If it takes a village to raise a child, then the welfare and ability to thrive of all our children is the responsibility of all of us to get right.

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“With this Bill the Government is making a cruel, unnecessary and callous political choice. Recklessly pushing this Bill through parliament shows that ministers are still not listening to the millions of Disabled people who will be catastrophically affected by these reforms about how their daily lives really work. 

“Disabled people already disproportionately struggle to get by and, by ripping away essential PIP support, ministers are aware they are actively pushing hundreds of thousands more households into poverty. 

“The tiny tweaks made to these proposals will do nothing to quell the deep fears of Disabled people across the country or the growing rebellion on the Labour backbench. Now is the time for MPs to take a decisive moral stand and vote against this Bill’s second reading. 

“This Government has shown it is willing to cater to the wealthy, I challenge it to do the same for those most in need. Scrap these dangerous plans, introduce a wealth tax, and build a social security system free from shame that supports everyone in our communities to live healthily, happily and free from fear.”

ENDS

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Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, so far backed by cross-party Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Independent MPs, will present the new Bill to the House of Commons with a ten minute speech on Tuesday 1 July. 

The proposals in the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill enshrine the human right to breathe clean air into UK law and would require the Government to achieve clean air throughout England by 1 January 2030, setting out a pathway to bring the country in line with World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines. 

Ella’s mother Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died of severe asthma aged just nine caused by air pollution primarily from emissions on the south circular road close to where they lived in London. 

This week, campaigners, health professionals, local authorities and schools across the country will mark Clean Air Day on Thursday 19 June, along with its 2025 theme of ‘Health’ to highlight the physical impacts of what is widely considered the biggest environmental threat to human health worldwide. In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year. 

In 2022, a similar version of Ella’s law was steered through the House of Lords by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb. It was later sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP in the House of Commons until Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election.  

Siân Berry hopes that with support from the influential Labour, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru and Conservative MPs supporting the Bill, it will build up a critical mass of public and parliamentary support during this Parliament and be picked up by the Government in the next King’s Speech. Key supporters of the Bill to date are:  

• Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP  

• Stella Creasy MP  

• Wera Hobhouse MP 

• Shockat Adam MP  

• Ellie Chowns MP  

• Seamus Logan MP  

• Afzal Khan MP 

• Ruth Jones MP  

Siân Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: 

“Clean air is a human right, and it is time the law recognised this. Deaths like Ella’s, and the millions of lives blighted by preventable diseases caused by air pollution, can be a thing of the past if Governments start taking the right action now.  

“Rosamund’s campaign is gaining momentum and communities across the country are raising air pollution as a key problem in their local area, so it is great to have representatives from all parties joining together to press for a legal right to breathe clean air.  

“Finally passing Ella’s Law will save lives, as it will make sure we get new targets, and the funding for local areas to achieve them by cutting down on the many causes of toxic pollution, from road traffic to wood burning.  

“I look forward to presenting the Bill in Parliament and I hope to work with more and more MPs joining together to pass Ella’s Law and protect generations to come.” 

Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah CBE said: 

“I am delighted Siân and the cross-section of MPs are taking forward Ella’s Law in parliament. Tackling air pollution should not be a partisan issue, it affects us all, in every constituency in the country. I believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, no matter where they live, the colour of their skin or their socio-economic background.  We know that air pollution affects most people in this country, but the harshest effects are felt by poorer and marginalised communities. I hope this Labour Government will therefore take forward this Bill to protect all children and adults from the devastating effects of breathing toxic air. There is no more time to waste. We all have a human right to health and saving lives must always be the Government’s top priority.” 

Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said:  

“The proposed Clean Air Bill is an important step towards making everyone’s right to breathe clean air a reality. Air pollution causes tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year. These early deaths represent a failure of government to act as current policies and targets do not do enough to protect public health. 

“Toxic air has a detrimental impact on the millions of people living with a lung condition in the UK – with four out of five telling us that it makes their breathing difficulties worse. 

“We need action now to protect the public’s lungs. Asthma + Lung UK backs Ella’s Law and Rosamund’s campaign to enshrine the right to clean air in law. We hope MPs from across the House will back the Bill and prevent more people from losing their lives by simply breathing in the air around them.” 

ENDS 

Notes:

• The Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons by Siân Berry MP as a ‘Ten Minute Rule Bill’ on Tuesday 1 July.  

