Our quality of life and the state of the environment about us continues to grow in importance. Initiatives of whatever size can play an important role in protecting our future, which is why I am pleased to play my part in supporting the many environmental campaigns that are happening within Swindon.

Blue Planet, the programme that captivated so many of us, has brought to our attention the importance of protecting the world that we live in and the effects of plastic waste in the ocean, which is a catastrophe. When you examine the years required for plastic to break down (up to thousands), there is no doubt in my mind that we must act immediately. Although protecting the environment is a global issue, hence the importance of international cooperation to tackle this worsening problem, local community efforts to help are extremely welcome too.

I am pleased to add my support to the Swindon Refill Campaign, which was launched last Sunday. After holding a meeting with their co-ordinator a few weeks ago, I could see that the focus of the project has real potential to help reduce plastic waste output in our community. The scheme is a simple idea, where cafes, local businesses and anywhere with a tap are encouraged to allow passers-by to refill their plastic water bottles for free, and where participating outlets will eventually be shown on a ‘refill app’ which can be downloaded to many devices. This will help reduce the single use of plastic bottles and encourage even more recycling. I look forward to working closely with the campaign as it grows throughout Swindon. If you would like to find out more, ‘refill.org.uk’ is the website address which can provide a more in-depth guide to the programme.

The Government is committed to tackling plastic waste and at the beginning of this year, a landmark 25-year Environmental Plan was launched, establishing detailed plans on how we can reduce our impact on the environment. Major issues within the environment that must be tackled such as reducing the poisonous waste that is being poured into our oceans and rivers, cleansing our air of toxic pollutants as well as creating clean habitats for our precious British wildlife to thrive and prosper are at the forefront of this plan.

You may have read in the Adver last week that Swindon therapy services are achieving waiting time targets. This is welcome news for healthcare in our town. The Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme aims to deliver services for a range of mental health conditions that are increasingly becoming more frequent in our society. I am glad to see that in Swindon, waiting times for a second appointment have reduced dramatically. I regularly meet local health agencies to discuss mental health issues and will continue to work closely with them to further improve mental health services in the town.

As part of this work, I visited the IPSUM charity to meet some of the team and some service users last week to gain more of an insight into how the charity operates. IPSUM provide a wide range of interventions for mental health issues which are greatly valued within Swindon and the surrounding area by the services that they provide, such as 'talking therapies’ that can be beneficial to many. Offering support for wellbeing and stability, their centre is on Milton Road in Swindon Town Centre or likewise online at ‘ipsum.care’.

If you have a national or local issue that you would like to discuss with me please ring my office on 01793 533393 or email robert.buckland.mp@parliament.uk