I WAS pleased to meet representatives of 38 Degrees last Friday, who expressed concerns over the process that the Government will adopt towards exiting the EU.

I look forward to many discussions with individuals and groups about this matter as the Government begins the complex process of exit and negotiation.

This Friday, after speaking to the Youth Health Parliament on Thursday night, and a very early start to wish our postmen well at the start of the festive season, I will unusually return to Westminster.

This is to support Dr Eilidh Whiteford’s MP’s Private Member’s Bill, which will ratify the Istanbul Convention in the UK.

The convention is an international treaty that will transform global efforts to tackle violence against women and girls.

Described by the UN as the ‘gold standard’, it sets out concrete steps that countries who have signed up must take. This includes ensuring there is enough psychological support and victims’ refuges, that prosecutions happen and that Government agencies work effectively together.

As I support this Bill on Friday, I will think of the constituents whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence who have come to me.

I know from my work in the constituency that Salisbury Women’s Refuge does an incredibly important job supporting vulnerable families but not everywhere in the world has these places of safety that should simply be there.

By ratifying the Convention, the UK Government will make its commitment clear to the international community. We already go above and beyond many of its requirements, with £80 million funding to support our refuges and crisis centres over the next five years, but there is always more work to do.

I am very conscious of Salisbury’s retailers, traders and employees in the service industry in one of the busiest weeks of the year, and I hope it is a real success for them. Next week, I will hold extensive surgeries on Wednesday, December 21 and attend the Blessing of the Crib service at the women’s refuge.