Today I was accompanied by Shangeetha, who did work experience in my office earlier in the year. I started the day early, discussing a benefits query over coffee with a constituent. She has a long term health problem, and wants – in line with Government aims – to do some work while on benefit, until fit enough to work full time. Her problem: jobcentre staff are very unclear on the rules for this so called “therapeutic work”.

Just after 9, to University of East London to visit a new studio set up by Fashion Enter at Knowledge Dock, and to catch up with the woman behind it, Jenny Holloway. I launched the Fashion Enter website with Jenny almost ten years ago. It gives new fashion designers a chance to market their ideas. At Knowledge Dock, they will actually make clothes for top High Street stores. The studio, run by Desiree Koster, will support talented new fashion designers as they start their careers.

At 10 I was at Sandringham Primary, to present certificates at the year’s final achievement assembly. The children were excited. Head Teacher Robert Cleary raised with me his concern that many hard up families don’t meet the Government’s criteria – eg they have no leave to remain in the UK and so don’t qualify for benefits – and so won’t count for the new pupil premium, supposed to help schools with disadvantaged pupils. I am writing to the Education Secretary on this.

I was due at 12 at the Christmas Concert at Gallions Primary School. Outside the school, I was interviewed by BBC London on the case of Lydia Hunt, the five year old daughter of a constituent whose mother abducted her to Mexico three years ago. I am raised the case in an Adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday to the Foreign Office Minister, Jeremy Browne MP.

At Gallions, every child learns to play the violin or cello. An entire year group took part in the concert, which was well supported by parents and governors. Alongside the large string ensemble, the choir was excellent.

Over lunch, I met a constituent with interesting ideas about promoting Newham to visitors from the Indian sub continent to the Olympics next summer. He suggests restaurants and other businesses should be promoted based on the origins of their proprietors – a Tamil cluster, a cluster from Kerala, a cluster from Pakistan and so on. The day finished with my regular advice surgery, this week at East Ham Town Hall.

P.S.

I made two further school visits on Monday 19 December: for another excellent Christmas concert at Essex Primary School, at the invitation of Head Teacher Rosie Cowan; and to Brampton Primary School, for the topping out ceremony of their new building with Head Teacher Ann Sheppard – until now, the school has hardly changed since Vera Lynn was a pupil in the 1920s. (Dame Vera revisited the school recently.) This is a very welcome project in the previous Government’s programme of primary school investment which – thankfully – was not cancelled by the new Government, although we won’t see anything further of this kind for some years to come. I also held a surgery during the morning at the Froud Centre, Manor Park.