I HOPE you have had the chance to get some much-needed time with family and friends over the summer and are reading this feeling recharged. Meanwhile, the last few weeks of the summer have kept your new MP very busy!

Being a guest at the annual Wellington Flower Show was a highlight. Many congratulations to everyone who made this year’s event such a success. We were delighted to be there and see the amazing blooms, massive onions (pictured) and other wonderful exhibits.

I know many of those involved in the committee miss Richard Fox who did so much for the show, and I pay tribute to his legacy and to all volunteers, like him, who keep important community groups like this going. I recommend a return trip next year; the cake was delicious!

Not long afterwards, I had the valuable learning opportunity of spending a day alongside those who care for others in Taunton. A morning at the Somerset Registered Care Providers Association meeting taught me just how hard it is to fund the care which many older and disabled people rely on, given the limited funds available from the public purse.

The afternoon was spent with Medequip Community Equipment Services and AJM Healthcare. I know from experience, as a carer myself, how vital to daily life the wheelchair and medical aid supplies these companies make really are. I have to admit, I was genuinely impressed with how they recycle and reuse over 90% of patients’ equipment - saving the NHS and taxpayers thousands of pounds. Wherever a waste of taxpayer money is identified, it needs to be tackled and it’s great to see the staff in these companies turning waste elimination into such a passion!

I know that helping many people towards the end of their lives can be harrowing as well, so thanks to them for the care they’re providing. What I learned will equip me to push for the better support which both paid and, even more importantly, unpaid carers really need.

Another big issue for older and disabled people is the proposed cut of the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners who don’t receive pension credits. Knocking on doors to listen to residents in Monkton Heathfield just last weekend, I heard how this will be a massive blow to someone on the margin, not quite eligible for pension credit but still on a very low income.

The other group who could lose out, of course, are those who are eligible to receive pension credit but don’t – perhaps because they have never applied for any kind of benefits and don’t feel they should. I will be launching a major campaign to ensure everyone eligible for pension credits is getting them, so they don’t lose their Winter Fuel Payment.

It’s clear that, for both these reasons, the Labour Government has got this wrong and I, along with all Liberal Democrat MPs, have put down a motion to block the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners.

As soon as Parliament returned this week, I was also on my feet challenging the Government to allow local authorities, like Somerset, to build more council houses.

Since my Lib Dem councillor colleagues took over locally, they have begun to build new council houses in parts of the county for the first time in a generation – but I know from my inbox how many are still in desperate need.

With more than 10,000 on the waiting list in Somerset, it’s clear that relying simply on private housebuilders hasn't yet, and will never, solve our housing crisis. It really is time the Government took the shackles off our local councils and allowed them to borrow to build houses, just like anyone else.