The Stroud MP's weekly column.

IN the latter years of the Second World War, politicians and thinkers in Britain turned their attention towards what the country should be like when the guns were silenced.

Many know the upshot of this debate was the setting up of the welfare state and the NHS.

I do believe that, now the end is in sight because of the vaccine programme, it is time to look at how we should recover and make Stroud, the Valleys and Vale and the whole country better by learning from adversity, just like that previous generation did.

There is also fatigue and the institutions we have to give succour to those less fortunate.

I am part of a think tank called Onward that recently published a document about this very issue.

We looked at how we can reinvigorate our communities, post-pandemic and also help the young, who have been hit very hard by Covid.

Onward made several suggestions, including every local community being covered by either a town or parish council with responsibility for high streets, community centres and local green spaces.

It also called for a new “family tax allowance” with couples allowed to pool their £12,500 income tax allowances in order to allow families to better plan their finances and recognise caring duties.

I particularly liked the call to introduce a civic service scheme to give jobless youngsters a paid placement with perhaps a charity or social business.

They would receive the national minimum wage for working for the community, planting trees or helping with social initiatives.

This could be a vital way to enable young people to gain meaningful work experience.

These are good ideas that need to feed into a national debate.

Building back better is not all about roads and businesses.

It is people, charities and communities too.