PARLIAMENT returned after Easter recess with two issues dominating – tax and steel.

The leak of the ‘Panama papers’ led to the Prime Minister making his tax returns public alongside those of the Opposition Leader and Shadow Chancellor.

People are justifiably indignant that legitimate and necessary taxes are avoided – sometimes by those most able to contribute.

This is unacceptable and I am glad government has strengthened HMRC’s powers and raised more than £2 billion from offshore tax evaders since 2010.

However, I also believe that in a free society a balance needs to be struck between privacy and transparency. All MPs and Ministers already rightly submit to the Register of Members’ Interests and the ministerial code, where all their assets are disclosed. These regimes must be robust and authoritative.

The decision by Tata to seek the sale of their assets in Port Talbot has been a massive blow to the UK steel industry, already in deep trouble primarily due to the ‘dumping’ of Chinese steel on global markets.

As PPS to the Business Secretary I have been consulting on the government response.

There has been good news in Scunthorpe and we must hope ongoing discussions also lead to positive outcomes in South Wales.

No easy answers exist on this issue as global pressures cannot be avoided. The government has pressed for and secured significant tariffs on specific steel products which have eliminated the penetration of Chinese imports in some markets but will now be looking at how best to encourage a long term solution for the Port Talbot plant.

I was pleased to address the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce and see the election of Andy Rhind-Tutt as president. I also met the chairman of the BID. I will press again for progress on big projects in Salisbury.

This weekend I will visit the Friends of St Thomas’s Church, attend a TransWilts rail scheme update and visit Amesbury.