Important work ahead.

Working full-time on minimum wage can leave you earning too much for legal aid, yet unable to afford a lawyer. I’ve tabled an amendment to raise legal aid thresholds before more cases move to magistrates’ courts. Your access to justice shouldn’t depend on your bank balance.

.@UKLabour is giving breathing space now and hope for the future: 🚌The £2 bus fare cap ⚡VAT off electricity bills this winter 🏠A route to a first home with a 2.5% deposit 🏬Funding to revive derelict high street buildings 🍻Business rates relief for pubs, clubs & music venues.

Really enjoyed meeting law students at the @DerbyUni Freshers’ Fair. After 17 years as a barrister, it took me back to when I was starting out. That’s why I wanted to turn a false story about my education into some support for local state-school students following the same path.

Giving every Crown Court in England and Wales a dedicated rape and serious sexual offences courtroom is a real step forward. I spoke about it during Radio 4's Westminster Hour. Listen here 👇

What does chairing the Justice Select Committee actually mean? I spoke to @BBCDerby about asking the difficult questions, holding the Government to account and working to improve our courts, prisons, probation and access to justice - all whilst continuing to put Derby first.

Government is deporting more foreign national offenders - and rightly so. Receiving countries must have the information to manage serious offenders and protect victims from harm. In my first question as Justice Committee Chair, I pressed Ministers on how they’ll deliver that.

My fellow candidates Mary Creagh, Janet Daby and Sarah Russell all brought considerable experience and a strong case for how the Committee should approach its work. I look forward to working together.

My state school education gave me the opportunity to become a barrister. Now, a false media story about that education will help Derby students follow the same path. Our justice system is stronger when talent from every background can be part of it. theguardian.com/education/20…

Rehabilitation is part of making punishment work. At HMP Foston Hall, I saw women learning catering skills to help them find work and build a life without crime after release. Giving more people that route out of reoffending helps make our communities safer.

Court decisions about a child’s contact with a parent need the right support to work well. I visited Derby Child Contact Centre to learn how its volunteers help put those decisions into practice, providing a safe setting with children’s wellbeing at its heart.

At HMP Foston Hall, I saw women learning catering skills with a clear route in mind: training in prison, then work on release. That pathway can help cut reoffending, mean fewer future victims and save the public the cost of people cycling back through the system.

At Darley ABC, young people have plenty of positive role models in their corner. A Boxing APPG report highlighted how boxing clubs can reach young people other services struggle to engage and help put them on a positive path - and I loved seeing that in action.

Prison must punish crime. But the real test is whether it prevents the next one. As a barrister, I saw offenders return to court again & again. If people leave prison no better equipped to live a law-abiding life, the revolving door keeps turning - and the public pays the price.

Survivors should not have to navigate a maze of services to get help after abuse or trauma. For 50 years, Derby Women’s Centre has offered one trusted door: a safe place, expert support and help to move forward. Good to catch up with Yasmin and the team about this vital work.

Victims should not have to plan their lives around perpetrators. The new victims’ hotline will launch next month. Now we must go further. I pressed the Justice Secretary to expand restriction zones, so it is perpetrators’ freedom that is curtailed -not that of their victims.

Parliament returns tomorrow. I’ll keep working with colleagues to push for a justice system that works for Derby North and the country. My latest Derby Telegraph column looks at the progress being made - and the work still ahead.