Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter writes about the work going on to improve the lives of people in Suffolk.

With the summer recess almost over, I’m getting ready to return to the daily business of Parliament - but I have very much enjoyed spending the summer at home in Suffolk, getting back to the grassroots of being a constituency MP.

We’ve had consistently warm sunshine this year, possibly too warm, but I have enjoyed meeting so many of you as I visited and opened village fetes and summer events.

It’s lovely to see families spending time together outdoors, enjoying the best of Suffolk life. I’m sure our farmers can also breathe a sigh of relief as the harvest has been safely gathered, without the interruption of wet weather.

At the time of writing, I’m delighted to learn of the government’s drive to create stronger communities as part of a more caring society.

Proposals include significant reform across the public and private sectors, with people, communities and charitable organisations working together to make decisions about delivery of public services.

As well as encouraging councils, businesses and the voluntary sector to work together, this intiative will bring £165million to further support community foundations, and set up new organisations to help get disadvantaged people back into employment, and tackle social exclusion.

The initiative aims to boost charities and allow them to play a greater role in the delivery of public services. Government alone cannot tackle the complex challenges facing our society, such as loneliness or homelessness, but it can help to bring people and resources together to provide more joined-up services and initiatives.

In Suffolk, we have such a strong sense of community, and we are already ahead of the game, with a great record of working collaboratively to deliver services in new ways, delivering better value for money for the people who live and work here.

Crucially, the new leader of Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks, has started out on an extremely positive footing, with his commitment to work collaboratively across Suffolk, with the other councils, health and businesses.

I certainly join him in that ambition. Together with our colleagues, we can help secure the very best for the residents of Suffolk.

As with other issues, despite the financial challenges, in Suffolk we will continue to lead the way.

For more information, please visit my website www.drdanielpoulter.com