was announced as the Patchwork Foundation's MP of the year for 2020.

Looking to the future, I will continue to fight on behalf of everyone in my constituency from Bartley Green to Harborne, Quinton and across to Edgbaston to tackle issues with speeding, rising mental health challenges and working with residents to address problems with exempt properties. I strive to make your voices heard in Parliament and hope that I continue to be an MP you are proud of to have represent you and your families.

Over the last week, we have seen data from Birmingham’s public health team now starting to show cases, in parts of the city, beginning to rise at an alarming rate. 
 
Birmingham’s average infection rate is 58.5 per 100,000. While this is still relatively low, it’s a 40% increase on the previous week and in certain wards around the city, rates are reaching as high as 180 per 100,000. 
 
We need to do everything we possibly can to stop the rate of infection from rising any further. This means following Government advice about how we meet up with people from other households in well-ventilated spaces but also, getting regular Covid tests and most importantly, getting vaccinated as soon as we possibly can.  
 
To keep our friends and family safe, vaccine uptake needs to increase substantially, particularly in wards like Edgbaston, where only 43.5% of 40–49-year-olds have taken up the offer of a first vaccine. This is one of the worst rates in the city and puts us at risk of the virus once again spreading. My second vaccine appointment will be very soon and I believe it is my responsibility, not just as an MP, but as a mother, a daughter, a friend and a member of my local community to play my part in our fight against and Covid to get the vaccine. 

Exempt properties are places which are designed to support some of our most vulnerable citizens. They are places that should offer safe accommodation and the appropriate levels of supervision and support depending on the needs of the resident.  
 
However, they are also properties which cannot be regulated in the same way as other properties or businesses because of their exempt status, meaning the standards being provided to residents greatly vary and often, it is the local community which feels the impact. We know there are huge problems with anti-social behaviour and crime linked to these types of properties.  
 
In Edgbaston, we have over 280 exempt properties right across the constituency. I have written to all these providers, notifying them of the actions I have now jointly taken with residents, the Police and Birmingham City Council to find a way to raise standards, stop this anti-social behaviour from happening and ultimately, close those properties which continue to be a burden on the communities they are meant to serve. I am also carrying out spot checks of these properties to ensure they are meeting the calibre we all would expect of them.

After new ONS figure showed that the Covid mortality rate got worse for Sikhs between the first and second wave, I wrote to the Government’s equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch MP, calling on him to urgently outline the actions he is taking to address these inequalities.  
It’s absolutely scandalous that despite the national outcry around inequalities and structural racism last year that this has been blithely ignored and allowed to worsen.  
 
In practical terms before Government can address the blatant inequalities Covid has exposed, basic information is needed, including how many Sikhs live in Britain, so resources are put in the right places to support our communities. 

This week an amendment was due to be voted upon in Parliament that would have likely seen a reversal to the Government’s cuts to global aid. Instead of allowing a fair and democratic process happen, the Government went into hiding and the vote did not go ahead. 
 
Working with MPs from across the political divide, we have made it clear that we will not turn our backs on the world’s poorest during the worst humanitarian crisis of our generation. On Tuesday we arranged for an emergency debate to take place in the Commons so that the Government could hear the effect that these cuts are having. 
 
UK funding for global aid automatically reduces or increases to reflect our economy, however, the Conservative Government callously slashed the budget by a further £4 billion, without carrying out any kind of impact assessments.  
 
Britain is the only G7 nation to cut aid during this global crisis and now our allies are taking note. With the G7 Summit happening today in Cornwall, the stubborn refusal by the Government to reverse its decision, has weakened the country’s position considerably. Notably, the US Congress has written a letter urging the UK to reconsider its position.