I was delighted to be reappointed as Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care by the Prime Minister as part of his new government. I have been in the role for over a year now, and we have managed to make some improvements.

In the Department of Health and Social Care, along with the day to day work of keeping our fantastic NHS on track and continuing to deliver the best medical service in the world to the people of UK, we have been celebrating some anniversaries.

Central to me and to my beliefs as a Conservative is the importance of valuing every person.

The environment has been in the news recently.  You may have seen the reports of the Extinction Rebellion protest last month in London.

Polling day is nearly here for the local elections; on 2nd May electors in West Suffolk will have the opportunity to elect 64 councillors to the new West Suffolk Council.

When I was appointed health secretary nine months ago, one of the areas of health that I decided to make an early priority was that of prevention.

People go to see their GPs for all sorts of reasons, but it is estimated that 20% of medical appointments are for social rather than medical problems.

Who looks after us when we are not well?  We have the most brilliant health care professionals that make up the NHS. We can rely on the NHS from cradle to grave to look after our health when we need it.

When I was appointed Health Secretary eight months ago, I stated my three priorities for the role. First, to focus on our brilliant NHS staff and make sure that they are well supported and well appreciated. Second, to put technology at the heart of the NHS. And third, to focus on prevention.

Early in January, the government launched the NHS Long Term Plan to set out how it will guarantee the future of the NHS.  It describes how we will use the largest funding settlement in the history of the NHS of £20.5bn to strengthen it over the next decade, rising to the challenges of today and s