• For further information on Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah’s campaigning, please visit the Ella Roberta Foundation website: https://www.ellaroberta.org/ 

• In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year: https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/air-quality/guidance/public-health/#:~:text=Overview,smoking%20or%20road%20traffic%20accidents.  

• Asthma + Lung UK’s Life with a Lung Condition survey 2025: 

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16^th June 2025

FAO: Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP

Leader of the House of Commons and

Chair of the Modernisation Committee

Sent via email. 

Dear Lucy,

RE: Provision of period products on the Parliamentary Estate

We are writing to you regarding the provision of free period products across the parliamentary estate. The current protocol states ‘period products for emergency use are available free of charge in selected toilets across the parliamentary estate’. This is simply not fit for purpose – those who need to access period products must be able to do so across the entirety of the estate. It is not feasible, or indeed fair, that menstruating individuals should have to either pay or source a map to find where they can access the sanitary products they need, in the middle of their working day.

Research conducted in 2023 found 21% of women and people who menstruate in the UK struggle to afford period products. Not only does this cause financial worries as well as potential embarrassment and anxiety, but it can also result in serious health conditions.

Access to period products is a matter of dignity, health and equality. Whilst the UK Parliament has made good progress in becoming a more modern workplace, there is still some way to go. Looking to our counterparts in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Irish Assembly, they have all implemented provision of free period products within their Parliament. We need to lead by example and ensure that no one who works in these buildings here in Westminster is disadvantaged by a lack of access to essential sanitary products.

We therefore ask that period products be provided free of charge in every toilet across the Parliamentary estate, as soon as is possible, to ensure that Parliament is an accessible workspace for all.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

We very much look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Sally Donald, Co-Chair of the ParliGender Committee & Head of Office to Graham Leadbitter MP

Sadik Al-Hassan MP

Paula Barker MP

Lorraine Beavers MP

Apsana Begum MP

Siân Berry MP

Matt Bishop MP

Kirsty Blackman MP

Chris Bloore MP

Ian Byrne MP

Ellie Chowns MP

Daisy Cooper MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Emily Darlington MP

Carla Denyer MP

Dave Doogan MP

Graeme Downie MP

Sarah Edwards MP

Kirith Entwistle MP

Neil Duncan-Jordan MP

Stephen Flynn MP

Stephen Gethins MP

Olly Glover MP

Gill Furniss MP

Jodie Gosling MP

Amanda Hack MP

Kim Johnson MP

Mary Kelly Foy MP

Uma Kumaran MP

Chris Law MP

Graham Leadbitter MP

Seamus Logan MP

Helen Maguire MP

John McDonnell MP

John Milne MP

Grahame Morris MP

Susan Murray MP

Joe Powell MP

Yasmin Qureshi MP

Martin Rhodes MP

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP

Anna Sabine MP

Will Stone MP

Zarah Sultana MP
Pete Wishart MP

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See the full letter and the response below:

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Read our open letter below:

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With my Green MP colleagues I have written to the Prime Minister on changes to Winter Fuel Payment eligibility.

See the full letter below:

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“Cutting £5 billion from their support betrays the principles of the welfare state, which needs more funding not deep cuts, and the Government has many other options for funding the social security net sustainably without plunging hundreds of thousands into poverty.

“It is clear the Government isn’t listening to Disabled people at all. If it had, it would have heard loud and clear that PIP is not an out of work benefit and in fact principally helps disabled people who are in employment.

“Labour should listen to the growing cries of revulsion within its own party and build a kind and resilient economy by taxing the extreme wealth hoarded in this country and fixing rampant inequality.”

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“The Prime Minister’s statement shows just how much pressure he is now under, from the public, Greens and others in opposition, and many Labour MPs, to demonstrate he has at least some understanding that his Government’s cuts are hurting people.

“To truly right these many wrongs, the Chancellor must try harder, and use her upcoming fiscal decisions to tax extreme wealth fairly. This could not only restore payments in full to the millions of pensioners Labour has betrayed, but also enable her to reconsider other cruel political choices, including £5 billion in cuts to welfare and her refusal to cancel the two-child benefit cap.

“Together, these u-turns would save hundreds of thousands from being pushed into poverty, and Greens will be making the case for this alongside everyone affected until this Government does the right thing.”

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