It might feel like the news agenda is only reacting to one man right now. But, in the last parliamentary term, which broke up on April 8th, plenty else happened.

Protecting children from online harms was a topic that ran through my work last term. On its first day, I spoke about introducing a minimum age for social media, and in March, we debated the Safer Phones Bill, which I co-sponsored, for the first time.

While I was disappointed with the watered-down measures in the revised bill, I was pleased to see it progress. It’s becoming increasingly clear how dangerous smartphones and social media are for children; it’s time for legislators to act.

Another area where action is needed is dentistry. In the last debate of the term, I spoke about the shocking state of dentistry in South Devon, where not a single practice is taking on NHS patients.

The Government’s action on this has been glacial. With their cruel welfare cuts set to make the situation worse, I’m hoping to see the issue tackled with far greater urgency.

I’m also hoping to see the Government reverse course on its increase to employer national insurance contributions. After surviving the pandemic, many businesses simply don’t have the funds to survive such a tax rise, especially with all the disruption happening across the pond.

I’m particularly concerned about the lack of exemptions for healthcare providers, many of whom are already on the brink of bankruptcy.

Much like with its family farm tax, I’m not sure the Government realises the damage its policy will cause. On farming, I’ve continued to advocate for the Government to reverse its changes to Agricultural Property Relief, and recently, asked the Farming Minister what steps he is taking to make supply chains fairer.

I also led a parliamentary debate on the urban/rural divide, where I called on the Government to address the serious imbalance between funding for urban and rural areas.

Towards the end of term, I visited Canada as part of my role on the Education Select Committee to learn about their SEND approach.

SEND has become such a severe crisis in Devon. Under our Council’s current Conservative administration, our children have been repeatedly let down, with just 4.9% of Education, Health, and Care Plans being issued within the 20-week target.

With elections coming on Thursday 1st May, we can deliver our verdict on a Council that’s been failing our most vulnerable children for years.

Next term, we’ll be debating the Assisted Dying Bill again. I’ll also be running a parliamentary debate on estate management companies. And, of course, we have the council elections.

Away from parliament, I’ll also be participating in Strictly Rowcroft. Training is going well, and I have an extra spring in my step knowing I’m raising money for a charity that does such amazing work for our community.

You can find out more and buy tickets to come to the event on 17th May here: https://strictly-rowcroft.raiselysite.com/caroline-voaden

If you wish to contact me about any issue raised here or another you are facing, please do so at: [email protected]