This week Neil welcomed the Chancellor to Stroud

IT WAS a pleasure to welcome Chancellor Philip Hammond to Stroud.

He visited the newly opened Sartorius factory in Stonehouse – an excellent example of a modern, productive and innovative workplace with highly encouraging prospects. At the core of the Government’s industrial strategy are the policies to support such business investment. I was pleased to be able to highlight the value of these important measures.

Another trip – this time to Ladbrokes in Stonehouse – inadvertently but successfully brought two other activities together. One was Tom George’s horse training stables and the other was Meningitis Now.

Ladbrokes offered a ‘free’ bet on the Grand National on behalf of a local charity. I selected Tom’s Saint Are, each way, for Meningitis Now and it came third so netted a useful sum for this worthwhile cause.

With apprenticeships in mind – my select committee has recently completed a joint report on this very subject – I visited Gloucestershire Engineering Training. It is a fantastic organisation, providing high quality training in engineering and is, obviously, widely respected with almost four decades of successful trading notched up. Many firms train their new engineers through GET. Training and skills are never far from the political agenda, indeed, next for my committee will be an in depth inquiry into this highly contested policy area. I visited Hft Gloucestershire, a provider of services including supported living, supported employment and leisure activities to people with learning disabilities. My visit was part of the regular consultation and discussion process organised by Hft. It was an enlightening morning as it gave many people the opportunity to discuss issues around their experiences and, of course, wider political issues.

The agenda for the morning was set by the Voices To Be Heard group using the ‘easy-read’ format. This format was created with the help of feedback from groups at Hft including Stroud, to a national consultation. I am now planning to produce a monthly newsletter using this format for the Voices To Be Heard group and others who request it.