IT is very encouraging to finally see significant momentum building around initiatives to tackle issues around littering, street cleaning and street drinking that have such a profound effect on people’s perceptions of the wellbeing of our city centre.

I always find it striking that correspondence about littering and street cleanliness always seems to be at its height in the summer, as people who live in Salisbury all year round are keen that it shows its best face to the many visitors who come here to visit the cathedral and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

Salisbury City Council are to be congratulated for taking the lead, particularly in appointing Market Place Stewards to monitor and disperse groups of people behaving anti-socially.

Following their initial success and in line with the requests of the traders and restaurateurs who are seeing the benefits of the scheme, I am delighted that moves are now afoot to extend and formalise the arrangement at the times when it is most needed.

With CCTV coverage now being restored under the auspices of the city council and alongside the Business Improvement District’s sterling ongoing street cleaning efforts we can also look forward to the installation of 30 new litter bins and a range of schemes to tidy up and improve our public spaces.

Having had a full week to spend time in Salisbury, I am back on Ministerial duties at the end of this week, heading up to the Edinburgh Festival for two days. With back-to-back meetings arranged, I think it unlikely there will be time in my schedule to catch any shows but I am looking forward to experiencing as much of the atmosphere of the festival as I can.

Over the weekend, I will be focusing on another part of my ministerial brief, meeting tourism chiefs across the south west, undertaking a working tour of Devon and Cornwall and ending up in Plymouth on Tuesday.

It is vital that the government does all it can to support the tourism industry that contributes so many billions to the economy and supports thousands of jobs across the region – not least in Salisbury.