I ENDED last week with the head at our outstanding girls grammar discussing the possible implications of a new national funding formula for Wiltshire. This is an issue I have been engaged on for a long time and I was delighted that the Chancellor made a commitment to review the way the funding formula is calculated.

This should help secondary schools in Wiltshire, the sixth-lowest funded county.

I will be continuing to lobby hard on this issue to see that headteachers and bursars are given as much clarity over future arrangements as possible at the earliest opportunity particularly when the future of other grants are uncertain.

This week in Parliament I spent some time examining the review of western train services, as the ongoing franchise negotiations look at what can be done to improve links to London from the south-west.

I am doing all I can to ensure that the pressure to reduce journey times to London from Somerset and Dorset brings advantages for Salisbury.

This week also saw the launch of the second annual Feeding Britain Report, in which I have been closely involved from its inception. It updates on progress around issues related to foodbank use and also lays down fresh challenges to government around making further improvements to benefit delivery and addressing the underlying issues in the lives of some foodbank users.

This week sees the second meeting of the Salisbury Economic Task Group, bringing together the representatives from the city council, area board, cathedral, LEP, BID and prominent local employers to probe the work of the local authority on major projects and also to give city representatives a chance to set out their aspirations.