Here in Stourbridge and across the West Midlands, we are starting to see signs of spring, and signs the Labour government’s manifesto pledges are bearing fruit.

£2 million new funding for Dudley College; more local childcare places; a rapid reduction in local NHS waiting lists; a financial boost to drive economic growth in our region, and solar panels for many of our schools and hospitals.

For further education, Dudley College heard this week that it will receive £2,162,123 in government funds to fix, maintain and improve its facilities. The college will now assess where to spend the money. However, it is expected to benefit the college’s Brierley Hill campuses, including its Inspired and Aspire buildings.

We will get forty new childcare places locally after two schools were selected for government funding. Beechwood Church of England Primary School and Maidensbridge Primary School in Dudley Borough are among the first three hundred nationally to be given a school-based nursery. The project will provide 6,000 new childcare places, many of them ready for September.

In just four months, October to January, more than 3,500 people received hospital treatment after months stuck on waiting lists at Dudley Group NHS Trust. It comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, chose it for targeted, fast-track support. Dudley is one of 20 NHS Trusts to get enhanced help because locally we have more people than average out of work and waiting for treatment.

Last month, a budget of £1.2 billion was approved by West Midlands politicians. This will drive economic growth, build more social and affordable housing, improve transport links, and give people the skills they need to get good jobs.

And more sunny news for the West Midlands, forty-nine schools and six NHS sites will be fitted with solar panels to significantly reduce energy bills. It is the first major project for the Labour Government’s publicly owned energy company – Great British Energy.

The funding includes Dudley Group NHS Trust, which will receive £31,800 – estimates suggest this will save the Trust up to £1 million on energy bills, over the lifetime of the panels. The local schools will be named in the coming months. The first panels are expected to be delivered by the end of this summer.

In my wider role as an MP, this month I travel to Strasbourg as part of the UK Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe. The Council was founded following WWII – largely to uphold democratic principles. It is separate from the EU and includes Turkey.

It is a pivotal time to be part of the Council for Europe as the Ukraine war, political instability in Türkiye, Trump tariffs, US rhetoric on Europe and Russian troop expansion pose a real threat to our continent’s peace and prosperity.

With challenging times globally and locally still so much to do, this job is not easy. That is why I am so grateful for all the support the people of Stourbridge give me. Thank you.