NOW we're into the new year, 18 months after having the privilege of being elected your MP, I remain completely focused on our NHS and care, people’s cost of living and safeguarding our wonderful environment here in Taunton and Wellington.

With people’s pockets in mind, I used my question to the Prime Minister last week to ask his government not to take the ‘remoteness’ funding uplift away from our largest and most sparsely populated counties, like Somerset (the fifth largest in the country), so that children with disabilities and special educational needs do not lose out even more.

His reply that the government “will look at that as part of the work we are doing” was no more convincing for local families as it was for council taxpayers.

The government’s disappointing provisional one per cent increase for Somerset Council next year could force a big Council Tax increase on to our area. Some modelling suggests this could be as much as 11 per cent - Lib Dem MPs are clear: that is far too much for people in a cost of living crisis.

I therefore recently secured a meeting for all Somerset MPs with the local government minister where we were crystal clear that government must step in with more support.

Even after reducing jobs by 500 to 600 posts to make savings, care for increasing numbers of children and adults now costs two out of every three pounds of Somerset Council’s finances.

Government really must fix the social care funding crisis - forcing hard-pressed council taxpayers to bail out their failure would be unacceptable.

I’m continuing to press the Prime Minister and other ministers to restore this support to Somerset. The rural nature of our county needs and deserves it.

Another government minister was talking about Somerset recently when Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said in a radio interview that he might at last respond to the need to expedite the much-needed new Maternity and Paediatric Unit at Musgrove Park Hospital, something I have been calling for over the past year.

I have written to the Health Secretary asking him to come and see for himself how urgent the need is. My calls have recently resulted in the promise of a meeting with ministers in the next few weeks to discuss the hospital.

I was delighted to help get the unit into the new government’s programme of hospital projects but the timescales they’re suggesting are far too long.

Here in Taunton and Wellington, the wet weather has meant frequent flood alerts for many.

I have, therefore, strongly opposed the recent government consultation proposal to weaken rules preventing developments at high risk of flooding. This government's continual removal of planning powers from local councillors is shameful – it can and must be reversed.

Elsewhere, the Grand Western Greenway public meeting on Saturday – to discuss plans for a traffic-free route between Wellington and Taunton – was a huge success with about 100 people turning out to support this grassroots scheme. Well done to all the volunteers involved.