In a week with more warm weather, international football, and hopefully another win for England, I will be in Parliament introducing a new piece of legislation. My bill will help tackle child abuse, by raising the minimum age of marriage to 18.

At the moment, children aged over 16 in England and Wales can be legally married with their parents’ permission. In practice, these children are rarely lovestruck teens. They are overwhelmingly young women who have been coerced into marriage for cultural or religious reasons. I have seen this myself in the community where I grew up: young girls whose parents expected them to enter into a lifelong commitment with an older man long before they were ready with painful outcomes.

Let’s call this what it is: child abuse. Victims express regret that they never had the opportunity to complete their education, make informed choices about their future and reach their potential.

We must legislate to close this loophole so that vulnerable children cannot be pushed into such serious and life-changing commitments before they are ready.

I look forward to the work ahead on this. In Bromsgrove, I recently held meetings with our brilliant local farmers, the Primrose Hospice and the business, Judd Medical, which has expanded its operations.

As ever, if I can be of any assistance to my constituents, please email me at sajid.javid.mp@parliament.uk