IT HAS been a busy start to the year. While we have now left the EU, there are many unresolved issues that will continue to demand attention.

I was able to participate in the Grenfell Debate in Parliament earlier this month and I find it simply staggering that two and a half years after Grenfell, the Government are still only beginning to address fire safety and cladding removal. Speaking directly to the Minister for Housing, I told her that residents who live in blocks with ACM cladding face significant stress and concern.

Many of the people affected are private tenants or leaseholders, who have little recourse to take any substantial action on their own. They are often locked into a situation where the freeholder has the power to remove the material but is struggling to do so. The problem is ongoing, and it may be getting worse because of the lack of response from central Government.

I will be writing to all residents who live in flats to ask for their views over the next few weeks and will be working hard to ensure all ACM cladding is removed from buildings in Reading East.

Over 7,000 EU citizens are facing administrative nightmares in order to prove they have a right to live here. I will be writing to all EU citizens in Reading over the next month to assure them of my support and to learn of any difficulties any are having applying to remain in the UK.

My team has been dealing with issues with the settlement scheme, some of whom have been living here most of their lives.

Some of them are truly heart-breaking, from the French citizen who has lived here all his life fearing a hostile environment to medical doctors forced to request permission to stay in the UK despite caring for our neediest.

I want to assure EU citizens living in Reading East that I am on their side and will be working hard over the next few months to ensure that all who want to live here are able to do so.