After welcoming Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson to our area last week, and joining him on a tour of the Rolls-Royce site in Filton, I began this week in Parliament once again highlighting the importance of apprentices.
During Education Questions, I pointed out that apprentices not only boost our economy and allow people to earn while they are training, but they are also vital to our national defence capabilities and fundamental to social mobility.
Without the hard work of apprentices in factories such as Rolls-Royce Filton, Britain would have no means of designing and manufacturing the technology we need to defend ourselves and our freedom.
This week was English Tourism Week. Tourism is a vital part of the local and national economy – and we’re lucky to have great destinations on our doorstep. Aerospace Bristol and the Wild Place are both well worth a visit. The Roman Baths in Bath and Stonehenge both on Visit Britain’s Top 20 Most Visited list.
This week also marked Newroz, Kurdish New Year, and I was honoured to be able to support this in Parliament. The Kurdish Peshmerga did so much to defeat ISIS, and worked to keep our streets safe from terrorism. I had the pleasure of reading out the Prime Minister’s personal greeting to the UK Kurdish community, and calling for the next year to be one of tolerance and peace.