There can be few places more touching and heart breaking than a children’s hospice. Acorns run a number of such hospices across the West Midlands, and I recently visited their hospice in Walsall, which serves families from Wolverhampton too.

I was given a tour by one of the volunteers, it is obvious that the volunteers devote so much time and energy to our hospices and I was able to see the love and care that goes into making sure that children and their relatives have as comfortable an environment as possible.

I also spoke to Acorns Chief Executive Toby Porter about the funding challenges facing hospices. Most of their funds come not from Government but from their own fundraising activities. This is a service which provides invaluable support to children in the most difficult of circumstances. It was a very moving experience to visit and I look forward to working with Acorns in the future.