John,

Here are some highlights of my work from the past couple of weeks:

In Hove, the Home Office has put vulnerable, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at risk by placing them in hotels – and now 200 have gone missing. I secured an Urgent Question in the House of Commons, to force the Home Office to provide some answers. The missing children must be found as soon as possible, and their safety guaranteed. But these children are also being left in legal limbo while the Home Office ducks clarity over the legal responsibility for them. In my Metro column, I argued that the dangerous practice of using hotels to house unaccompanied children must end.

It was so powerful hearing from nurses on the picket line in Brighton, as part of the biggest NHS strike in history. This is not a decision any nurse has taken lightly. But conditions in the NHS are simply not sustainable, for staff or patients, with critical staffing shortages putting its future at risk. Some in Brighton describe working in the NHS "like being in a war zone". Many nurses are exhausted, working extra shifts to make ends meet. Government ministers often spoke of healthcare workers’ heroism during the pandemic, but warm words and applause don’t pay bills. I am demanding fair and decent pay for NHS workers, long-term investment, a staff recruitment and retention plan, and for the NHS to remain in public hands.

The Government’s new Environmental Improvement Plan came out last week – which saw lots of warm words about the importance of nature - and yet which are also being totally undermined by Government actions. On BBC Radio 4 Today and in the House of Commons, I condemned their inconsistency in asking councils to improve air quality, but continuing a £27 billion national roadbuilding plan; and in saying they'll adopt new nature regulations, while putting at risk 1,700 crucial environmental laws which could end up on the Brexit bonfire, as part of the Retained EU Law Bill. New pledges are all well and good, but we need to see delivery, and we need to see funding to meet them.

Air pollution wreaks havoc on millions of lives – including the life of Ella Roberta Adoo Kiss-Debrah, who tragically died aged 9 from air pollution, and was the first person to have air pollution listed on her death certificate. At Prime Minister’s Questions last week, I asked Rishi Sunak to meet with me and Ella’s mum Rosamund, to discuss Ella’s Law, a new more ambitious set of protections from toxic air which I’m championing in the House of Commons – but he refused. His claim that the Government’s air pollution targets are “world-leading” is ludicrous, when they’re 10 years behind EU targets and WHO guidelines. I’ll continue pushing for him to meet with me and Rosamund, to pass Ella’s Law, and to make clean air a human right for all.

The Government has recklessly overruled scientific advice to greenlight the use of neonicotinoids for the third year in a row – highly toxic pesticides known to kill millions of bees, which are critical to the survival of our natural world. I spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on pesticides, and in the House of Commons I asked the Environment Secretary how on earth the Government can claim it is “halting and reversing the decline in nature”, while pursuing such wanton destruction of bee and insect populations. My comments were covered by the Independent.

Pfizer and Moderna are reportedly considering hiking up the cost of vital COVID-19 booster jabs – which have already earned them huge profits. I’ve written a cross-party letter to the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna, demanding that they confirm right now that the cost of these vaccines won't rise. A people-funded vaccine should be cheap and freely available – it mustn’t be used as a profit-making exercise for Big Pharma, and put yet more strain on the NHS and our public finances. You can read more about my letter in The Argus.

Public toilets are essential social infrastructure, vital for public health and inclusion, and necessary for people with long term conditions, disabilities, young children, homeless people and others of all ages to get out and about. This week I tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament, calling on the Government to provide all local councils with sufficient funding to ensure public toilets across the country can remain open. Toilet access should be a statutory duty. My motion is also mentioned in The Argus.

It was a delight to visit Shoreham Port last week – as a "Trust Port", they re-invest most of the income they make back into the Port, often in collaboration with the local community and businesses on the site. It was inspiring to hear about the work they are doing on sustainability and renewable energy – with some exciting ambitions to make the Port a model for how things can be done. It was so refreshing to see this how businesses and surrounding community can work together to bring well paid jobs and investment into the area and I'm looking forward to working with Tom and the team in the future. The Port Kitchen is open to the public so if you fancy a coffee or lunch with some impressive views do head down! 

I've written to a developer involved in building at least 12 blocks in Brighton Pavilion, suffering from defects, requiring remedial work, or facing fire safety concerns. I've asked them to confirm whether they will sign the developer pledge, and commit to taking responsibility to address fire safety defects. More than five years on from Grenfell, many in Brighton & Hove still live in blocks where remedial work is needed, but legal wrangling between housing providers and developers is preventing this from happening. So many have been left in legal limbo, struggling to sell their homes because of fire safety concerns – those who developed or refurbished these blocks must accept responsibility.

It’s always a pleasure to catch up with the lovely folks at Brighton Gin. I'm so proud of Brighton's unique local economy and this multi-award-winning, handmade business is one of many putting our city on the map. From exports to Australia, to discussing challenges related to Brexit, it was great to speak with Kathy and the team who showed me behind the scenes at their craft gin distillery. If you're interested in finding out more about the history of craft gin, how Brighton Gin started on a kitchen table by the seaside and the processes and botanicals they use you can book tours via their website. 

If you are a local resident and need help with case work or to find out more about my activities locally please do contact me at the office of: Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Media Centre 15-17 Middle Street, Brighton BN1 1AL. Tel: 01273 201 130. Email: [email protected]

I hold regular surgeries across the constituency. If you would like to book an appointment at a forthcoming surgery please call Liz Collis on 01273 201130. She coordinates my constituency office and is able to help with most local enquiries.

If you would like to know about my parliamentary work please get in touch at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Tel: 020 7219 7025. Email: [email protected]

You can also keep up to date with my news on:

Twitter: @carolinelucas

Facebook: /carolinelucas.page

My Website: www.carolinelucas.com

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