By Hannah Blythyn

MS for Delyn

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here at home in the constituency, in our corner of the country and down in Cardiff Bay at the Senedd. I was pleased to be able to welcome Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Lisa Nandy MP back to Mold at the end of last week. Lisa has a keen interest in town centre regeneration and we were joined by Mayor of Mold, Sarah Taylor who was able to share how throughout her mayoral term the town has continued to attract new businesses and to innovate as we emerge from a difficult couple of years. The bank holiday weekend also saw the return of a sell-out Live on the Square after a two year hiatus and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who plays their part in making things like this happen. For my part, I will always work to support our communities and showcase our town centres, whether that is through securing investment from the Welsh Government or practising what I preach by shopping and buying local on a regular basis.

It was a privilege to join a panel of former members of the Senedd – including former Deputy Presiding Officer and constituency neighbour Ann Jones - at Wrexham Glyndwr University for ‘Setting the Record Straight’ – reflecting on the role women have played in shaping the past 20 years of devolved politics in Wales and setting out what we want to see in the future. The panel was part of a day school focused on discovering the history and heritage of women in North-east Wales. When I was growing up here in Flintshire, I could never have imagined that I would one day be serving the community that shaped me in the Welsh Parliament so it’s personally and politically important to me to do what I can to reach out, engage and encourage others to have a stake and voice in shaping our politics.

A little further from home, I recently spent the day being shadowed by a journalist from London-based Attitude Magazine as I took to the floor of the Senedd to make a statement to set out the next steps we will take in Wales towards a ban on so called conversion therapy. The Welsh Government is clear, we stand together with and within our LGBT communities and together we will make this abhorrent and harmful practice history.

In the same session of the Senedd there was also an update from the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt MS, on the delivery of the key Senedd election pledge to fund 600 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Wales, the Minister confirmed that “by the end of the 2021-2022 financial year the majority of the 100 PCSOs were in post, making an even bigger difference than before to our streets and communities.” In May last year, I stood on a platform that promised to strengthen support for safer communities, so I’m really pleased that the majority of the extra 100 PCSOs are now in post. While the Conservatives in Westminster inflicted a decade of cuts to policing across the UK, our Welsh Labour Government stepped up and has funded 500 PCSOs on our streets since 2011 to support neighbourhood policing. I know that communities right across the constituency and country have appreciated the difference that PCSOs make to their neighbourhood and I’m pleased that our Welsh Labour Government has already delivered on this pledge, just one year on, demonstrating its commitment to keeping our communities and neighbourhoods safe.

As always, If you have an issue you’d like to speak to me about, I will do my best to help. You can drop me a line by emailing Hannah.blythyn@senedd.wales or get in touch by using the contact form on my website: www.hannahblythyn.cymru/contact.