Dear John,

Today my advice surgeries reopened for the first time since the pandemic began. During the last 18 months, we have all had to find new ways of working. For me, this has unfortunately meant putting in-person advice surgeries on hold and predominantly relying upon email and telephone to support constituents. In this time, more than 10,000 residents have contacted me with questions and concerns, and I have sought to provide the best help I can to resolve their issues. 
 
I am pleased to finally be able to once again hold in-person advice surgeries and be able to meet face-to-face with residents. I will be attending: 
 
Newman University – 2-3pm – Genners Lane, Bartley Green, B32 3NT  
Lordswood Girls School – 6.30-7.30pm – Knightlow Road, Harborne, B17 8QB  
 
Unfortunately, this is a more limited choice of locations due to the reduced availability of communal spaces. However, I will be hosting more advice surgeries right across the constituency, as soon as it is possible and as more community centres and other spaces reopen. 

I have challenged Birmingham City Council on the condition of roads across the constituency for the last several years. I’m thrilled to announce that this sustained campaign has brought success.  
 
Last month the council announced the commitment of £100 million to repair and resurface roads across Birmingham. During this time, I continued to lobby the council including the cabinet member for transport and the leader of the council to ensure that a good portion of this funding would see the roads in Edgbaston constituency repaired. This included bringing key decision makers to the constituency to show them in-person where work was needed. 
 
I’m absolutely delighted to announce that as part of the 2021/22 Highways Maintenance Works Programme, delivered by your Labour led Council, we will see the biggest scheme in the city happen in Quinton, where more than 9000m of roads and over 2500m of pathways to be resurfaced. We’ll also see key locations like Harborne High Street, Bristol Road and Metchley Lane get some much-needed attention. 
 
This work will begin in the next few weeks and as it progresses, I will ensure to keep you updated. 
 

As Co-Chair for the West Midlands All Party Parliamentary Group, this week the group launched an inquiry to investigate strategic planning and infrastructure in the West Midlands. As part of the inquiry, we are calling for individuals, local businesses, organisations and community groups to share their views on several questions, including: 
 
- How can local authorities ensure that the right sites are coming forward in the right places, and what additional infrastructure, if any, is needed to unlock more sites?  
- What support is needed to ensure that the most is made from existing projects?  
- How can we balance the demand for development with protecting greenbelt in the West Midlands? 
- What could authorities do to encourage the delivery of more affordable and family homes? 
- What support could authorities provide to encourage the delivery of more land for employment? 
 
After a difficult few years for the West Midlands, it is important that we don’t simply settle for going back to business as usual. The economic recovery from Covid is an opportunity to develop new ideas to boost regeneration and create jobs and growth for the people who live and work in our region. 
  
This report will help us to understand how we can make better decisions about the buildings, transport and other facilities that the West Midlands needs. We look forward to hearing the views and ideas of local businesses and organisations on how we can make the most of our region’s huge potential. 
 
If you have an opinion you would like to share, evidence you can provide or best practice to suggest for the region, please make sure your voice is heard by responding to the consultation. 

The Conservative Government is failing to tackle the climate emergency and we are paying the price. Too many communities are left vulnerable, too many people have lost green jobs and too little investment has been made to make our industries truly green.  
 
This year the Prime Minister has already failed to deliver at the G7 and the Global Education Summit. Now he’s set to fail to deliver at Cop26 Summit in November. At the summit, the Government must show their plans to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions for this decade, to avoid catastrophic and irreversible changes to the climate. Yet, the Government is off-track to meet its own targets. The Prime Minister needs to step up, think big and show global leadership. 
 
It's time to start treating the climate emergency as the emergency it is. With Labour's Green New Deal, tackling the climate crisis would be at the heart of our plan to invest in good, green jobs and restore our communities.