After welcoming Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson to our area last week, and joining him on a tour of the Rolls-Royce site in Filton, I began this week in Parliament once again highlighting the importance of apprentices.

This has been a very busy week in Parliament, and I’ve had a number of important meetings to attempt to seek clarity on the proposed takeover of GKN by Melrose.

This week, Parliament approved a funding settlement for English local authorities that will see a real terms increase in available resources over the next two years and give local authorities access to over £200 million to deliver the high-quality services their local communities need.

Last week, I attended the Parliamentary launch of a campaign for a National Sikh War Memorial to honour the extraordinary bravery and sacrifices of Sikh soldiers in the service of Great Britain.

Skills devolution in England was on the agenda this week in Westminster Hall as I joined colleagues to discuss the need to address the skills shortage across the country.

At Housing, Communities and Local Government Questions this week, I asked the Minister of State, Dominic Raab MP, whether he agreed with me that the ability to buy a home at an affordable price is vital to develop and enhance social mobility.

This week I tabled a written question to the Home Office regarding UK Visas and Immigration, after a number of constituents visited me at my regular surgeries after experiencing delays and difficulty due to their visa application being described as ‘non-straightforward’.

This week I signed the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, in doing so pledging my commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who were murdered during the Holocaust.

I am honoured and delighted to join the Government by becoming the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministerial team at the Ministry of Defence. I look forward to working with all the team to help deliver the Government’s strong agenda for our armed forces.

I welcome Barry McElduff's eventual decision to resign as MP following his gravely offensive misjudgement in posting a social media video of him with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the 42nd anniversary of the IRA's sectarian massacre at Kingsmill.