As your new Member of Parliament, I believe that from the outset it is very important that I keep you up to date with the work I am doing on your behalf. 

My plan is to provide you with a short weekly update of the issues I have been working on in the past seven days. I hope that you find this approach useful and, of course, it may be that with your feedback we may find there are better ways of passing this information on as the parliamentary term progresses – five years is a long time! 

On Monday I returned to Westminster for the first time since the Christmas break. As a new MP I’m still very much getting used to the place; it is a privilege to work in such an historic building; but it is a bit like a maze and it is very easy to get lost. 

The biggest issue of the week was of course the passing of the Government’s EU Withdrawal Bill. I was proud to vote for the bill, which will now be considered by the House of Lords, safe in the knowledge that the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union on 31 January.  

We promised you that we would get Brexit done and that is exactly what we intend on doing. 

Aside from Brexit there is so much other work to be done though. During the past week: 

• I’ve talked with the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, about how to raise important questions on topics affecting Hinckley and Bosworth. 

• Tabled questions to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about ensuring superfast fibre broadband and mobile connectivity is available throughout the constituency. 

• Met with other Leicestershire MPs where we discussed the important issues of fairer funding for our county council, police, schools and hospitals; a joint strategy to tackle the challenges brought about by Hinckley Rail Freight Interchange; and, increasing capacity and reducing congestion along the A5. 

• Spoke with the Leader of the House, the Rt Hon Jacob Rees Mogg, about back bench business; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid, about delivering the best budget for Bosworth. 

• Took part in interviews with local news outlets – you may have heard me on Fosse 107. 

• Talked to The Sun about their important campaign to ban cosmetic lip-fillers for under 18s, and better regulation of the industry. 

• Finished recruiting staff for my parliamentary offices in Hinckley and Westminster – it's vitally important that we all deliver really great customer service for local residents. 

• Had my first late night pizza in the house when the Commons was sitting late... 

• ...and saw my first mouse! Because the Palace of Westminster is so old and next to the River Thames I’m told that there are lots of them! 

On a final note next month I will be launching a monthly newsletter for constituents. If you would like to sign up to receive a copy please do visit my website: https://www.drlukeevans.org.uk/ 

I hope you have a restful weekend. 

Dr Luke