PARLIAMENT has now come back from the summer recess but for just a couple of weeks.

The annual rounds of party conferences start on September 16 so there is not much time to get stuff done.

But the new government has been busy.

At the time of writing, we have seen plenty of interventions. Israel, Ofsted, renewable energy markets. Even the Oasis comeback tour has come in for some flak.

This does, of course, beg the question of just how far governments should intervene.

A good example is Israel. There is a lot of squeamishness over the war in Gaza and the attacks on the Left Bank.

I am very worried about the situation and I find the whole thing tragic.

The government has stopped some of the £35 million of annual arms exports to Israel, based on the possibility of these exports being used in suppression of citizens.

It is a fair concern and, having chaired the committee on arms exports control, this is an area that is close to my heart.

At this level it is a political decision but I would certainly have been asking questions about this on my committee.

But I can see both sides of the argument and I don’t have any particular strong views against what they have decided.

But on Ofsted I am more critical.

The government has decided the so-called one word assessments of schools — excellent, good, adequate, etc — is not fit for purpose and now wants more detail. The problem is there was always detail.

The single words were a huge simplification of the appraisal but the details were always available.

I’m not sure the government hasn’t simply paid lip service to teaching unions, opting for a headline that achieves little.

On energy, the auction for contracts for difference on renewable energy has been completed.

I certainly agree with the good that this brings, notwithstanding the huge pressure on the grid, lack of clarity over the total system costs on the whole network and more issues. But a positive move forward.

Oasis. The feuding brothers are on a reunion tour but the ticket sales are causing chaos.

Ticket companies use a dynamic pricing mechanism that hikes the price with strong demand and lowers it with declining demand.

This is how financial markets work but I am not sure that is such a good idea when transacting with the public.

Old-fashioned pricing should work. But I am sure this is not an area for government intervention.

If it starts mucking about with the price of concert tickets, where will it end?