The drier weather this week is a welcome relief.

I was out inspecting flood damage last week and offering support to local people before I came across an impassable road out of Honiton with an abandoned car. There were many similar images shared across community groups of blocked roads, abandoned cars, fallen trees, and flooded fields.

Thankfully, last week's images were not as bad as the 9th May – where notably Newton Poppleford, Venn Ottery and Northmostown were particularly badly hit by flash flooding – nor Storm Ciarán in November. But it's certainly been a tough year for many communities, who feel a knot in their stomach every time the heavens open.

With the weather much improved this week, local volunteers and council teams have been hard at work returning things to normal. We owe them our thanks.

Out and about last week, I also paid a visit to Ottery St Mary to assess the damage to the collapsed pathway by the River Otter near Otter Mill.

I met with local residents to discuss the situation and the need for permanent protections to ensure public safety.

Thank you to Ottery St Mary Town Council for their hard work on this matter. I'll work with the town council to push for proper long-term action from the land owner and developer.

In Parliament this week, I asked Ministers for another update on the flood-prone Tipton St John Primary School. The school has had to close three times this year, with another near miss last week due to heavy rainfall.

Regular readers will know that this Conservative government has agreed to fund a new school. As I said in Parliament, it's vital that spades are in the ground next year for the new school. I’m meeting with the Secretary of State for Education soon to press for action. The children of Tipton and the surrounding area deserve modern classrooms and facilities that match the high-quality education they get from their truly inspiring teachers. I'll do everything I can to make that happen.