On Wednesday Baroness Ann Taylor was in Bovington in her capacity as Minister of Defence Equipment and Support.

I took along to the Tank Museum to see how work was progressing with the impressive new £16million extension.  The museum will be hugely improved as a result with enough room to properly display their extraordinary collection that are such an important part of twentieth century history.

We also met a group of local defence manufacturers so they could directly talk to the minister about the issues of concern to them as a crucial local industry.

Otherwise this week I've met with the Weymouth Chamber of Commerce to discuss rising rates and rents; I've been back to the YOI on Portland to discuss prison education; a company on Winfrith regarding their decommisioning business; Weymouth swimming pool; beach stallholders about Weymouth seafront regeneration; and Albion Stone about a number of issues for their Portland stone business.

But probably the hiuglight of the week was the Saturday night at Conifers School to launch Fusion.  This great project has been developed by Katy Phillips and Karen Todd with local families to help them as parents.  The philosophy of them learning from each other has worked really well, especially in involving some of the families who are normally most reluctant to come forward for help.  It has been so successful that it has been worked on natinoally by the Innovation Unit, is now being adopted by all Dorset schools and is going global through the website Curriki.