Those of you who watch the BBC Parliament channel – and I appreciate that might not be many of you - may have noticed that in recent weeks I have not always been sitting in my usual place in the House of Commons chamber.
When matters related to business and industry are discussed you will now find me on the second row behind the front bench where Ministers are dealing with questions.
The new seating arrangements are because I now have additional responsibilities as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
That’s a bit of mouthful but, in short, it’s my job to act as an aide to the department’s ministerial team of Margot James, Claire Perry, Richard Harrington and Jo Johnson. My colleague Kelly Tolhurst is PPS to the most senior Minister, the Middlesbrough-born and raised Secretary of State Greg Clark.
I’m very excited about the appointment to one of the biggest Government’s departments whose responsibilities also include science, innovation and climate change.
The department is working on some exciting policies at moment. Like the use of technology to control the use of energy in our homes and businesses which by using smart meters and mobile phones could save the UK £40bn in energy costs over decades to come.
And last month the department launched an initiative to make the UK a world leader in battery technology. The Faraday Challenge will see £246m invested in research, innovation and scale-up of battery technology – technology which will be increasingly important as we move away from the use of internal combustion engines to power vehicles.
I am particularly pleased to have been appointed to this job because business and innovation is an area I know something about. In my career before entering Parliament I worked with businesses in the UK and around the world, helping them to grow and prosper.
Being a PPS is tremendous opportunity for me to be involved in the day-to-day business of government and contribute in a small way to the formulation of policy for the developing industrial strategy and enterprise.
My responsibilities included attending the weekly meetings at the department’s Victoria Street offices with the ministers and the department’s officials. They also include liaison between the ministerial team and backbench MPs, making sure that Ministers are aware of what members are thinking on BEIS issues.
This column takes a two-week break for summer but before I sign off I want to highlight a great community initiative which celebrated its first anniversary a few weeks ago.
The Street Angels scheme was launched in Northallerton last year by the town's New Life Baptist Church with the full and active support of North Yorkshire Police.
Volunteers provide practical assistance for those who are worse for wear on a Friday and Saturday nights and as I discovered at the first anniversary event, the Angels have contributed directly to a reduction in street crime of a third on the nights that they patrol.
It's a tremendous achievement and it's been my pleasure to support the scheme at the launch and the anniversary celebration last month.