I NOW know why the House of Commons appears so empty on television except for Prime Minister's Question Time.

MPs are expected to have the ability to be in two, if not three, places at once.

First there is the conflict between events in the constituency on Mondays and Fridays and in the House if important items are on the timetable for debate.

Even when in London there are local conflicts. I have been fortunate to be appointed to the standing committee on the NHS Reform Bill.

This has to have 14 meetings between now and Christmas.

These are every Tuesday and Thursday, mornings and afternoons, and last three hours each or more.

The purpose of a standing committee is to dissect the Bill clause by clause and make or reject suggested amendments.

The constitution of this particular committee is 18 members - five Tories, one Liberal Democrat, myself and 11 Labour members.

A standing committee usually divides on party lines, and usually the Labour Party will achieve its amendments and the opposition will not.

I am pleased to be a floating voter, not necessarily voting with the opposition. The tactic that the Tories adopt is to speak at great length, to my mind sometimes repetitively, as their only weapon appears to be to delay things.

I am delighted that the Government has accepted that expecting to have all primary care trusts up and running by April 1 is unrealistic. I learnt for the first time yesterday that ministers are now planning all primary care trusts to be established by October 1, but only to be fully operational by April 1, 2003. I do not believe this was in the original plan, hence I think they have taken notice of pressure from professional groups that this degree of slowing down is essential.

At home, I attended the annual Christmas lunch for the Hospital League of Friends volunteers.

I was delighted that there were 130 present. This was the largest number ever and shows that the support for our hospitals is undimmed and encourages me to persist with the battle as chinks of hope continue to appear.

I was amazed at the crowds in Kidderminster for the switching on of the Christmas lights despite the attraction of the Harriers beating Rushden and Diamonds.

I paid a further visit to St John's First School and was interested to hear views from staff on two and three-tier educational systems.

Some residents of Bewdley have expressed concerns about the proposed traffic calming in the town on the west side of the river and I am looking into these.