'Survey for constituents called Our Home, Our Health'

MS for Delyn

I want to start my column this week by offering congratulations to our new First Minister Eluned Morgan. People will have heard me say previously that I never imagined I could be a politician growing up, politicians didn't look like me or seem like someone like me. In her speech in the Senedd after being nominated as First Minister, Eluned said to "Young women watching today, you need to know your potential is limitless. The path to leadership is not now just a possibility, it's a reality." Eluned is not only Wales’ first female First Minister but is also a highly-experienced politician having sat in the Lords, represented Wales as an MEP and as a Member of the Senedd – and I’d like to wish her the very best as she takes the reigns in her new role in government.

As the Senedd continues its summer recess, it means I’m able to get out and about in Flintshire a bit more to meet constituents and enjoy some local events. This week I attended an event at Flint Town Hall that aimed to understand and discuss issues of inclusion and what it actually means for people in the area.The event was organised by North East Wales Community Cohesion (NEWCC) and brought together a range of organisations from the local police, the Fire and Rescue Services, youth organisations, LGBTQ+ groups and more.

Open to the local community to drop in, the idea was to offer a way to help to bring people together to talk through the issues they face, foster inclusion in the community and to discuss how we can all work to tackle things like hate crime so that everyone feels safe, regardless of who they are. My office and I had a stall at the event and it was a welcome opportunity to chat to local residents as well as with the various organisations there. I look forward to supporting all those involved to build on this week’s event in the future.

Regular readers will know that I’ve been keeping a close eye on the work being carried out at Flint Station to make it more accessible and modern and recently I received an update from Network Rail which detailed plans to spend Saturday nights in August and September installing the new bridge spans, stairs and lift shafts – this work is being carried out overnight in order to keep the trains running during the day and Network Rail have said that some noise is inevitable, but hopefully kept to a minimum to avoid disturbing local residents. As part of this work, a crane will be taking up space outside the station, so the car park will be closed from August 17th to September 15th – alternative parking arrangements are in place at Richard Heights CH6 5BR and Bollingbrook Heights CH6 5AQ. There will also be a signposted pedestrian diversion in place near the construction site.

If you or young people you know have recently finished exams and are unsure of what to do next, you might find Jobs Growth Wales+ a useful resource. The Jobs Growth Wales+ programme is part of the Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee and delivers individualised training, development and employability support to 16-19 year olds not in education, employment or training. Young people who have joined Jobs Growth Wales+ have reported benefits such as better job prospects, more life satisfaction and help to access mental health support, so it’s well worth checking out what’s on offer.Find out more at workingwales.gov.wales/jobs-growth-wales-plus or through Coleg Cambria at www.cambria.ac.uk/college-16-18/subject-areas/jobs-growth-wales-plus.

This summer I’ve launched a survey for constituents called Our Home, Our Health. As your Member of the Senedd, it's always been important to me to make sure communities across the constituency have their voices heard and our NHS is something which touches all our lives and matters so much to us, but we continue to face challenges across the UK and not least in our corner of the country. I live here and work here – myself and my family depend on the same services as everyone else.

I’m keen to work in partnership with both those who provide the services and those of us who use them. So, over the coming weeks and months, I will be doing what I can to engage with the workforce, community organisations and individuals, listening to people's experiences and seeking suggestions for change. Please complete the survey at www.hannahblythyn.cymru/our-home-our-health-survey or, if you prefer to fill out a paper form, call my office at 01352 753464 and we’ll send you a hard copy.

As always, if you would like advice and/or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on any of the following contact details – 52 High Street, Mold, Flintshire, on 01352 753464 or by email hannah.blythyn@senedd.wales. You can also keep up to date via my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/HannahBlythynForDelyn. Constituents are, of course, welcome to contact my office to arrange an appointment to see me, you don’t need to wait for an advice surgery.