THIS is invariably a busy time of year both in Parliament and in Salisbury.

Last weekend, it was a privilege to hear the Salisbury Plain Military Wives choir perform not once but three times – at the well-attended Salisbury Business of the Year Awards, Amesbury’s Night of Honour and at the Armed Forces Day ceremony.

Congratulations to the enterprising Streetz cheerleaders, whom I met at Winterslow Fête, on reaching their fundraising target.

They can now purchase a tumble track so that they can train safely and further develop the skills of their members.

There was an excellent turnout for the Brethren open day in Pembroke Road and I was reminded once again of the huge contribution that Helen Holgate makes to fostering in our county when listening to her talk at Downton Baptist Church on Sunday evening.

Before I came back to Westminster, I met with senior police officers at Devizes HQ to discuss the interim arrangements for policing as a consequence of the recently-announced station changes.

Back in Westminster, I have been busy preparing for a ministerial meeting at the Department for Education about funding for schools in this constituency.

My duties as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Eric Pickles will take me to Manchester, where we will attend the Local Government Association conference.

This follows the Church and Civic Engagement Forum where I spoke on the future of church involvement with local government and communities.

I will return to London to support the European Referendum Bill on Friday.

This will enshrine in law the principle that there should be an in-out referendum on our continued membership of the EU after the next election – something the Conservative Party is already strongly committed to.

I know that this is an issue that is very important to many of my constituents and I am pleased to have the opportunity to support giving the British people a say on the EU.

From there, I am looking forward to a double dose of culture – the Homegrown exhibition at Salisbury Arts Centre, followed by the London Swing Orchestra, playing in support of the Trussell Trust.