Vikki's Winter Warmer

Hi Reader

News from Vikki Slade MP

Though the days are short, me and my amazing team have been really busy over the winter and with Christmas seeing them all take a little break, this edition combines two months – closing 2025 and starting 2026 with a bang.

It is always a privilege to meet residents at events and at my advice surgeries, hear your concerns, and raise your voices in Parliament.

Last year alone, my office handled thousands of constituent cases, with 6,629 new cases opened and 6,882 closed, alongside over 33,000 casework emails sent and received. In Parliament, I made 203 spoken contributions, cast 239 votes, and submitted 197 written questions, all aimed at holding the Government to account and standing up for Mid Dorset and North Poole.

If you’d like to read more about some of the big wins from 2025 — from the NHS to SEND education — you can view my Year in Review here.

If you’d like to get involved — whether by attending an event, signing a petition, or joining me on the campaign trail — I’ve included links throughout this newsletter to make it easy. And if that’s not for you, that’s absolutely fine too.

I hope you enjoy the read, and please do feel free to share it with a friend or neighbour.

Please don’t reply directly to this newsletter – contact vikki.slade.mp@parliament.uk

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In this edition:

• Get involved - Safer bike storage at stations + Junk food advertising near schools
• DBS reform and safeguarding
• Animal Welfare
• Justice Committee work and jury trial reform
• Standing up for service families
• The Finance Bill and tax fairness
• Community action in Shapwick
• Out and about across Mid Dorset and North Poole

🚲 Get involved: Keep Bikes Safe at Train Stations

Cycling to the station should be simple and safe, but the real fear of bike theft puts many people off. In the year to March 2025, 638 bike thefts were recorded in Dorset, with just 3.3% resulting in a charge. Nationally, more than 4,000 bikes were stolen from railway stations last year.

That’s why I’ve launched a petition calling for secure cycle lockers to be installed at our stations.

Your support is crucial. South Western Railway has said it will not install lockers without clear evidence of local demand; this petition provides that evidence.

You can read more about the campaign and add your support here.

🥗 Have your say: Junk food advertising near schools

Over recent months, I have been working closely with Jamie Oliver’s team and the Obesity Health Alliance on how we better protect children from the relentless promotion of unhealthy food.

The Government’s announcement to ban advertising for less healthy food and drink on television before 9pm and online at all times is a welcome and positive step. But it leaves a glaring loophole.

Every day, children still walk past junk food adverts on billboards and bus stops on their way to school, youth clubs and sports activities. If we are serious about tackling childhood obesity, we cannot ignore the impact of this constant real world advertising in places where young people spend so much of their time.

That is why I tabled a clause that would allow local councils to restrict fast-food advertising near schools, youth clubs and other inappropriate locations. The proposal attracted cross-party support and could have made a real difference to young people across the country.

Unfortunately, the clause was not selected for a vote. But this is not the end of the story.

I have now launched a local poll asking residents a simple question:

Should local councils have the power to restrict fast-food advertising near schools, youth clubs and other places where young people spend time?

Your experiences matter. If you have seen examples of inappropriate advertising in Mid Dorset and North Poole, I would be keen to hear from you. Please email me and help strengthen the case for change.

I will continue campaigning through my survey and with the House of Lords to close this obvious loophole and ensure our policies genuinely protect children’s health.

Let me know what you think here.

🔐 DBS reform: Safeguarding must work

After hearing from many Dorset families, it is clear that the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) system is not fit for purpose.

I was pleased that during a frank and constructive debate I secured on DBS, the Government announced forthcoming changes to the service. These include:

• Allowing self-employed people and personal employers working with children or vulnerable adults to access higher level DBS checks
• Extending protections to families hiring carers or private tutors
• Strengthening safeguards to prevent those barred from working with children from doing so, anywhere

I pushed for this debate after hearing about safeguarding failures, unacceptable delays, and barriers that prevent families from checking carers’ credentials.

Parents assume protections are in place when they drop a child off at a dance class, scout group or swimming lesson. Yet thousands of roles involving unsupervised contact with children are eligible for DBS checks — not required. Eligibility is not protection.

Families employing carers in their own homes are often unable to access DBS checks at all. Others have missed out on work due to long delays.

The system has failed too many people. I will continue pressing for reforms so safeguarding is robust, trusted and truly fit for purpose. You can watch a clip here or read the whole speech here.​

Animal Welfare

I know how important animal welfare is to so many people, my inbox shows that every week.

During the recent Animal Welfare Strategy debate (watch a clip here), I raised a number of concerns brought directly to me by constituents. One example was Vivienne, who wrote to highlight the unfair and rising premiums faced by many pet owners when trying to insure their animals. I am delighted that a review on vet pricing has now been announced.

I also raised concerns shared by vets in my constituency, who are increasingly worried about their ability to operate independently alongside large corporate chains, and the impact this is having on animal care and professional standards.

Animal welfare should be consistent across all species, yet we continue to make unfair distinctions between the animals we live alongside every day, such as fish. Standards in parts of the UK fishing industry remain far too low, causing both animal suffering and environmental damage. I called for these standards to be urgently reviewed and raised.

