Having lived in a rural part of East Sussex for over ten years, I am well aware of the concerns which remote areas have about crime and police resourcing. Whilst crime has reduced by a fifth since 2010, it has shown signs of an increase in the last year.

Working with constituency schools, and spending time in the classroom with pupils, is one of the great pleasures of my job. I have a huge amount of respect for the teaching profession.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, I visited the African country of Djibouti with UNICEF. Djibouti is a small country with a population of just over one million, but hosts the key strategic port for the Horn of Africa. It is surrounded on land by Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea.

This week, I was successful in calling for a Westminster Hall debate on ‘Transport for the South East’. This is the name of a new transport body which has been set up by local authorities and enterprise partnerships spanning 7.5m residents in the south east.

The Syrian conflict has created the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Half the country’s pre-war population — more than 11 million people — have been killed or forced to flee their homes.

Easter is almost upon us. After a busy week debating Local Government finance, Police resources, Russia and where our passports are produced, Parliament has entered recess for two weeks.

Affairs from Europe, and further afield, have dominated Parliament over the last couple of weeks.

I hope that all readers are keeping safe and warm during this period of cold weather. My late father was a devoted amateur weatherman. As my mother once said, 'When I married your father, I married the weather.' He would certainly have enjoyed this week.

Last week in Parliament, the focus from MPs was on the levels of central funding which will be given to our local councils and services. The current Government has made it an aim to see councils becoming self-sufficient.

This week, MPs gave notice to quit Parliament. Please do not panic. This is not a third General Election in three years, but a decision that the crumbling state of the historic building means the time has finally come to restore and renew it.