What do MPs do when parliament is “in recess”? A lot of people ask me this. Do I still go up to Westminster? Yes, I do, at least twice a week. There’s always mail to handle, research to be done.
But the recess is a good opportunity to get around the constituency. Here was a typical Friday from my diary early in September.
First I visited “Especially Health” in Sevenoaks High Street. I met the
owner Wendy Kent and her staff. She runs one of the best-known
independent health food shops in the country.
But there are problems: a recent EU directive is slowly preventing her
from selling certain types of supplement. I’m taking this up again with
the Department of Health.
On to West Kent Housing Association for a meeting with chief executive
Barbara Thorndick. We have a busy agenda – Barbara is promoting a new
grouping of housing associations that have a particularly local focus,
to work more closely with local councils.
She’s also campaigning for those tenants who rely on prepayment meters
to get discounts on their fuel bills. Fuel costs are a big part of the
household budget now, so discounts really matter.
We also discuss some individual cases – housing is a major part of my
casework – and especially the need to protect the rights of the vast
majority of law-abiding tenants: why should their lives be blighted by
persistently noisy neighbours? Barbara’s team is well aware of the
problem but often the law frustrates tougher action.
Next stop was Sevenoaks Hospital where I visited the West Kent
Neuro-rehabilitation Unit. I was at the opening of Darenth House eight
years ago, and the neuro-rehabilitation unit has since grown over two
floors. There’s more room for patients and the dedicated team looking
after them. This is where you start back on the road to recovery after
a serious brain operation or a stroke, and it’s an inspiring place.
What’s really impressive is that ex-patients keep coming back, dropping
in to talk to the current residents. They provide real life examples of
how it’s possible to resume a job and get back as close as possible to
a normal life.
After lunch with patients and staff, I headed off to Chaucer Business
Park in Kemsing. This was a private meeting with a company unwittingly
caught up in the drive by Revenue and Customs against so-called
“missing trader” fraud. Companies can be hard hit financially while
they’re under investigation, even when they are given a clean bill of
health in the end.
EU directives, social housing, neuro-surgery, tax – very different subjects but each matters to somebody.
