03/09/10 - Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article

My first Parliamentary recess as an MP has come to an end. The recess is the period where Parliament is not sitting and allows MP’s to focus their time on the constituency, something as a local resident I relish as it is essential to share and understand the local issues which need to be championed.

I have had time to spend working in my constituency office, where we help and assist with a large number of individual resident’s casework or assisting with local campaigns such as the proposed wind turbines at Honda.

I have spent time meeting local businesses, to discuss the challenges they are facing and what support they need to be able to have the confidence to expand and provide new job opportunities. The Conservative Government have brought in many measures to help and support local business through tax incentives and cutting regulation, vital to help the economy recover. As the MP, I am working with local business support organisations such as Business Link & GWE to feedback suggestions and experiences to Westminster. In addition I was pleased to sign up to the excellent Plan 500 scheme which is seeking to create new apprenticeship and work experience opportunities within Swindon.

I have also spent a lot of time during recess meeting with various voluntary groups, organisations and charities within Swindon who do a huge amount of good work, often as unsung heroes –they really do make a real difference to our local community.

I have also been working on research and meeting peopled connected to my work in Westminster. I have secured my first Westminster Hall debate on ‘The Future Provision of Library Services’ an area I am a strong supporter of, and working on topics connected to the various All Party Parliamentary Groups for which I am member. It is important to hit the ground running in Westminster.

Finally, I have also used the recess to catch up on local sport, in particular watching Swindon Town and Swindon Supermarine FC. Whilst Swindon Town have got off to a slower start than hoped, the squad is certainly good enough to kick on. I was also delighted to see Swindon Supermarine pick up their first win of the season, especially as the fans and main sponsor HJ Webb & Son had done so much to raise money to help the club remain in the Zamaretto Premier Division against the odds.