THE constituency's MP will hold his first advice surgery this week.

The Labour MP for Hexham, Joe Morris, will hold his first advice surgery in Prudhoe on Friday, August 16.

Joe Morris MP said: "Once again, I have spent my week meeting with organisations and businesses that work in our communities to discuss how I can best work with them to deliver positive outcomes for people in our area.

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"Last week, I met with both the Coach and Horses and The Fox to discuss the role of pubs in our communities and how as our local MP, I can support them. Pubs are incredibly valuable places for us to gather, to be with friends and family, to celebrate and to commiserate.

"They also help to provide employment and draw in visitors from outside the area, who spend their money in our shops, our restaurants and our other attractions in this beautiful constituency. Visiting the Slaley Show this weekend further brought home the beauty of our constituency, the pride we have in our traditions and the importance of our communities.

"As I said in my maiden speech to Parliament, I’m delighted to represent a huge swathe of Hadrian’s Wall, and I will do whatever I can do to boost the tourist economy in the region and to support the jobs and opportunities that tourism brings to our communities. The North East is a phenomenal place – with some of the best people, the best food and the most beautiful sights in Britain.

"The constituency boundary change meant some new businesses and employers were brought into our area for the first time. As a result of this, I met with Newcastle Airport as their local MP. Like many people my experience of the airport is, as a child, waving off my Dad when he went abroad for work, or flying out of there to go on holiday. But the airport is a large employer in our area, with a huge role to play in decarbonising our economy and driving investment to our region.

"I also met with the Northumberland Domestic Abuse Services this week to hear about the challenges they face in carrying out their vital work across a county that is 97 per cent rural, and to discuss how as the local MP I can best support their work. It’s an incredibly important organisation doing fantastic work. If anyone reading this column needs their support or advice, please ring them on 01434 608030.

"Being an MP isn’t just about visiting businesses, and I’m holding my first advice surgery in Prudhoe this week.

"Meeting constituents to speak about the issues affecting them and seeing where an MP can help with individual cases is a privilege. I’ll be holding further advice surgeries across the constituency in due course, as I know the sheer scale of the constituency means that not every surgery is accessible to everyone.

"Last week, I wrote that I had secured two debates that are of huge importance to the constituency - one on the future of sheep farming and the other on access to banking services in rural Northumberland. If you have any lived experience of these issues, please email me at joe.morris.mp@parliament.uk – and I will try and draw on these examples in my speeches."