By Mark Isherwood

MS for North Wales

This year the British Heart Foundation (BHF) is celebrating its 60th Birthday and I re-visited their impressive Furniture and Electrical Store in Wrexham for a tour, chat with the staff team and catch-up with the charity. All proceeds raised go directly to medical research. Stock is needed. To book a free collection, call 01978 884140 / bhf.org.uk/collection.

During a tour of the RSPCA’s Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre near Colwyn Bay, their staff illustrated their work providing specialist care for the 170 animals currently resident. Volunteers are needed. We also discussed RSPCA Cymru’s campaigns and the work of RSPCA inspectors in North Wales.

Responding as Chair of the Welsh Parliament’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee to the Audit Wales report “ ‘Cracks in the Foundations’ – Building Safety in Wales” released by the Auditor General for Wales, I stated “Following the tragic events at Grenfell in 2017 it is essential for the Welsh Government to take action to strengthen building safety”, adding “I am concerned about the significant staffing challenges highlighted in today’s report” and “I share the Auditor General’s concerns over the financial management of building control, with some authorities’ current practices potentially being unlawful because they do not operate in line with the regulations and guidance”.

During a meeting with the School & Nursery Milk Alliance (SNMA) and their Spokesperson, Dr Hilary Jones, we discussed the importance of the nutritional value of school milk, essential for bone density health, energy & improving attention spans in lessons.

I learned that 1244 schools in Wales (nearly 75%), involving 126,000 children, are claiming from the school milk scheme in Wales, but other schools need to be encouraged to claim by making the scheme simpler.

The SNMA is a coalition of organisations from the dairy, health and education sectors, working to champion the benefits to children of drinking milk and to encourage its increased consumption.

I was interviewed by charity Barnardo's Cymru, to inform the development of their new three-year strategy, which will help ensure they can continue to protect, support and nurture the most vulnerable children and young people.

Other engagements included meeting with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to discuss their draft Corporate Strategy 2023-2026. As the largest regulator of legal services in England and Wales, covering around 90 per cent of the regulated market and overseeing more than 4000 solicitors and 400 law firms in Wales, they work independently to protect consumers and help drive an open and competitive legal sector.

For my help, email mark.isherwood@senedd.wales or call 0300 200 7219.