Dear John,

This week we saw the Government finally responding to sustained pressure from Birmingham MP’s, councillors and residents action groups about the rising number of non-commissioned exempt accommodation across our city.  
 
While it is fantastic to see the Government finally responding to our continued calls for reform, his response falls far too short as there is little by way of detail. The Minister has announced a three-year improvement programme. However, he has failed to include any detail. We must see greater transparency from Government on the changes they propose, the impact on exempt and HMO properties and the timescales for implementing any change. 
 
The Government have failed to publish the data from the pilot schemes they have already undertaken, and it is vital that these finding be shared immediately. We need urgent reform, not just a position of intent. Our communities are picking up the pieces due to a lack of regulation and those most vulnerable are not receiving the support they need. We need a clear strategy and commitment from this Conservative government to work with the City’s MPs and implement the asks as outlined in the petition I launched with the Birmingham Mail here. 
 
Exempt housing is something I will be continuing to work hard to improve both locally with the council and, nationally in Parliament. To do this, it is vital we hear from those most affected. If you are a support worker for a registered provider or have lived in this type of accommodation and would like to speak to me directly about your experiences, please do get in touch. You can contact me on 0121 392 8426 or [email protected] 

Over the past ten years residents across our Edgbaston constituency (including Quinton, Bartley Green, Harborne, Edgbaston and North Edgbaston) have felt the direct impact of cuts to local Police forces with crime increasing across key indicators. Burglary has increased by 11%, knife crime by 29% and vehicle crime by 16% all in the last 12 months.   
 
The Conservative Government has cut 20,000 officers nationally and this has filtered down to the West Midlands where £175 million has been cut from Policing budgets and over 2,000 officers have been taken off the streets. Locally, this has meant Quinton and Bartley Green have been forced to share a Policing team. This is simply not good enough. 
 
I am delighted to announce that working alongside Simon Foster, our West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, and with the support of local Labour Party candidates for Quinton Lauren Rainbow and Sam Forsyth, Quinton will see a new and dedicated Police Sergeant, Bushra Zarif, who will join the ward with Bartley Green retaining Sergeant Mark Short and Harborne maintaining its Police team. 
 
Sergeant Zarif has already done an outstanding job working in Harborne and will have a good understanding of the issues as she moves over to Quinton. This will be vital as she will look to work with myself and local residents to really challenge many of the existing problems like speeding and exempt housing.  
 
As crime has drastically increased over the last decade, it is our Police officers on the ground that are vital in tackling this. That is why, I have campaigned for this change since I was first elected, back in 2017. However, we must continue to challenge at both a national and regional level, the number of officers we have available across the constituency, to ensure we begin to address this deficit. This has involved many conversations with operational Police teams and our Police and Crime Commissioner. It’s fantastic to see this positive end result. 

I was pleased to see that the planning application for the old Benson for Beds unit on Harborne High Street has been refused following residents and I raising objections. 
 
Many residents from Lingfield Court contacted me regarding this planning application. With retirement flats being situated directly above this unit, it was an inappropriate proposal which would have had a huge impact on the lives of the residents living there. The unit was to change to a late-night restaurant with dancefloor and while this doesn't require planning permission, the installation of large equipment did.  
 
We need variation and support for our local high streets. However, businesses which join the High Street must understand the community they will be serving and add value for residents rather than exacerbating problems. 

This week I joined the BBC Politics Live panel for which we discussed a range of topics including the situation in Ukraine and homes for refugees; continuing cuts to the aid budget at a time when we have numerous humanitarian crises; the rising Cost of Living; the long-overdue release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori; the growing issue of Exempt Accommodation and; the Online Harms Bill. 
 
You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer.