Campaign Responses

Agriculture Bill

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me on the Agriculture Bill.

Supertrawlers

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about sustainable fishing in British waters and the access of large trawling vessels to our waters.

Hen Harriers

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me regarding hen harriers and other birds of prey.

The Government has set out its commitment to securing the long-term future of the hen harrier in the following Written Answer:

Disposable Barbecues

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the use of disposable barbecues.

Military Exports to Saudi Arabia

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about military exports to Saudi Arabia.

VAT on Sunscreen

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about VAT on sunscreen.

Girls in Crisis

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about protecting girls in crisis.

British Food Production Standards

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about maintaining British food production standards ahead of any future trade deals.

Support for Post-16 Education during Coronavirus

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about how post-16 education is being supported through the coronavirus outbreak.

Independent and Local Newspapers

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about support for independent and local newspapers during coronavirus.

Like you, I appreciate just how important independent newspapers are.

Adult Social Care

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about adult social care.

We must all receive dignified care in old age and, with and ageing population, this is one of the biggest challenges our country faces.

Debt cancellation for the poorest countries in light of the coronavirus outbreak

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about debt cancellation for the poorest countries in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Immigration Detention during the Coronavirus outbreak

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about immigration detention during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

Cancer Services and Covid-19

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about cancer treatment during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

'No fault' Divorce

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about so-called ‘no fault’ divorce.

The end of a marriage is an extremely painful time for any couple, and I am aware of the strength of feeling on this issue.

Reception Baseline Assessments (RBA)

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about statutory assessments in primary schools.

Evictions during Coronavirus

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about evictions during coronavirus.

EU Transition Period

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the economy and your proposal to extend the transition period.

Air Quality

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about air quality.

New Clause 4 and the Trade Bill

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about New Clause 4 and the Trade Bill.

Planning System

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the planning process during the coronavirus outbreak.

Universal Basic Income

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about universal basic income.

West Bank Annexation

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Israel and the West Bank.

I appreciate your concerns about the situation in the region. That is why I firmly support the UK's longstanding position on the Middle East Peace Process.

Immigration and Public Funds

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the 'no recourse to public funds' campaign as the Coronavirus outbreak continues.

Airlines

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Government financial assistance for airlines.

Environment Bill

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the Environment Bill.

Antibiotics In Farming

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about antibiotics in farming.

Antibiotic resistance is the biggest threat to modern medicine and we must act now to help keep antibiotics effective for future generations.

School Uniform Costs

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about school uniform.

Israeli Settlements

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Israeli settlements and EDM 225.

The UK's position on Israeli settlements is clear. Settlements are illegal under international law and damaging to renewed efforts to launch peace negotiations.

Deforestation

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about deforestation, food and the Environment Bill.

Coronavirus

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Points-Based Immigration

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the UK’s points-based immigration system.

NHS Waiting Times

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about NHS Waiting times.

Food Trade Standards

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about food safety standards and the Agriculture Bill.

Fairtrade

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Fairtrade.

Domestic Abuse and Children

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about domestic abuse and children.

Religious Freedom

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about religious freedom.

Lung Disease

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about lung disease.

Windrush

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the Windrush generation.

Abortion in Northern Ireland

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about abortion in Northern Ireland.

Dementia Care

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about dementia care.

Ocean Protection

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the world’s oceans.

Oceans are currently facing unprecedented challenges, including climate change and over-fishing. It is more important than ever to take action to ensure our seas are healthy, abundant and resilient.

Online Abuse

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign.

Radiotherapy

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about radiotherapy.

Reading Tax

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about VAT being applied to digital publications.

House of Lords Bishops

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Bishops sitting in the House of Lords.

Party Funding

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about how political parties are funded.

Rough Sleeping

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about rough sleeping.

Child Refugees

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act.

Trophy Hunting

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about trophy hunting imports.

Whip In Horseracing

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the use of the whip in horseracing. I too share your concern for the welfare of horses.

Middle East Peace Process

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the Middle East Peace Process.

I appreciate your concerns about the situation in the region. That is why I firmly support the UK’s longstanding position on the Middle East Peace Process.

Future Agriculture Policy

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the UK’s future agricultural policy.

Onshore Wind

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about onshore wind farms.

I am pleased that clean growth has been placed at the heart of the new Industrial Strategy which aims to cut emissions while keeping costs down for consumers, create high value jobs and to grow the economy.

Huawei

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Huawei’s potential involvement in the UK’s rollout of 5G.

Achieving Net Zero

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

Clear Access, Clear Waters

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the “Clear Access, Clear Waters” campaign.

Child Marriage

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about child marriage.

Breastfeeding

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about infant feeding.

I recognise that breastfeeding is a personal choice for each woman to make and that not all mothers are able to or choose to breastfeed.

Alcohol and Beer Duty

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about alcohol and beer duty.

Electric Vehicles

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles will play a crucial role in helping the UK to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Mel receives a huge volume of campaign cards, letters and emails from constituents concerned about a variety of issues.

While individual constituency enquiries will be answered by email or letter, the growth in the volume of generic campaign correspondence now being received (sometimes receiving hundreds of identical or similar letters on the same issue) means that he no longer responds to these individually.

The time this saves is very significant and is spent addressing the considerable and often complex individual casework that he receives. In the case of letters, posting a single online reply compared to returning hundreds of responses in the post also saves the tax payer hundreds of pounds a year and is more environmentally-friendly. Be assured, Mel takes all generic campaign emails/letters very seriously and has posted his responses to them below.