It’s been a packed week both in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West and in Parliament.

A highlight of this week was St Columba’s High School’s trip from Gourock to Parliament.

Hosted by the Education Department here in Westminster, the S4 pupils were given an extensive tour of the Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster.

Their visit ended with a question and answer session where I was able to meet with the social subjects’ senior pupils to discuss their visit and answer their questions about the role of the MP, parliament and the work we are looking to do in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West.

I particularly enjoyed listening in on their workshop where they had created their own political parties and delivered manifestos to the rest of the group.

This was the first school visit to Parliament since the election and I hope it isn’t the last.

Free education tours are provided by the UK Parliament’s Education and Engagement Team for UK students aged 7-18.

The visit includes a workshop or immersive film experience in the Education centre and a tour of the Palace of Westminster.

Eligible schools travelling from Scotland can claim up to £2,400 in travel subsidies when they book a tour of Parliament.

In the last few weeks I sent out a letter to all the Head Teachers in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West introducing myself and detailing the ways their schools and pupils can get involved with Parliament and learn more about politics, including highlighting these funding grants and Parliament Week which is happening in November.

It is so important that our young people understand and feel engaged with parliament and politics and this is something I want to help facilitate.

UK Parliament Week (November 18-22) is an exciting highlight in the parliamentary year, providing fantastic opportunities for schools and young people across the country to discover more about the UK Parliament, what it does, and learn about the work MPs do.

This is something I would love the young people of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West to be involved in.

Please get in touch with my office (martin.mccluskey.mp@parliament.uk) if you have any questions about educational visits or how I can support schools across the constituency.

Up the road on Wednesday I attended a Jobs Fair organised by Inverclyde Council in Greenock Town Hall.

This was a really important event that provided an opportunity for local residents to find out more about job opportunities in Inverclyde and meet directly with employers and those who provide skills training and advice.

I invited along the Google Digital Garage Team to sign people up to their digital skills workshops that are immensely beneficial for people as our modes of working become ever-more digitised.

Training people for the jobs of the future is the way that Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West will retain and attract employers and lead to secure and skilful jobs for years to come.

It’s also crucial to make sure that anyone who has been affected by the recent closures, such as at EE, have the opportunity to access training and opportunities to find new work.

Finally, yesterday we kicked off our October constituency events with back-to-back surgeries in Inverkip, Wemyss Bay and Gourock.

At each surgery I typically meet with a number of residents raising important issues and along with my casework team discuss how we can help with these issues going forward.

This month we will be having surgeries and coffee mornings across the entire constituency which I regularly advertise on my social media channels and below.

If you would like to meet with me to discuss an issue you may have please do get in touch via email (Martin.mccluskey.mp@parliament.uk) to book into one of my upcoming sessions.

Next week Parliament returns after the three week conference recess, which means Monday to Wednesday will be spent in London.

I’m expecting that we’ll see lots of discussion about the developments internationally over the past few weeks and the UK Government’s response to the situation in Lebanon.

As we also approach the budget, I’ll be attending an event with the Chancellor and putting forward my views on the upcoming budget on October 30.