South East Councils

The #SouthEastAPPG held its inaugural meeting in Parliament today, electing MP for Slough @TanDhesi as Chair. Special thanks go to our new members who joined to discuss critical regional issues, including housing, local transport, and pressure on public services.

Honour to be re-elected by fellow MPs as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the South East. At our Annual General Meeting, we discussed with @SECouncils priorities for the year ahead—from #infrastructure to #investment—all to ensure our #region continues to thrive.

APPG South East Chair @TanDhesi held the group’s AGM 2025 in Parliament with @emily4MK, @PeterKLamb, @PollyBLabour and @CliveJonesMP to discuss shared regional priorities, including the cost of living and improving local transport infrastructure.

The Budget’s new powers devolving to Mayors the choice of whether to introduce overnight visitor levies reflect our long-standing call for greater local control over tax and spend. Read more from SEC 👇 secouncils.gov.uk/tourism-levy-p…

SEC has highlighted the need for clarity on local government debt and high quality public services throughout Council reorganisation in a letter to @mhclg's new Secretary of State @SteveReedMP. secouncils.gov.uk/sec-seeks-clar…

As Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group for the South East, good to bring together MPs to reflect on key milestones, like our June report ‘The South East and Migration: How best to manage the #UK’s most populous region’, and chart with @SECouncils our priorities going forward.

APPG South East’s @Jim4Dartford @PDJSwallow met with Chair @TanDhesi to discuss key priorities for our region including support for local communities through affordable, high-quality housing and action on the cost of living.

South East APPG's migration inquiry heard that faster asylum decisions have not been matched with sufficient capacity in First and Upper-Tier immigration tribunals. Government should target this bottleneck to cut the legal backlog & its associated costs.

APPG South East's migration report calls for an independent evaluation of the four ongoing place-based asylum accommodation pilots. With a follow-up to the Migration White Paper expected this summer, proper assessment is key to informing further reform.

APPG SE heard that the absence of a coherant long-term plan for asylum, refugees & protection-based programmes has led to an expensive layered approach. Govt should consult on a 5-year strategy to protect the public purse & see more cohesive communities. secouncils.gov.uk/south-east-app…

APPG South East has published its report on managing migration services in the UK’s most populous region, offering actionable cross-party insights to inform Government decision-making. Thanks to Chair @TanDhesi and all contributors to the inquiry. secouncils.gov.uk/south-east-app…

I am delighted to be chosen as the new chair of the South East Strategic Partnership on Migration @SECouncils & it was fantastic to join our Minister for Citizenship & Migration @SeemaMalhotra1 in Parliament this week to discuss our work to support Ukrainians, Hong Kong 1/

Pleased to attend Parliament yesterday representing @BrightonHoveCC to make the case for bringing asylum accommodation back within local authority control & for a more equitable system of asylum dispersal across the regions.

Thank you APPG South East Chair @TanDhesi for hosting an insightful roundtable discussion in Parliament on migration services - with guest speakers @BellaSankey @MigObs @WSCCNews & South East Strategic Parntership for Migration.

Responding to @mhclg's consultation on objectives & principles of local finances, SEC has stated that meaningful reform should incorporate a stronger relationship between tax, spend and local growth. secouncils.gov.uk/sec-responds-o…

Thank you @mhclg for an insightful regional briefing & discussion on #devolution and reorganisation this morning. Delighted to jointly host today's event with @SEemployers, with excellent speakers from @CentreforCities @reformthinktank.

Great to join @SECouncils and @SEemployers, as we launched @Localis new report ‘Restoration and Resilience’, which offers solutions to issues such as workforce challenges, capacity building and delivering much needed local #services for people like my constituents in #Slough.

SEC has responded to @mhclg's Right to Buy consultation. Steps should be taken to ensure that Right to Buy, at the very least, covers the cost of councils replenishing existing stock. secouncils.gov.uk/sec-responds-t…

Thank you to everyone who came to our report launch last night. It was great to see so many people celebrating 🎆 the South East. Thanks to @SEemployers and @SECouncils for all their support on this report and to our speakers @SharonStevenage @Nickking, Kevin Gibbs and Ruth Adams

It was fantastic to have South East APPG Chair and Slough MP @TanDhesi join us, alongside @Localis and @SEemployers, at our Restoration and Resilience report launch! The report covers issues including workforce challenges, capacity building, and delivering local services.🙌

@Localis @SEemployers @SharonStevenage @jonathanwerran @Nickking @BracknellForest Read the report here: localis.org.uk/research/resto…

🎉 A fantastic evening at our Restoration and Resilience report launch and reception with @Localis @SEemployers! A big thank you to our brilliant speakers @SharonStevenage, @jonathanwerran, @Nickking, SEE's Ruth Adams & Kevin Gibbs @BracknellForest.