The big story in Parliament last week was the Budget. After months of speculation over what he might do, the Chancellor finally revealed his plans for the UK economy.

The headline from a fairly unremarkable set of measures was the cut to national insurance contributions.

Labour has long argued that the tax burden on working people is too high, so we welcomed this cut. But, as usual, the Tories are giving with one hand and taking away with the other. For every 10p extra working people will pay in tax under the Tories’ plan, they will only be getting 5p back in National Insurance cuts.

Ultimately, nothing announced by the Chancellor last week changes the reality facing people in Stretford and Urmston: their taxes are still rising, prices are still going up and mortgages remain high. My constituents needed real help with the cost-of-living crisis, support for our crumbling NHS and a programme of affordable house building, but they got a Budget that was more focused on the Tory election campaign than a solution to the problems which keep them up at night.

Away from the Budget, I was proud to support the APPG on Households in Temporary Accommodation as it delivered a petition to Downing Street, calling for action on the tragic deaths of children in temporary accommodation. Between 2018 and 2023, 55 children lost their life suddenly with the temporary accommodation they were sleeping in being listed as a contributing factor to their death.

The petition calls on the Government to ensure there are safe sleeping arrangements for all children in temporary accommodation and it has my full support. You can read more here.

On the topic of hugely important petitions, I was able to use Business Questions in Parliament to raise the phenomenal campaigning work of my constituent, Michele. Michele, a cancer survivor, has been campaigning on access to dentistry for cancer patients for years and her petition now has almost 200,000 signatures.

We know that cancer treatment can have traumatic impact on oral health, so it’s vital that cancer patients have better access to dental services. I’ll be writing to the minister responsible for dentistry to further highlight Michele’s campaign. You can see my question here.

As always, there were plenty of meetings for me in Parliament last week. One of which was with the Northwest Regional Director of Ofsted. He gave me an overview of children’s social care and education in the Trafford area, and I voiced some of the concerns that have been shared with me by local teachers and parents on Ofsted. We also discussed education and children’s care more generally.

I also had chance to drop into a World Book Day event. Data shows that reading for pleasure is one of the key indicators of a child’s future success, yet 1 in 15 children in the UK do not own a book of their own. I’m very worried about the impact this will have on the aspirations and futures of children in Stretford and Urmston. By attending the event, I was entered into a competition where the prize will be free books being distributed to schools in the constituency, so fingers crossed I’m lucky!

Back in the constituency, my Friday was packed full of meetings with residents. I hold regular advice surgeries across the constituency so my team and I can listen to issues constituents are having and do our best to help them. Last week we heard from a resident who has now been waiting for months to get scan results back for a possible cancer diagnosis. This is utterly unacceptable, and I’ll be raising his case in Parliament.

Another important meeting was with residents of Oakfield Court retirement village. Residents of Oakfield Court first contacted me months ago about large and consecutive yearly increases to their service charge (which covers rent and maintenance). As well as writing letters to McCarthy Stone who run Oakfield Court, I’ve raised the concerns of residents in Parliament and with BBC News. On Friday, I caught up with residents to see what further action I can take to represent their concerns.

Last but not least, you might have already seen my latest article in The Messenger on Kellogg’s deeply worrying proposals to close their Trafford Park factory. I remain completely opposed to these plans and I’ll continue to urge Kellogg’s to reconsider in the months ahead.

That’s the latest from me. Thanks for reading.