Last week after an early start and breakfast in the constituency with a group of local businesses together with MEPs Anthea McIntyre and Dan Dalton, to discuss issues surrounding Brexit, skills and training, I headed to RAF Cosford with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.  Royal Air Force Cosford is the home of the Defence School of Aeronautical Engineering and whilst I was there I met with service personal and spent the day seeing at first hand the training facilities.

The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) exists to offer Parliamentarians a unique opportunity to learn more about the armed forces, and the tasks they undertake.  I joined the scheme last year, as you may have seen previously on my website, to learn more about the work of the Royal Navy, and this year I have been learning about the RAF.

Not only is this an opportunity to learn but it’s also a chance to meet with a cross section of personnel, civil servants and contractors and I firmly believe this helps me in my work as a Member of Parliament to make informed contributions to Defence debates and to better understand some of the complex issues we face.