Northamptonshire is a fantastic place to do business and recently I was really pleased to be able to meet with Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce to discuss the work they are doing to support their members.

During the meeting Paul explained how they are expanding their team to deal with an increase in their workload and the steps that they are taking to engage more with local businesses. I was also pleased to hear that the Chamber is a regular participant at local business fairs and is working on engaging more with schools in our area.

I explained that a big focus for me was apprenticeships and anything the Chamber could do to promote apprenticeships or even take on an apprentice of their own would be very welcome. We also discussed my quarterly Business Breakfast Club and the Towcester and Brackley Job Clubs which I established and which are now run by South Northamptonshire Council. I am delighted that the Chamber have agreed to look into how they might contribute more to the Job Clubs.

I was also delighted to be able to congratulate Paul and his team on receiving a national award for 'Excellence in Membership Services' at the 2014 Chamber Awards. I hope the good work continues and we will be able to work together in the future to promote jobs and businesses across Northamptonshire.