Last week it was good to arrive in Parliament on Monday morning to see the colourful display of all the flags of Commonwealth countries on display both in and outside of Parliament.

Commonwealth Day marks the beginning of events around the globe with this year’s theme being “Forging a sustainable and peaceful common future”.

This of course is the first Commonwealth Day since Her Majesty’s passing, and the first presided over by His Majesty King Charles III as King and Head of the Commonwealth.

My first meeting of the week was with Burraton Community Primary School from Saltash who were doing a tour of the Houses of Parliament. It is a fantastic opportunity for children to come to London and to see the big city.

On Monday evening I attended a briefing on the aid that is being given to Turkey. It was good to hear from a representative of the Turkish Government how grateful they were for the help they have received from the immediate help of specially trained personal to find the injured to the longer term help with shelter and food for those who lost their homes in winter.

On Tuesday morning I hosted the Cats Protection in Parliament. I was pleased that over 50 colleagues attended from all political parties to show support for cats to be included in any new pet abduction offence.

The big event of the week was of course Wednesday’s budget.

The budget was about building on our progress and making Britain the best place in the world to live, work and do business.

The Chancellor announced that the government are helping families balance work and childcare by extending 30 hours free childcare to working parents of children aged nine months to four years.

They are also extending cost of living support with the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 until July — giving families the certainty they need. Growth is obviously important and the government is helping to create new jobs by introducing a £25-billion tax cut for business investment over the next three years — so businesses invest in Britain and grow our economy.

The government is also increasing the annual pension allowance and abolishing the Lifetime Allowance entirely.

So you can save more for your retirement without paying tax, helping more doctors stay in work. I am also pleased to report that the government are freezing fuel duty for a thirteenth year, saving the average driver around £100 a year.

Back in the constituency I visited MoreCore gym on Saltash Business Park. I wanted to discuss how they are affected by the budget. I heard how numbers have not picked up to pre-pandemic levels and I will be raising this in Parliament.

We have many great gyms across the constituency but if you would like to know more about this gym please visit morecoregym.com