LAST week saw the conclusion of the Immigration Bill’s passage through the Commons, and with it discussion of a controversial amendment to allow the deportation of foreign criminals.

As a government parliamentary private secretary, I was obliged to abstain from the vote, something that was made easier by the insistence of government lawyers that such an amendment would be illegal under human rights legislation and would never withstand legal challenge in any case.

Once again, this reinforces the need for Britain to engage in sensible discussion with our EU partners about how some aspects of European legalisation lend themselves to misuse to suit the ends of criminals, rather than to uphold the straightforward human rights that we all want to see.

It seems to me that, if a foreign national commits a grave crime such as murder in this country, the state should be able to exercise discretion as to whether that individual remains part of our society – not to be able to do so means that something has gone badly wrong.

I also wanted to focus this week on welfare reform, which I still believe will be one of the defining legacies of this coalition government.

Universal credit has been an extremely challenging project to deliver but it will ultimately greatly simplify the administration of the benefits system and enable those who are capable of working to escape the benefits trap.

My concern will remain with the vulnerable and those with medical conditions which require careful handling.

For this reason, I met with the health minister Norman Lamb MP, to raise some issues around autism and how we can implement changes on the ground to encourage employers and society at large to, where possible, support the integration of people on the autistic spectrum into mainstream jobs.

Awareness of autism has improved significantly in recent years but, as the minister admitted, there is more that can and must be done to ensure that people’s everyday experience matches the government’s aspirations.

On Monday I met with the justice minister Jeremy Wright to argue for the inclusion of smaller charities in the rollout of offender rehabilitation programmes.

I hope this lobbying will bear fruit in the months ahead.