I am delighted to report that Wiltshire College has been awarded grant funding from the Coalition Government for the redevelopment of its campus in Chippenham.

I remember how the college was let down in 2008, when the previous government pulled the plug on funding for the project after its national college building programme had to be wound up. I backed the plans as a Parliamentary candidate then and, since my election, have been championing Wiltshire College’s renewed bid to Ministers.

In the House of Commons before Christmas, I enlisted support for the bid from both the Prime Minister and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my Liberal Democrat colleague Danny Alexander MP.

I look forward to inviting them to see the construction work before too long, once it’s under way. After such a long wait to secure the funding, the project now needs to move quickly, and I hope councillors will support its progress through the planning process.

I’m pleased to see the Coalition Government giving young people the best chance to gain the workplace skills employers demand, helping to build a stronger economy.

Looking further afield, I have been following anxiously the situation in Ukraine, including the powerful images from Kiev following the violent clashes between protestors and the government there. One thing common to this and other live international disputes at the moment – Syria and Iran – is the importance of Russia.

On the face of it, there is little common ground between us and the Russian government. Their national interest can appear to be at odds with Britain’s efforts to promote self-determination and human rights around the world. However, as the Sochi Winter Olympics reminded us, President Putin is as much concerned with cultivating his international reputation and legacy as his domestic standing.

Preventing conflict and humanitarian crises near its boarders requires co-operation with Russia at the United Nations Security Council, as we saw last week in relation to getting aid safely to people homeless in Syria. Peace and stability in these countries is in Russia’s interests and our own.

My next constituency surgeries will be at Melksham Town Hall on Saturday (10am-11.30am) and at The Pound Arts Centre, Corsham on Friday, March 7 (11am-12.30pm) and at Bradford on Avon Library on March 8 (10am-11.30am).