I hope this New Year finds you well and looking forward to 2012 with energy, enthusiasm and hope.

With both the Olympics and Paralympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, 2012 could be a landmark year for Britain and for London in particular.

Clearly there are still significant challenges in the economy at a national level and across Europe and I understand that many households are under pressure and concerned about job prospects in the coming year. It is therefore more important than ever that we continue our efforts to build the right foundations in our economy to support businesses, stimulate growth and prepare our young people with the skills they need for the future.

This year, I am looking forward to hosting a series of events to encourage enterprise and support young people who are planning their future careers. On 31st January, I am hosting an Apprenticeship event to bring together local businesses of all sizes to hear about the benefits of taking on young apprentices and how to go about it. If you represent a local business and would like to come along to this event, do please contact my office.

I am also very keen to do all I can to encourage budding entrepreneurs locally. In my constituency, we have always been blessed with large numbers of entrepreneurs but I am convinced there is still a wealth of untapped talent out there, particularly among the female population. Only 15% of the 4.7 million UK enterprises are majority female-led and if women started businesses at the same rate as men there would be 150,000 extra start-ups each year in the UK, adding a further £42 billion to the UK economy.

I will be organising some female entrepreneur’s events in the constituency later in the year and would love to hear from you if you are interested in starting a new business and would like to find out more about how to get started.

As ever, I am always keen to hear from local residents, businesses and organisations on any matters that concern you or where you think I may be able to help. Please contact my office at mary.macleod.mp@parliament.uk or call on 020 7219 7023.