I recently met representatives from Oxfordshire County Council, including Chief Executive Martin Reeves, at County Hall alongside fellow Oxfordshire MP, Robert Courts.

We had a productive discussion about OCC’s response to the recently published Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission report into the Oxfordshire Local Area Partnership’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.

Martin gave me his personal assurances that SEND is his top priority and that the Partnership – which includes both the County Council and our local health authorities – have been working hard to deliver the action plan required by Ofsted and the CQC.

The Local Area Partnership has a lot of work to do. I am hopeful that they have been given a long-overdue wake up call. The promises that have been made must deliver the improvements we need to see. Children and parents deserve better. Anyone with concerns should contact me via [email protected].

Home-Start Banbury, Bicester & Chipping Norton are a fantastic local charity. I enjoyed speaking to lots of parents and children during one of their Stay & Play sessions at their newly refurbished garden at the Britannia Road Children’s Centre in Banbury.

It was great to hear from the charity’s Chair of Trustees Chloe and organisers Karen and Angela about the emotional and practical support they provide to many local parents. Their mission is to help those facing the challenges and stresses of family life.

Stay & Play sessions for under 5s take place in Banbury on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 12pm. A session is also held in Bicester at the Methodist Church on Bell Lane on Wednesdays between 9.30am and 11.30am.

If you are interested in joining one of their sessions or even volunteering, please get in touch with them at [email protected] or on 01295 266358. For more information on my visit click here.

It was great to visit the Jefferies family farm in Little Bourton recently. I enjoyed hearing more about their extensive arable operation, as well as seeing their latest venture in the form of some new Dexter cattle.

Thank you to Lloyds Banking Group for organising the visit.

I was delighted to visit the Whitechapel Gardens development in Bodicote to congratulate Site Manager, Richard Gee, who recently won a Pride in the Job Quality Award from the National House Building Council (NHBC). This is a fantastic achievement and testament to Richard’s hard work.

During my visit I was given a tour of the Barratt Homes development that will deliver a total of 97 properties. It was great to see first-hand the level of skill and workmanship that goes into building a new home.

As part of Colleges Week, I visited Banbury and Bicester College to learn more about the fantastic courses they have on offer. Their next open day is on Saturday 11 November for those interested in looking around.

Zimbl are a unique EV micro-rental company situated in the heart of Banbury. It was brilliant to meet founders Richard, Andrew and Elton earlier this month who are on a mission to promote more ecological driving and reduce carbon emissions. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of their vehicles. 

Find out more about Zimbl here.

I enjoyed visiting the brilliant Little Sparrows Childcare in Banbury this month. I had a really positive conversation about childcare policy with owner Fiona Baughan. It is great to hear how well her childminding service is doing!

Earlier this month, I met charity Connection Support along with some of the Syrian families they have been supporting in Cherwell.

Connection Support are a brilliant local charity working to deliver the Government’s Refugee Resettlement Scheme. It was really useful to get the opportunity to hear directly from supported families about their experiences of arriving in the UK after being displaced by conflict.

I really enjoyed popping in to William Morris Primary School to see how they have been getting on. I was taken on a tour of the new school building which opened last year and is being used by Years 4, 5 and 6.

I also got the chance to speak to Year 6 pupils who were interested in my career as a lawyer and as an MP. I was impressed by the some of the thought-provoking questions I was asked!

It is always a pleasure catching up with Prabhu Natarajan, one of Banbury’s unsung heroes. Prabhu, his wife Shilpa and son Addhu invited me for lunch along with community leaders at his home in Bretch Hill.

I awarded Prabhu with a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister over two years ago now in recognition of the amazing work he did delivering food parcels to families across Banbury during the pandemic.

Prabhu continues to work tirelessly to support those most in need, with the support of the local community. It was great to get the opportunity to speak to those who have helped him to fundraise and deliver parcels over a delicious lunch prepared by Shilpa!

I know many constituents were concerned by train operators’ proposals to close train station ticket offices. Ministers were clear that this summer’s public consultation on the proposals had to proceed before any decisions were taken.

Following an assessment of the feedback received from passengers, accessibility groups and stakeholders, it had become apparent that train operators’ proposals would not meet the highest quality of service for all customers.

Ministers have therefore informed train operators that their proposals to close ticket offices should not proceed. The Department for Transport has recently completed an audit of all England’s railway stations and will instead consider what improvements can be made to the benefit of all passengers.

I hope this will come as welcome news to all those who rely on our ticket offices in Banbury and Bicester.

The Prime Minister remains rightly focused on cutting waiting lists, ensuring that people can get the care they need more quickly. While there have been challenges recently, good progress has been made so far this year in reducing waiting times for both elective and urgent and emergency care.

Earlier this month, the NHS achieved the ambition of establishing 10,000 virtual ward beds ahead of this winter through the UEC Recovery Plan. This represents a huge leap forward in the way patients are treated. Read more on this here.

Adults who kill someone they share parental responsibility with will no longer have a say in key elements of their child’s life. Under Jade’s Law, parental responsibility will be suspended upon sentencing - better protecting children and bereaved families.

Click here for more information.

I had the immense honour of attending the Opening of the Legal Year this month as His Majesty’s Attorney General. A ceremony steeped in history and a rare opportunity for me to wear my ceremonial robes as one of the Law Officers. 

The Opening of the Legal Year also saw Dame Sue Carr formally sworn in as Lady Chief Justice. A historic moment as Dame Sue is the first woman Lady Chief Justice – another major achievement as we continue to celebrate 100 years of women in law.

Following in the eminent footsteps of Robert Buckland, it was an honour to deliver the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire's Law Lecture at the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford.

 As I told the audience, my role as Attorney General is to make law and politics work together at the heart of the UK constitution.

I was delighted to speak at the first formal meeting of the new APPG on Access to Justice alongside co-chair Laura Farris, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Chair of the Justice Committee Bob Neill.