THIS week I attended the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where there were several key announcements on policy issues that really matter locally.

When I was on the Defence Select Committee, I argued there needed to be more support to enable armed forces families to buy their own homes. The variety of roles across the three services means that some personnel spend more time away at sea, or based abroad, but, understandably, servicemen and their families value the opportunity to build a stable life in one place.

The announcement of a £118m fund to provide service personnel with 50 per cent of their annual salary as a deposit on their first home is therefore welcome – it provides much needed flexibility for hardworking service families who face unique difficulties getting on the housing ladder.

The Chancellor also announced new measures to support the long-term unemployed. We all want a welfare state that is fair to both those who need it and those who pay for it, but for me there is room for further development of this policy. While the Government’s work programme has already helped threequarters of those who join it back into employment, it is the remaining quarter who remain unemployed we need to remember.

I spoke at a Centre for Social Justice event on resettlement for recovering addicts, particularly the most marginalised leaving prison. Given it can be a long and bumpy road to recovery, I argue that tailored additional support is required to help these troubled individuals back into productive society. When I visited the Amber Foundation in Devon last year, I was struck to see what a difference a tailored, constructive approach makes to those who are turning their lives around.

This is what our new help to work programme needs to emulate: valuable and worthwhile experience that will help the most marginalised back into work. I believe greater investment in structured placements will give the support required.

After the frantic schedule of conference, I will be glad to come back to the constituency to attend the Wilton CLT board meeting and to speak at St Francis’s Church.

My last task before returning to Parliament next week will be to sit my advanced driving test.