THE House of Commons has now risen and we are into the summer recess period, with MPs returning to Westminster in early September.

The current round of Parliamentary business – from debates in the Chamber, formal questions to ministers, and work on numerous committees – is therefore on hold for the next few weeks.

However, when this column goes to print, I will be in France with the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces, on a tour of the D-Day Battlefields. I am certain it will be not only an informative tour, but also a deeply moving one.

Visiting Normandy on this cross-party trip will be an opportunity to learn more about the absolutely vast scale of the D-Day operations and the huge numbers of personnel involved – which are quite incredible to contemplate.

I would direct any readers who may wish to find out more about D-Day to the extremely informative website ddaymuseum.co.uk

Following the tour, I will be taking some time to catch up with friends and family - something that I am looking forward to enormously after what has been an incredibly busy, tumultuous and at times deeply distressing few months in Westminster.

With the terrible death of my friend and colleague Jo Cox; the EU referendum campaign and result with all the uncertainty it brings for the country; a new prime minister and Government in place (I wrote about my concerns in this column last week); and another Labour leadership election campaign just starting – it has been a highly unusual time, which has been extremely difficult for everyone, both personally and politically.

The summer recess will be an important time for many of my parliamentary colleagues to reflect on recent events and take stock.

However, unlike in Westminster, work in the constituency is never on hold, and my office remains open throughout the summer because of course constituents’ problems do not ease up just because the schools are out, and hardship and emergencies pay no heed to the calendar.

If you find yourself in need of assistance during the summer, please don’t hesitate to contact my constituency office by emailing stephen.doughty.mp@parliament.uk or by calling 02920 452072.

On a final note for now, I will be taking a break from this column through August and until the edition of September 8, so I will end this one by wishing all readers an enjoyable summer.