I PASSIONATELY believe that an MP should be present and active in the local community.

I have been working hard to get my office set up so I can serve the local community as effectively as possible, so I am pleased to announce we have a full team in the constituency working hard to answer your concerns and issues.

My staff bring a diverse range of skills and experience to their roles, and they have all demonstrated a commitment to helping others and delivering for their local areas. My office will be working five days a week, and lots of weekends, to serve the needs of local people.

I really appreciate all the emails I receive from constituents: people taking the time to share their views with me helps me in my job of representing them. All emails are considered carefully and I value the opportunity to stay in touch. I can’t promise we will always agree on everything, but I can promise I will always listen and will give careful consideration to everything I receive.

Thanks to my correspondence with constituents, I was aware of issues of vandalism in Musselburgh and other upsetting incidents of anti-social behaviour. Last week, I met with Chief Inspector Ben Leathes and I am hoping to be out in the area with the community officers soon. Ch Insp Leathes and I discussed anti-social behaviour in Musselburgh and the surrounding area. I appreciate the overwhelming majority of young people behave in a respectful and law-abiding manner; however, there are a minority who are involved in criminal and anti-social behaviour, and cause suffering and inconvenience for people who live and work here, as well as putting themselves at risk of harm.

We are both in agreement that tackling this requires parents, schools, businesses and community groups working together to make Musselburgh a safe place for all. I will be working closely with all these groups in the coming months to ensure we are doing all we can to make our communities safer.

I will keep listening for issues that matter to you, and it is my job to hold local authorities and services to account on your behalf. I do value you staying in touch; for face-to-face surgeries you can find me at The Brunton from 5pm on the first Friday of every month.