AS YOUR Member of Parliament the work that I do is focussed on how we can make it even better.

In the General Election in May I campaigned for more jobs, better services and lower taxes.

The support I received at the ballot box demonstrated these are the priorities of Basingstoke people too.

n The most recent employment figures show that confidence is returning to business in Basingstoke.

More jobs mean more people moving off benefits and into work.

There are now fewer than 700 people out of work in the Basingstoke constituency, cutting the benefits bill and giving more families the security of a regular pay packet in place of welfare payments.

MORE than 13,000 Basingstoke residents will have the opportunity to buy a home of their own as part of a whole new generation's ‘Right to Buy’.

Right to Buy, more support for self build homes and continued support for first time buyers through ‘Help to Buy’ are all helping to tackle the affordability of homes in our area.

LAST week I met Highways England to review progress being made on completing major roadworks at Black Dam Roundabout.

Completion has been delayed by more than six months as a result of inaccuracies in the maps showing the location of essential utilities.

These gas, electricity and water lines were put in place long before satellite mapping and accurately locating pipes and cables appears to be a common problem.

With a number of other roundabouts earmarked for improvement in the borough it’s vital as much work is done as possible to identify gas, electricity, water and telecoms before works begin to avoid excessive delays in completion.