This has been a busy week, with numerous fascinating constituency visits, to businesses, special interest groups, the University. So whilst Parliament does not sit again until Monday, I have chosen to spend all my time in the constituency working.
I have been really pleased over the past few days to listen to the concerns of a range of experts and professionals working in the aesthetics sector about the ongoing lack of regulation. I have tabled an amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill asking for legislation around this. It is not my expectation that the Government will adopt the amendment, but part of the aim has to be to keep this on the political agenda and keep colleagues debating the issues.
On Friday I am meeting the NFU to discuss the problems there are in agriculture at the moment, much of it provoked by labour shortages and particularly in the pig sector. I was not able to take part in the recent debate in Westminster Hall, because I was chairing it, but the Minister Victoria Prentis specifically referenced the representations I had already made to her on the issue. As I type this it sounds as if there will be relaxations from the Home Office around the visa regime for those working in butchery, which is a step in the right direction, but of course it is not just about visas.
Finally I am really looking forward to the end of term coffee morning our local Member of the Youth Parliament is hosting on Saturday. Dmitrijs Meiksans has done a great job as Test Valley’s representative and he is in Andover on Saturday talking about his experiences.
