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Summer Recess Adjournment

I am pleased to take part in this debate. I wish to start by picking up on something said by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner). He wished us all well on our holidays, but I should make the point on behalf of all hon. Members that the recess is not a holiday and we shoot ourselves in the foot if ever we give the impression that it is. I will be working for a great proportion of that time, as I am sure most right hon. and hon. Members will be. I find that I am busier in September with constituency visits to schools, hospitals, homes and so on than I am when I am in this place. We must debunk the damaging myth that the recess is a holiday, because enough damage has been done already.