THIS week Parliament is on its half-term recess which gives me an opportunity to spend plenty of time in Swindon visiting many different organisations and meeting local residents. One of the highlights was on Monday, when I attended an event organised by the Swindon Children’s Cancer And Leukaemia Movement.

I’m delighted to have been invited to become a patron of this excellent charity which I've supported for many years and which does such valuable work in our community. And 2014 is a special year for CALM as it’s its 30th birthday, so I’m especially pleased to become a patron at the start of their year of celebrations.

The charity was set up in 1984 by a group of parents who felt more could be done to support families with a child undergoing treatment for cancer or leukaemia.

Their work is particularly valuable because it recognises the impact on the wider family – something which is often forgotten. It provides help, support and counselling to many families, yet CALM receives no funding at all from the NHS. All its money is raised by supporters who run it on a purely voluntary basis and none of the funds is spent on any staff or office costs.

On Monday CALM arranged for me to meet some of the families and children they’re supporting through the most challenging times.

As it’s half term we took full advantage and went to LaserQuest in West Swindon, which has also kindly agreed to support CALM during the coming year.

It was incredibly inspiring to meet some of the brave young people who are going through such a traumatic experience at such an early age. CALM, and its excellent volunteers and fundraisers, are fine examples of the community spirit we have in Swindon in abundance. It’s a pleasure to be their patron in their 30th year.

Another important event was the visit to Swindon by the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling.

I invited the Secretary of State to come here and speak personally to the people at the sharp end of two controversial changes. Firstly we went to Swindon Courts to discuss the reforms to the legal aid system, and then we visited the Wiltshire Probation Trust.

Chris Grayling spent more than an hour listening to many of the hardworking staff there who are understandably concerned about the government’s shakeup of the system and particularly the continuity of the service.

This visit was more than a publicity stunt by the minister – he made a point of listening to all the staff he met and I know will be thinking hard about what he heard. These are fundamental but necessary changes and it’s important that we get them right.