"Our local services and councils are facing real financial pressures"

Rising inflation and energy costs are already putting pressure on council and other public sector budgets as well as individuals and private business.

Liz Truss was Prime Minister for just 50 days. In that short time, she gave us a disastrous mini-budget, which caused chaos in the financial markets, pushed up government borrowing costs and almost crashed the pension funds. Although all the unfunded tax cuts in that mini-budget and her economic policies have been reversed, the damage has been done - there is a very big hole in the UK’s public finances equated to be approximately £30 billion.

We have already suffered a decade of austerity cuts from the Conservatives and we are still feeling the pain. More austerity will be very damaging to local services at a time when people need help the most.

In Wales, we are fortunate to have a Labour Government which firmly believes in the importance of investing in our public services, and, in particular, the NHS.

Wellbeing hubs and urgent primary care centres are being set up to take pressure off hospitals as well as investment in social housing, care facilities and reablement.

In Wales, bursaries remain available for nurses, along with free car parking and there are free bus passes at 60 years. Discussions are taking place regarding affordable travel schemes and increasing rail services as funding allows.

I visited Glyndwr University, where they are offering training places for nurses and allied health professions in fantastic new facilities with the latest technology, here in North East Wales, to complement training already happing in Bangor.

Following that I went on to visit the new Wellbeing hub in Wrexham, which has been designed using Welsh Government funding in collaboration with Wrexham Council, BCUHB (North Wales health board) and AVOW.

A new dental academy is being set up in Bangor which will provide for 10-12,000 people, as well as the new medical training centre.

In the ambulance service, an additional 263 clinicians have been recruited over the last two years funded by Welsh Government, and they have announced a further £3m to recruit 100 additional frontline staff to support improved response times for the most critically injured and seriously ill ready for the extra challenges over the winter period.

I will continue to use my platform in the Senedd to speak out against austerity round two, and call on the UK Tory Government to properly fund devolved government budgets.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch. Email Carolyn.thomas@senedd.wales, call 0300 11 00 176 or visit www.carolynthomas.wales.