THE House of Commons restarted on Tuesday. It was like returning to school with some homesickness!
The first task was to catch up with correspondence and to study voluminous papers before two meetings of the Health Select Committee this week.

At home the first stage of the Bewdley flood defence works should be starting this week.

We all know from the press that the railways are in chaos.
As a regular rail traveller I can confirm this locally and generally.
Local trains between Kidderminster and Birmingham are often late and occasionally cancelled without warning.

Excuses range from the incomprehensible "congestion on the line at Great Malvern" to the obvious "late running of the previous service".

I think the worst delay occurred on a Virgin train just before Christmas.
Passengers were informed that the locomotive had broken down exactly in Watford station - conveniently! We would have to wait for a spare engine to come from Euston.
About 45 minutes later we restarted without visible or audible evidence of a new locomotive overtaking us and without the usual jolts of recoupling.

Had they repaired the loco or was it coincidence that all the train staff conspicuously vanished during the whole enforced pause?

We are waiting to see how the Government will improve rail services and what consideration will be given to small savers who invested in Railtrack.

Turning to education, there is understandably a great deal of concern about the Hagley schools review which precedes that in Wyre Forest.
Opinions are divided on the pros and cons of two educational tiers versus three.
I aim to listen to groups of teachers, parents and governors and to try to understand which system is best for local children and then attempt to support that while requesting openness and full information during the decision-making process.

Funding for education remains a serious concern even though a review of the method of funding is promised into 2003.

County Labour MPs seem to be playing their cards close to their chests but in an informal conversation one of them said that he felt the problem had been addressed and solved.
I shall attempt to check the details of that statement.

Following the county consultants' vote of no confidence in the Acute Hospitals Trust management and in the health authority I wrote to Health Secretary Alan Milburn and others requesting action.
I have had some acknowledgements but I shall give Mr Milburn and his staff a little longer to reply.