FOLLOWING the tragic events in New York last week, the recall of Parliament was welcome and expected.

I was privileged to hear the House combining across political parties to support the right of the free world to fight terrorism in whatever ways are possible.

It was reassuring to hear pleas of caution to make sure that retaliation is accurate and appropriate and not in any way uncontrolled vengeance.

It must also be a worldwide response.

The declaration by the only Muslim MP that British Muslims were as appalled as the rest of the world at the utter carnage was moving and so essential to prevent hot-headed and completely unjustified local reprisals from unthinking and bigoted racists.

I was fortunate on that awful day, and the day after, to be visiting three schools in the constituency.

The happy and cheerful faces of the children, the enthusiasm and dedication of the teachers, restored in me a sense of hope that even in the face of such appalling events, one must still hold a genuine hope for the future.

Many of the worries brought to my notice during my first few weeks as MP have related to education and the dissatisfaction of parents with the allocation of school places.

There appear to have been more disappointed parents this year than before and few, if any, successful appeals.

The rigidity of the local education authority is such that I have written to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to ask if there is any way the appeals process can be reviewed.

It does appear that there has been an unprecedented clamp down on school numbers in some schools this year.

I have also been to an interesting conference organised by the Local Government Association, on the future of public services, and how to achieve more influence for ordinary people in major decisions that are being made often by quangos into services that affect ordinary people deeply.

A striking finding of a survey by the LGA showed that public servants' views of improvements in public services were much more optimistic than the view of the public, the people who actually experience the services.

A Government minister's explanation of this difference was quite unbelievable.

He said: "Users will be slower to notice improvements than public servants".

Who does he think public services are for?