By Lesley Griffiths

MS for Wrexham

In the days after he was confirmed Welsh Labour’s new Leader and First Minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething announced his new Cabinet.

I am very pleased to have been appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Culture & Social Justice and it is a privilege to continue to serve the people of Wales as part of the new Welsh Labour Government.

The social justice part of the portfolio includes many of the reasons I entered politics. Arts and culture are a very important part of Welsh life and I have been a massive sports fan all my life.

North Wales is a cultural powerhouse, with fantastic venues such as Theatr Clwyd, and I look forward to working closely with my colleague, Ken Skates, the new Minister for North Wales.

There are also a number of excellent organisations throughout Wales that focus on the equalities agenda and I look forward to working with them.

Times are tough at the moment and people are struggling to make ends meet during this cost-of-living crisis.

The Welsh Government has introduced a number of support mechanisms that aim to help people through this difficult financial climate.

One measure is the School Essentials grant which helps with the cost of school uniform, shoes, bags, sports kit and equipment.

Latest figures show 88% of those eligible have claimed their free supplies and I’m encouraging Wrexham residents to check their eligibility and apply for this year’s funding before the 31 May deadline.

Under the scheme, children of families on lower incomes who receive certain benefits can claim £125 per year to help with school costs. Children going into Year 7 are entitled to £200 due to the extra costs associated with going to secondary school.

In addition to the Welsh Government support, throughout the Easter holidays, a number of the major supermarkets are running special offers and offering discounted children’s meals, which may be of interest to constituents.

In Tesco and Morrisons, kids eat free as long as an adult purchases a meal and children eat for £1 in both Asda and Sainsbury’s.

As always, if you’re a constituent in Wrexham and there is an issue I could help you with, please contact me via email: lesley.griffiths@senedd.wales or call 01978 355743. You can also keep up to date by following me on ‘X’ (Twitter) and Facebook, just search @lesley4wrexham.