Last year, I co-sponsored the Puppy Smuggling Bill, which will help protect dogs, cats and ferrets from cruel smuggling practices. I will continue to push for stronger rights, higher standards and better protections for animals, and for the people who care for them.

I also advocate for animal rights through written question to the government. You can see all my written question here.

🪖 Standing up for service families

Supporting our military, their families and our veterans is a key priority for me. My husband is a Royal Navy veteran, my daughter currently serves as an Army reservist, and I am a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

In December, I was privileged to join a group visiting our Service Personnel in Estonia to learn more about what they are doing with European partners to provide a deterrent to Russia, and to ensure that troops are ready should there be any fresh conflict on the continent.

I have also visited personnel in Warminster, Bovington and met with the UK Commandos to hear more about their work in the High North, and I spoke in Parliament on the Armed Forces Bill. I raised concerns about how we are supporting the day to day lives of our armed forces and their families.

The Armed Forces Covenant is meant to ensure that service personnel and their families are not disadvantaged when they move due to their service. Yet too many families have told me that this promise is falling short. I raised their concerns in the house.

One of the clearest areas of failure is education. While schools rightly prioritise children of military personnel in admissions, too many children with special educational needs still fall through the cracks. Support that should take months can take closer to a year, leaving families feeling unable to move with their serving loved one for fear of disrupting provision.

Healthcare is another concern. Serving personnel can access GP and dental services on base, but this support does not extend to spouses and children. In Dorset, where many NHS dentists are closed to new patients, families moving into the area risk losing access to dental care altogether. I asked Ministers whether service dental provision could be extended to better support armed forces families.

Housing also remains a serious issue, particularly for single service personnel. I have visited Royal Navy, and Army sites where I have heard shocking accounts of accommodation with no running water, cold showers and toilets that do not flush. While our armed forces accept tough conditions on operations, this is not acceptable for day-to-day living. I pressed the Government on its plans to upgrade single-person accommodation, which is excluded from the MOD’s announced plan to upgrade family homes.

Finally, considering President Trump’s disgraceful comments last week, I put on record my heartfelt thanks to all those who choose to serve, and to their families, whose lives are so often turned upside down in support of that service.

You can read my full speech here.

🌧️ Shapwick: Standing up for residents

I held a public meeting in Shapwick to support villagers raising concerns with the National Trust and Wessex Water, including issues with flooding, investment in let properties, and the long-term strategy for the Kingston Lacey Estate.

It was a productive meeting, with lots of positive feedback, giving residents a forum through which to question Wessex Water on sewage and press National Trust on future investment plans and improved communication.

⚖️ Justice Committee and the reform of our legal system

I joined the Justice Committee last year, and it has been a real privilege to scrutinise our justice system in detail.

I support reform where it genuinely improves access to justice — but I strongly oppose changes that risk making things worse. Jury trials are a defining feature of our justice system, ensuring people are judged fairly by their peers.

I have continued to challenge the Government over its plans to restrict access to jury trials. Most recently, I directly rebutted Ministers’ claims that the Leveson Review supports these proposals — because it simply does not.

The review doesn’t recommend cases being decided by a single magistrate, which the government is proposing. Instead, it proposes a panel of two magistrates and a judge and explicitly warns that such reforms may not reduce court backlogs at all.

You can watch my intervention on this issue here.

💷 The Finance Bill: Tax fairness matters

The Finance Bill came before Parliament recently, and I spoke up for three groups being let down by what we call stealth taxes — that is, the failure to raise tax thresholds in line with inflation.

This approach is dragging apprentices and pensioners into taxation and creating real hardship for graduates as the threshold for paying back their student loans has also been frozen, meaning those earning modest incomes will be expected to make payments towards their growing debt.

Many pensioners have contacted me concerned about changes to pensions, seeking reassurance that those relying on the State Pension and modest savings will not be forced to pay income tax. I pressed Ministers for clarity and called for a dedicated HMRC phone line, so pensioners can get through quickly rather than spending hours on hold. Watch here.

I also raised serious concerns about the impacts on younger people. How can it be right that apprentices — earning around £5 an hour less than the national minimum wage — are being pushed into paying tax? Or that students face interest rates so high many will never fully repay their loans, amounting to a lifetime graduate tax? We are failing people who are working hard and doing the right thing. Watch here.

🚗Out and about

It’s always a pleasure to spend time with residents and local organisations. Some recent highlights this month:

🎭 Broadstone Pantomime Productions — I enjoyed a wonderful performance of Little Red Riding Hood written by Leah Jane & Rachael Cheesan and directed by Emma Louise Pottinger. Huge congratulations to the cast and crew.

🏫 Recent school visits — I visited Poole Grammar School and Dumpton School, meeting students aged 4–18, holding mock votes, and discussing issues including animal welfare, fireworks, President Trump and the upcoming Youth Parliament elections.

🥫 SAMEE charity — I met Samantha Everard MBE and her team at SAMEE, a Dorset charity supporting disabled people into self-employment and greater independence. Too many people who are able to work are held back by a lack of support; SAMEE helps fill that gap, giving people the chance to earn an income and build independence. Since my visit, I raised the charity in a parliamentary debate and secured a Ministerial meeting to discuss their work

Round-up of some of my other activities