It was very interesting to see the new arrangements made due to Covid-19 but I didn’t travel back to the House of Commons this week when Parliament resumed.

Work continues at pace to help those most badly affected by the outbreak of coronavirus. We will all be deeply affected by this, one way or another. However, there are a range of urgent challenges that my team and I are working hard to address, as best we can.

This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalised in his own, personal battle against coronavirus. At the time of writing, there were encouraging signs that he is making progress and I think I speak for us all in wishing him a speedy, full recovery. We need his strong leadership.

After a period of rapid change, with big announcements every day, things this week have seemed to settle down a bit, as those of us who can stay at home get used to being under a form of lockdown.

Now that the essential legislation on corona virus measures are passed into law, MPs are off to work from home following the same rules that we've asked everyone else to abide by. We'll come back to Parliament as and when more measures need to be formally scrutinised and voted on.

The past week has been unprecedented, as resources have been mobilised to tackle the global corona virus crisis. 

This week saw Chancellor Rishi Sunak deliver his first Budget, delayed from November due to the election. However, for pub regulars like me it was worth the wait. Duties on beer, wine, cider and spirits were all frozen – the first time all have been frozen together for 20 years.

Sadly, it seems the UK continues to be affected by coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases grows and other countries across the world deal with outbreaks.

Sadly, the horrible, wet weather affecting many parts of the UK continues. Some of the images of flooding along major rivers such as the Severn have been appalling. It’s terrible to think of the impact on the lives of those affected, in some case having to abandon their homes.

Last week’s reshuffle saw me move on from my role in the Foreign Office, as the Prime Minister asked me to take on a new brief in the Department for Transport.