News hot off the press – I’ve just been elected by fellow MP’s to the Business, Innovation, and Skills Select Committee. It’s a huge honour.

This means that I’m now a member of a powerful committee that carries out independent reports into the impact and implications of government policy. It can also call ministers and senior figures from all walks of life in order to call them to account or to learn from their experiences.

Entrepreneurship, small business, and the skills our economy and young people need are all issues that are so incredibly important to Hove and Portslade so you can imagine how pleased I am by this.

I can’t wait to get stuck in!

Also, the Education Bill Committee I serve on has started its work with a marathon 7 hour session when I got to quiz expert witnesses and also ministers. I was a little over-enthusiastic at one points and was reprimanded by the chair for not giving people enough time to answer before I fired off the next question!

Finally, I’ve also asked questions to ministers in the House of Commons chamber every day this week. On Monday I asked the Communities and Local Government minister what extra powers he intended to give our local council. On Tuesday I asked the Business minister what he was doing to tackle the productivity challenges faced by small businesses in our city. And yesterday I asked the minister for civil society what he was doing to ensure that young people from deprived backgrounds were taking part in the National Citizens Service programme. I also ‘bobbed’ for another Prime Ministers Questions…but didn’t get called again!

I hope you’re staying cool during the heatwave. Please take care and look out for others too. All the best, Peter