Parliament was in recess last week. I had the difficult task of juggling my many constituency commitments with observing the elections in Georgia (Caucasus) and jousting with the Russians at the Spring Meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as leader of the British Delegation.

During the past week I met with a number of organisations who provide key services to the people of Walsall. Firstly I met with the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and his Deputy. I have regular meetings with the two Walsall Chief Superintendents to discuss policing in the Borough and their future plans.

I then had the tremendous honour of opening a new garden at Sure Start in Darlaston. This wonderful initiative which was the birth child of Gordon Brown is most definitely a good news story for a number of areas in Walsall who benefit from these centres. I would like to congratulate them all on the excellent work and support they provide to local families.

I also went to Walsall Housing Group to discuss a number of issues with them including their housing allocation system. We talked about their regeneration plans they are currently involved in Moxley and Pleck. Additionally they have informed me of their progress in refurbishing Council housing stock which they inherited. Many tenants have now had new kitchens, bathrooms and windows fitted which is very welcome news.

I also went to visit the Walsall Domestic Violence Forum (WDVF) where I got an update on their evolving programmes and their funding. They undertake these activities on behalf of Walsall people who have been beaten or abused by their partners. My interest goes back nearly 30 years to when I was a member of the Select Committee on Violence in the Family. As part of that interest I have recently made a study of such organisations. I believe the WDVF is one of the best such organisations in the country, but like many lives a hand to mouth existence, working hard to maintain their necessary services. It is vital that such services receive all the support they need from both local council and central government.

I was delighted to hear recently that a lot of extra funding is coming from the government to the Primary Care Trust to help improve services. This follows on from the Government’s announcement of substantial additional funding for employment of 15 more GPs in the town. When people are worrying about tax, they sometimes forget that’s its largely through taxation that funding is available to improve our schools, hospitals, police and other vital services.

I had no surgery last Saturday; however as many of you will know I have held weekly surgeries for almost 35 years. I only have a Saturday off when the sequencing of surgeries is thrown out of kilter with five Saturdays in a month (although this only happens about five times a year). I feel so guilty that I’m not immediately available; however people continue to contact me or come to my house seeking my help!

Like many people, I often watch programmes such as The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and the Andrew Lloyd Webber singing competitions on BBC. As you may remember from one of my previous columns I raised questions about the voting in an earlier series of The X-Factor. The voting in these types of programmes has appeared a bit suspect in the past as Ant and Dec have found to their misfortune. After the last series of The X-Factor I wrote to Ofcom to raise a number of concerns that had been voiced. After a very lengthy investigation I finally received a response from Ofcom this week. Despite appearances to the contrary Ofcom have concluded that no breach of its Code of Conduct occurred in the voting for The X-Factor.