​Across the UK, 1 in 3 children leave primary school unable to swim, up from 1 in 4 in 2022. Childhood drownings have increased by 43% in the last year.
 
We need urgent interventions to keep our children safe around water, and save lives.
 
In January, I joined Speedo Swim United and Speedo athletes Ellie Simmonds OBE and Michael Gunning for the unveiling of the results of their 2023 pop-up pool initiative - Taking Pools to Playgrounds. The innovative programme brought temporary pools to seven schools in disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities across the Black Country, an area with a swimming attainment of less than 50 per cent and most children within walking distance of open water.
 
Through focused on-site swimming interventions, 742 children participated in daily swimming lessons for 3 weeks. Over the course of the programme, pupils of all swimming ability improved their swimming skills, with children and schools experiencing additional benefits such as reduced travel time, improved behaviour and maximised time in the water.
 
As a result of the Swim United intervention:

• 90% of children demonstrated safe self-rescue
• 79.1% of children increased the distance they can swim
• 89.6% demonstrated safe self-rescue theory
• 51% improved the ability to demonstrate a range of strokes

 
Within their report, Speedo Swim United are calling on policymakers to reform the school swimming education system. Alongside Swim United, I am calling for:

• Ringfence the funding needed from each pupil premium for investment in swimming provision
• Identify where swimming attainment is lowest in the UK, and therefore where additive intervention is needed
• Commit additional funding over and above the ringfenced pupil premium for the schools with lowest attainment 

Policing culture within the UK has, rightly, been under heavy scrutiny in recent years. High profile allegations of misogyny, racism and homophobia have stuck in the public conscience, alongside claims of corruption and collusion.
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In response, the Government, along with the major policing bodies, have committed to reforming our police service so that the publics faith in fair and accountable policing can be reestablished.
 
But if we are serious about reforming police culture, and I think we should be, then we must leave no stone unturned.
 
That is why on Wednesday 31st January I introduced my first 10 Minute Rule Bill into Parliament.
 
For the uninitiated, A 10-Minute Rule Bill is a parliamentary procedure that allows MPs to introduce a proposal for new legislation, giving them ten minutes to speak in favour of it, after which other MPs may raise objections or express support. While the procedure doesn't guarantee the bill will become law, it gives MPs an opportunity to draw attention to issues they wish to promote or maybe feel are overlooked in the day-to-day legislative agendas of the major political parties.
 
Simply put, my bill would require police officers and certain police force employees to declare their memberships or affiliations with certain societies or organizations.
 
My concerns are that secret societies, sometimes portrayed humorously in popular culture like The Simpsons, often exist beyond the realm of parody and in many instances have wielded undue and unscrutinised influence in areas of public life. While we tacitly accept these networks exist, the foundations of our nations policing model are built on the understanding of public trust and consent. Without transparency, how can we be confident that our public servants are acting fairly or honestly?
 
Closed groups, whether traditional Old Boys Clubs or modern-day WhatsApp groups, have existed within the police, and my proposed Bill will go further in addressing the need for transparency in the relationships between our public servants and these closed organisations.
 
Let me be clear that it is not my intention is not to impede any individuals' right to join clubs or societies or discourage members from entering certain professionals but to provide a mechanism for public scrutiny.
 
As someone who has spent two decades as a teacher and now as an MP, I have seen what can go wrong when organisations shun scrutiny and think they can get by marking their own homework. All organisations have a responsibility to change their culture for the better, by being honest and transparent about matters relating to governance and day-to-day operations.
 
Embracing transparency and accountability within policing will create a better, safer environment, not just for members of the public, but also our police officers who will be empowered by a trusting and confident public to serve our communities better.
 
This issue is a policing one, not a party political one and I thank my colleagues who have sponsored this bill, who come from 3 different parties.
 
If passed into law, I am hopeful that my bill, which gets its next reading on Friday 1st March, will serve as one of those many stones in desperate need of turning. 

In early 2020, I received a heartfelt message from one of my constituents, Pamela. She shared the distressing experience of losing her job at the Post Office several years ago after being falsely accused of financial impropriety. To add insult to the injustice, she was punished with 80 hours of community service for a crime she did not commit, and her good name and reputation was tarnished.
 
Pamela was one of over 700 victims of the Horizon Post Office Scandal, one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, which gained widespread public attention following the broadcast of the brilliant and incisive ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office.'
 
The drama told the distressing story of how a number of sub-postmasters like Pamela, who ran individual post office branches, experienced difficulties with the Horizon Post Office computer system, which was introduced from 1999. Errors showed false shortfalls on the accounts of postmasters, which the Post Office then demanded they cover. Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office used information from Horizon to investigate and act against postmasters and employees. In the wake of these false allegations, sub-postmasters were suspended, prosecuted, bankrupted, many saw their health deteriorate or their family life break down, and some tragically took their own lives.
 
In March 2020 I asked the Government how much longer victims like Pamela would be expected to wait for compensation but was given no definitive answer.
 
After several more years of waiting, this January the Government finally announced that it would overturn the convictions of all those convicted in England and Wales. While this will not undo the historic wrongs victims have suffered, this is an important step to securing compensation and ensuring that justice is finally delivered for the victims.
 
I welcome this step forward; however, it is shocking that people have still not been able to access the compensation they are entitled to and it shouldn’t have taken a television drama to jolt the Government into taking action.
 
The Horizon scandal stands as a dark chapter in our history and Parliament must ensure this can never happen again. It is time to right the wrongs, provide closure to those affected, and rebuild the trust that has been shattered by this egregious miscarriage of justice.

Recently, I was asked to contribute to Comment Central on the issue of Medical Cannabis, something which I've been passionate about since being elected. Find my article here: Medical cannabis barriers are failing patients | Comment Central or click 'Read More' below.