MY parents ran a sub post office for several years and I know how important it was to the local community.

I have lodged official objections to the planned closure of the Rectory Road and Beoley Road post offices.

I know both of these post offices and the communities they serve very well. They should not be closed.

The Government has supported the Post Office with half a billion pounds to introduce new services and banking systems so customers can access their bank services from any post office.

This and other modern services are the future for our Post Office network.

For instance, I know several local post offices have cashpoint machines that will help them give the service we have come to expect these days.

I voted for a modern Post Office offering modern services and I will do all I can to help our local post offices take advantage of the new opportunities that this offers.

Last week, a very positive report on improvements in the NHS was published.

The Commission for Health Improvement said "the NHS as a whole is improving", that there were signs of better leadership, clear standards, learning from experience and a drive for improvement.

There are 50,000 more nurses and 5,500 more consultants in the NHS and more are to come.

Their hard work is what is making the NHS better. For instance, every single waiting time indicator is better than it was in 1997 and there are more operations being carried out than ever before.

At the Alexandra Hospital we can see improvements too. Although the trust has to face several challenges in working across three sites in the county, it still enjoys facilities that are modern and staff who are working hard. I will be meeting hospital bosses at the Alex soon to check the progress they are making.