AS the year draws to a close it is time to reflect on some of the local and national changes which have taken place during 2013.

One big development was the reinforcement of Wiltshire’s position as the garrison county of Britain with Army moves that will see more activity, more investment and more service personnel living and working locally.

All this could be disruptive but luckily Wiltshire Council, the MoD, health services, schools and local town and parish councillors are working together to ensure the investment is spent wisely and we are ready for the challenges.

Other changes have happened in health services this year as we heard during my Health Forums where a more joined-up approach has led to falling diagnosis times for diseases like dementia and a sharpened focus on patients rather than “the system”.

We have also seen a rising national tide of economic activity that is lifting many local boats, with inflation falling sharply and unemployment tumbling and our disposable incomes are rising on average, helped by low interest rates, tax cuts for more than 24 million people, frozen fuel duty and council tax and guaranteed pension increases. All of this will help in the run-up to Christmas and it was good to see the local tills jingling last weekend during Small Business Saturday.

Spending with a local business rather than a national chain means that almost 60 per cent more of the money spent stays in the local economy and our towns and villages are made far more vibrant by the local choice and innovation these businesses offer.

With welcome rate relief for millions of businesses in last week’s Autumn Statement, it was good to see some retail good cheer at the end of the year.

Finally, as this is my last column of the year, may I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year. It is such a privilege to serve you and this beautiful constituency in Parliament.