I HAVE had a busy week. On Monday I attended an informal Health Select Committee meeting covering commissioning of health care for diabetics, the Urology Trade Association’s concerns about aspects of the review of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology appliances and a report from British Telecom on their progress with the NHS IT contract.

I then joined the House in Committee for part of the consideration of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill.

I spoke briefly in support of a Labour backbench amendment that would have put a retrospective period on the tax status of non-domiciled donors before they could donate to political parties. It was lost but it allowed me and a Government MP to express regret that current large donations begin to make it look as though money can influence election results, surely a regrettable and backward step.

Tuesday started with a meeting with the Campaign for Better Transport as a part of their campaign to cut train fares.

Then I had a meeting with representatives of the National Childbirth Trust to discuss opportunities for choice in the places for women to have their babies.

After that I met the president of the Royal College of Physicians, at his request, to talk about the fate of his inquiry into free prescriptions for those with long-term conditions. The Government appears to have “lost” this since November.

He also wished to discuss the current Health Select Committee inquiry into the commissioning of health care.

I then had a brief pre-recorded interview with BBC Hereford and Worcester about the Government’s proposal to take the provider arm of healthcare delivery away from primary care trusts to allow them to concentrate on commissioning.

Putting community services with another existing health trust risks a loss of funding from these services including community hospitals and must be watched closely to ensure that these vital services are protected.

During the afternoon I met officers of Public Concern at Work to discuss my Private Members Bill on support for whistleblowers; attended a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health; dropped into a meeting to promote the largest of the West Midlands tourist attractions including the Severn Valley Railway and the Safari Park and finally joined a meeting of the APPG on Sewers and Sewerage in time to learn that at last, after years of pushing by this group, it is expected that inadequate private sewers which are present on some housing estates, built soon after the Second World War, will be adopted to public ownership and responsibility during 2011.

A great victory for the group which I joined immediately after awful flooding from blocked private sewers on a Kidderminster estate during the Christmas holiday of 2001.

Saturday evening was a contrast – “Aladdin” at the Stourport Civic Theatre performed by the Monday Night Group in association with Crescents Ballet School.

It was a masterly riot of knockabout humour and dancing spectacle. I have not laughed as much for ages and there must have been many hoarse voices after the enthusiastic audience participation.

Last year they raised over £19,000 for local charities. They deserve to make £20,000 this year.

Dr Richard Taylor MP