There are prizes in all categories and the winning card is printed locally and sent out to everyone in December on our Christmas card list – in Burnley as well as to other MPs in Westminster and, of course, to the Prime Minister in Downing Street, as well.

There's always a bit of good-humoured rivalry among MPs as to whose young constituents can produce the best design. So let's make ours one to be proud of this year. This year's theme is the Christmas Star in Burnley and I look forward to seeing all the entries.

On Friday morning I attended a meeting of an organisation called Burnley Vision Board. It's an informal grouping of some of the main people involved in putting together the right policies to regenerate our town. Gathered round the table were representatives from the council, some of our important employers, large and small, as well as the North West Regional Development Agency, Burnley College and East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce.

We discussed the important and useful work the councils across East Lancashire are undertaking, alongside the Elevate housing agency, to agree a common economic strategy with a strong focus on skills and transport links.

In addition we discussed the fact many people, including potential employers, from outside the area weren't aware of the positive things Burnley has to offer – in particular its proximity to beautiful countryside – so we thought it may also be worth doing some preliminary work on a future marketing exercise on the benefits of living and working in Burnley.

After that it was back to the office to go through a mountain of casework and ensure all my constituents who have raised issues with us recently have received a prompt and useful reply. In the afternoon, before holding a surgery at Burnley Library, I visited an excellent youth project taking place up on the Kibble Bank estate.

The Prince's Trust, working with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and supported by Calico and residents had arranged for a team of young people to work as volunteers to refurbish and kit out the cabin next to Kibble Bank community centre so it was a fun place for local young people to hang out.

They had got donations of equipment and furniture from local employers and worked very hard to repair and decorate the cabin. As a result, not only do young people in the area have somewhere else to go, but the volunteers who did the work also gained useful CV points and made progress towards meeting their own personal goals. Congratulations to all involved.

Down in Westminster this week, the debates in Parliament have been around the economy and the final stages of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which returned from the House of Lords on Wednesday.

In my own sphere of influence, I took part in my first questions session on the floor of the House of Commons on Monday in my new capacity as a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions. I was asked a lot of questions about child poverty where we have an important goal to eradicate child poverty by 2020, and to enshrine this commitment into legislation. I will be part of the team working out how best to do this, which is an exciting and important challenge.