I combine my work as your local community champion with my role as Government Minister.
This allows me to come up with good ideas that benefit our area and the whole country - and then turn them into real laws and policies that make a positive difference to people's lives.
Below you’ll find a summary of my key successes in Westminster when I was your local MP. Click here for my successes locally (opens a separate web page).
1. Creating the NHS Reserves – a new part of the NHS family
I successfully campaigned for the creation of a national NHS Reserve to allow volunteers to step up to support the NHS in time of need. I introduced the law in Parliament that proposed the creation of the NHS Reserves.
The Covid pandemic showed how volunteers with experience of working in healthcare were prepared to return to work when the NHS faces pressures like the Covid pandemic. During the pandemic nearly 50,000 qualified professionals including retired doctors and nurses responded to the call for experienced healthcare workers in the NHS and I salute their commitment and hard work. A further 750,000 non-clinical volunteers signed up to support the work of the NHS, at vaccination clinics and in other parts of the Health Service.
The range of skills an NHS Reserve would draw on would include doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, as well as non-clinical roles such as drivers, electricians, logistics specialists, IT experts and communications professionals.
I was pleased my plan has been supported by The Times newspaper and the former Health Secretary and Chair of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, Jeremy Hunt MP.
2. Leading the successful campaign to ban new pagers and fax machines in the NHS
Our NHS depends on clinicians and healthcare workers being able to access information about patients and their records securely and quickly. But despite huge advances in medicine and the introduction of new treatments in the NHS, it was being held back by reliance on 1970s-era technology such as fax machines and pagers.
Outdated technology holds back patient care and is expensive to maintain. To make the NHS fit for the needs of modern society, I wrote an influential report, “Powerful Patients, Paperless Systems” and introduced a new law (a Bill) to Parliament to ban pagers and faxes. In my report I set out how the NHS can achieve three key targets:
- Moving the NHS from a paper-first service to a digital-first service.
- Building an ecosystem of innovation in the NHS so that all information transfers within it happen digitally.
- Ensuring that the savings from innovation are ploughed back into frontline services, with support for research and development increasing in line with NHS budgets.
I was pleased that I received support for this campaign from the Government, with fax machines being banned in the NHS from 2020.
3. Proposed the NHS App, which helps millions of patients access NHS services and advance productivity
I wrote a report on how the NHS can take advantage of new technology to improve patient care, “Powerful Patients, Paperless Systems” and proposed the creation of an NHS app.
The NHS app is now up and running, and allows patients to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, and receive advice on accessing the right treatment for them.
4. Developing the Help to Grow policy to help SMEs adopt technology to improve productivity
I was raised in the world of small business, working in my family’s high street shop in York. My parents worked long, unsociable hours to keep the business going whilst bringing up a family, and I was privileged to join them from a young age serving customers from behind the counter and helping with the accounts.
In the Havant Constituency we have many thriving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) whose work I support and celebrate.
As a Treasury Minister and Co-Chair of the Conservative Party’s Policy Board, I developed a key policy to help SMEs take advantage of new technology to improve their productivity. Small firms often don’t have the time or resources to obtain the additional technology or skills they need to be more productive. Therefore, I welcomed the Help to Grow schemes introduced by the Treasury – Help to Grow Management and Help to Grow Digital. These two schemes boost SMEs with support for their training costs and for the costs of purchasing productivity-enhancing software.
At every Budget, Conservative Chancellors are keen to help our businesses grow and prosper. I will continue to work with business owners in the Havant Constituency and look forward to further successes like the Help to Grow schemes.
5. Identifying critical minerals as a key national security issue
Advanced manufacturing industries depend on access to several critical minerals which we need to source from around the world. I have called for the creation of an alliance for critical minerals similar to the “Five Eyes” pact with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA for intelligence gathering and sharing.
Critical minerals all have unique properties which means they cannot easily be replaced in manufacturing processes. They are vital for producing components in modern consumer goods, battery technology and defence.
Critical minerals can be difficult to mine, and processing capacity is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries. Consequently, it is important for the UK that we identify and protect our supply.
The UK is a leader in recycling and lean manufacturing but I have called for the establishment of a National Critical Minerals Council to bring together scientists, industry and Government to ensure that we keep this issue at the forefront of policymaking and develop our national resilience.
6. Leading the campaign to make Britain the leader of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
I have led work in Parliament on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the new wave of technological change driven by computing and digital technology which is revolutionising our world. For five years I have led the campaign to make the UK a leader in the 4IR, delivering transformational benefits for industry and society.
4IR brings together the use of data analysis, artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, and advances such as quantum computing to drive productivity increases and further innovation in our economy. Government can help by incentivizing investment and research and development (R&D) and by helping business take advantage of the new technologies where they need assistance. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) the 4IR offers the potential to expand and develop but they are the firms least likely to have the expertise necessary to integrate 4IR techniques into their business. I was pleased that the Government followed up my suggestions to create two new Help to Grow schemes, covering financial support for management and training, and investment in software solutions which can increase productivity.
I organised and led the first ever debate in Parliament on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and I will continue to highlight the benefits of it for businesses in the Havant Constituency and across the UK.
7. Leading the successful campaign to secure Government funding for school breakfast clubs
Helping children and young people get the best start in life is one of my top priorities for the Havant Constituency and the UK.
I am a strong supporter of school breakfast clubs because they help children start the school day without being hungry, boosting children's concentration and classroom attainment.
I served as President and Trustee of Magic Breakfast, a national charity helping bring healthy and nutritious breakfasts to children who are unable to get breakfast at home before they start their school day. It works across the country in major cities including London, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Blackburn, as well as in the Havant Constituency.
Magic Breakfast has been supported by Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, and by Boris Johnson both as Mayor of London and Prime Minister.
In Parliament, I have continued my support for Magic Breakfast, championing school breakfast clubs, and engaging with Ministers on issues from child poverty to support for school breakfast clubs. I am a strong supporter of the National School Breakfast Club Programme, which is funded by Government and which Magic Breakfast delivers nationally alongside another charity, and which is a direct result of my campaigning over the years.
Locally, I brokered a £30,000 grant from the FatFace Foundation to enable Magic Breakfast to work with Havant Academy to set up a breakfast club. The club is open to all children at the school and is popular with pupils who get not only a breakfast but a chance to meet friends and go into the school day prepared and focussed. Around 100 pupils use the breakfast club each day.