I have had another busy week in Parliament, which included welcoming students from Stourbridge College to the Palace of Westminster for a Q&A session. I was very impressed by the insightful questions from the students, and I am pleased that they enjoyed their tour of the estate. This week I also went to the London School of Economics for the launch event for their new Centre for Women, Peace and Security. William Hague officially opened the Centre, which will support the aims of his Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict campaign.

Last weekend I spent the morning at Greenfield School, where I met Headteacher Peter Bravo and had a tour of the school. I was delighted to congratulate one of the pupils, Jack Thomas, on recently winning a competition to design a flag to represent Stourbridge. I also sat down with the school’s student council, who quizzed me on my role as an MP and local issues.

Last week marked Dignity in Care Week, and so I joined the Oriel Care Home for one of their regular coffee mornings. It was wonderful to speak to the residents, and I enjoyed discussing their experiences in the home and the range of activities that staff organise for them. Afterwards, I visited the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Headquarters, where I met the charity’s fundraising team. It was a useful opportunity to see the tireless work that the staff carry out to make sure the helicopters can keep flying, and I was pleased to discuss what more regional politicians like myself can do to help. I also visited Stourbridge Library, which was celebrating National Library Week, and it was fantastic to see all the activities they were running, particularly for their youngest users.

This weekend I will be back in Stourbridge to meet residents who live near Homer Hill Park, and to discuss the latest issues impacting the area. I’m looking forward to seeing the park, and I hope we can talk about opportunities to make further improvements to the area. I’ll also be meeting with the Cradley Action Group, a group of local residents working to secure the development of Colley Gate in Cradley. It will be useful to have an update from the group, and to discuss the progress on securing investment for the area.

As well as my regular visits around the constituency I also pick an area each week and call on residents.

I find this a very good way of hearing about the things that matter to people. I look forward to getting out and about to meet people on Saturday.

Margot can be contacted on 01384 370574 or margot.james.mp@parliament.uk.

You can also sign up to her regular newsletter at www.

margotjames.com/subscribe or you can write to her at The Old Library, Hagley Road, Stourbridge, DY8 1QH