FOR a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee I received my flu jab in Parliament last week. The jab is free for all those aged 65 and over and all those aged over six months in several clinical ‘at-risk’ groups. For everyone else there is a small charge.

Make an appointment at your surgery and get protected today.

I met with executives from London & Cambridge Properties at LCP House on the Pensnett Estate. I heard from LCP management how the Pensnett Estate has increasingly few voids— another sign of a recovering economy — and about the firm’s plans for continued investment in and long-term ownership of their holdings both on the Pensnett Estate and in the wider Black Country.

I visited the Thomas Pocklington Trust at the Mary Stevens Resource Centre in Oldswinford to learn how the charity helps those affected by sight loss with services such as their popular day centre. I really enjoyed attending the Dudley Volunteer Awards 2013—organised by the Dudley Council for Voluntary Service—at the Brierley Hill Civic Hall. Congratulations to all the finalists!

I attended the ground breaking ceremony for Dudley Advance at Dudley College, another project by the college which is breathing new life into the town centre and will be ready for the beginning of the 2014 academic year.

I visited Exova (UK) Limited in Netherton where General Manager Jonathan Pugh illustrated how demand for the company’s nondestructive testing services has increased massively in the last quarter, confirming the picture of much improved GDP numbers and a real renaissance in Midlands manufacturing and engineering.

I met with Joanna Noble of Kingswinford to show my support for the Retired WM Police Dog Benevolent Fund and with Roger Bannister of Wordsley, Managing Director of Pressvess, Kingswinford, and Eurocrane, Kingswinford, to discuss his companies’ latest business investment and employment creation initiatives. I also met with Natalie Neale, our excellent Conservative candidate for Kingswinford North & Wall Heath, to discuss the forthcoming local election campaign for 2014.

I held a busy constituency advice surgery at Brierley Hill Library dealing with casework and issues.

Å Chris Kelly can be contacted via 01384 211 041, office@chriskelly.mp or House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Read the latest news and views at www.chriskelly.mp.