Parliament is now back in full swing and we had an eventful week with important policy announcements, legislative milestones, lots of constituency meetings and a new Deputy Leader.

On Monday, the Education Secretary launched the White Paper for post-16 education and skills, which sets out our plans to transform vocational opportunities and meet our target for two thirds of young people to reach higher learning.

We will end outdated views about education by proving that the traditional university route is not the only game in town for our young people to get on in life. Apprenticeships, vocational and technical college courses can open the door to so many exciting and rewarding careers. As part of modernising vocational career pathways, we are creating V-Levels, which will sit alongside A-Levels and T-Levels and give our young people a full range of options to make the right step for their progression.

Unlike the previous Government – which flattered to deceive on apprenticeships – our ambitions are backed by real money, with significant investments of £800 million into colleges and sixth forms next year, and over £1 billion into digital skills and AI learning, engineering, defence, and training 60,000 new construction workers.

We must also continue to support our world-renowned universities and ensure that our young people have the opportunity to go into Higher Education if this is the right choice for them. That is why we are introducing new targeted maintenance grants for tens of thousands of students from lower-income households, which will help remove a young person’s background and financial means being a barrier to fulfilling their university aspirations.

I was delighted to see final amendments for our landmark Renters’ Rights Bill completed on Wednesday, paving the way for Royal Assent. This is crucial legislation that will finally level the playing field for renters and landlords, and I am proud that the Government is delivering on another key manifesto pledge in our second year.

The Bill will mean that people can feel more secure when renting by ending section 21 no-fault evictions, providing fairer tenancies, improving the quality and safety of rental properties, and giving tenants the power to hold unscrupulous landlords to account. Our reforms will also benefit landlords by creating a much simpler regulatory framework to operate in. Tackling the housing crisis is a personal passion for me as my blog subscribers will know, and it is really encouraging to be part of a Government that is taking this seriously and making positive change that will benefit millions of people across the country and thousands of my constituents.

On Thursday, the House of Commons held a debate to mark Black History Month. The Minister for Equalities spoke passionately in the debate, championing black British trailblazers that have made a huge contribution in the UK and globally, from Ignacious Sancho to Trevor Carter and Olive Morris.

She rightly warned that, whilst we have made huge progress in fighting injustice and the scourge of racism, we must unite and redouble our efforts to stop the growth of far-right and right-wing populism in its tracks and push for racial equality. Labour is the party of equality and justice, and I am proud that this Government is delivering on these values with commitments to deliver justice to victims of the Windrush scandal, tackle structural racial inequalities across the country, and bring forward the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay.

I was pleased to be back in the constituency on Friday, where I started the day at a meeting with local carers, who were keen to talk to me about the importance of supported work opportunities for the people they care for. I heard about the positive impact of work when people with autism are appropriately supported, which reflects what I have found with my ministerial work.  It will be great to see how our plans for supported and improved work opportunities benefit my disabled constituents.

I then spent some time planning my upcoming community cohesion event for local community leaders.  So many of you have written to me with concerns about the graffiti and unauthorised flags that have appeared in Stretford and Urmston, sharing the unsettling impact this is having on our community, which has led me to arrange a meeting where leaders can come together, share their concerns and discuss how we can improve community cohesion in our area. I’ll update residents with the outcomes from the meeting soon.

I ended the day in a robust discussion with TfGM about public transport to Partington, where I outlined the concerns raised by Partington residents about buses and the ring and ride service. We’ve got a follow up meeting in a few weeks to see if any improvements can be made to services.

On Saturday I popped into Partington to meet with business owners about possible future developments. When these are confirmed, I’ll share the details.

We ended the week with Lucy Powell being elected as the new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Lucy is a fantastic and experienced parliamentarian, and I know that she will work flat out to unite the party, fight for Labour’s values, and support the Government in delivering our plan for change.