Pig farmers are having a very hard time at present. Feed prices have doubled over the past year and farmers stand to lose more than £20 on every pig raised, despite a rise in prices of fresh pork, bacon and other pork products on the high street.

I have tabled a Commons Motion calling on the Government to ensure that retail price increases flow down the supply chain to Britain's pig farmers. I have also written to supermarkets and food processors asking them to source British pig meat.

You can do your bit too – buy only British pork. Look for the Quality Meat Standard so you know the pork you buy is top quality and reared to much higher standards than foreign imports.

Post offices

Local post offices are at the hub of many of our villages. Even though the Government has done its level best to reduce the viability of post offices by withdrawing TV licence payments, phasing out the Post Office card account, and switching the payment of pensions and benefits directly into bank accounts, rural post offices still provide a vital link for many residents.

I accept some people may prefer the new methods and are happy to access services on-line but these are often not options for the elderly or for those on benefits.

I have recently met with local sub-postmasters and postmistresses and also with Norfolk Rural Community Council to see if ways can be found to keep post offices open. I have also signed the Commons Motion condemning post office closures and the derisory six-week consultation period.

Hartismere Hospital

I know many of you share my concerns that NHS bodies do not always pay enough attention to local healthcare needs.

Recently, I met with members of a local group who are seeking to change this by securing the future of Hartismere Hospital in Eye.

Hartismere Health and Care is a charitable company set up by local people to support the development of a 'health village' on the hospital's five-acre site.

Proposals include a community hospital with beds, diagnostic facilities, maternity, mental health services and complementary therapies, a care home and sheltered housing.

If the project succeeds, it would benefit a wide population across north Suffolk and south Norfolk.

I was pleased to hear that the Norfolk and Norwich, Ipswich and West Suffolk hospitals support these proposals and I hope other NHS bodies will follow.

Local people deserve better healthcare facilities.