Last week a member of staff left my office and I would like to thank Amanda Broom for her help and wish her well.

The Conservative Government since 2015 has been delivering on its joined up plan for people across society:

Big minimum wage rises; more job availability; tax, National Insurance and business rate reductions; frozen fuel duty; apprenticeship and training boosts; fairer funding for regional schools; support for those who are vulnerable, can't work, or need help into work; the addressing of NHS, GP and social care challenges including mental health; making priorities of energy supply and price as well as the environment; infrastructure improvements; preservation of police funding; more money for defence and security.

Aall are designed as part of the plan to help people across the social spectrum locally and nationally, while putting the public finances on a path to sustain them.

In the West Country we are seeing massive investment in roads and railways, leading innovation in Healthcare, pushing forward with Superfast Broadband rollout and working towards fairer funding so our rural schools don't lose out so much to urban ones in other areas.

There is still much more to do and challenges abound, not least economic problems and the migrant crisis in Europe and needing to support some of our own industries.

We still need to find ways of spending less each year. I do not agree with the Government on everything, and the debate on the EU has certainly raised tensions on all sides, but I am pleased to be a part of the overall effort.