THE local matters on which I work or help vary so much. Whether it is highways, housing, education or transport, or a very personal and private matter for an individual. This week has had them all.
On Saturday, I opened the new Cam Vale Community Hall in Longburton. Ten years ago, when I was the district councillor there, we started that project and it was great to see it finally reopened.

I have been taking a specific interest in Multi Academy Trusts recently, the organisations that run groups of schools, primary and secondary. An initiative that has taken effect over the last few years and has offered many schools much improvement. As with any initiative, there are ups and downs, pros and cons, and I have been looking at those in recent weeks so we can continue to improve our educational provision.
I’ll be looking to share this feedback with the Department of Education in the coming few weeks, so if you are involved with, in some way, a multi academy trust and have any feedback from your own experience, whether parent, teacher or in another way, I would be pleased to hear you.
The St John’s Almshouse in Sherborne is an institution that first opened in 1437. It has been a home to so many people over the years. And I know that the recently announced changes have caused considerable concern among people, in Sherborne and further afield, especially with residents having to leave their home. I met the Almshouse trustees in January when residents first got in touch with me, and have awaited the ‘consultation’ response, which is here now, although I’m afraid the way forward is still very unclear.
I’d like to assure you I will be taking this up again with the trustees to get a better understanding of what the options are. If you feel strongly about the future of the Almshouse, can I ask you, not only to let me know, but also the trustees of the Almshouse directly.

Work is progressing well with the A30 in Sherborne. The road at the bottom of Greenhill, outside the hospital, now appears to be complete and the wall on Kitt Hill is being worked on as we speak. I hope we will see the road reopened within a few weeks.
On Monday this week, the Illegal Immigration Bill was debated in parliament for second reading. Like many of you, the ongoing exponential rise in cross-Channel illegal migration has been a serious concern for me. Not just through the huge expenses involved in processing these people, but the fraying of community cohesion and, most worryingly of all for me, it has begun to significantly reduce our capacity to expedite a meaningful humanitarian response to those genuinely in need.
It’s what our country has been so good at for generations – whether it has been refugees from Europe in the Second World War, Syria, Afghanistan and more recently, Ukraine. We have always stepped up to help those affected by the most destructive conflicts in the world. Under the new laws proposed, the Secretary of State will be under a legal duty to remove illegal immigrants from the UK and we will see this Bill progress, I think, over the coming few weeks.