By Hannah Blythyn

MS for Delyn

As the new school year begins, it’s great to see the Welsh Government’s initiative to offer free school meals to all pupils is now fully rolled out in primary schools across Wales. Every child up to Year 6 can now receive a free meal every day, fulfilling a commitment made in 2021 to help combat child poverty and to make sure no child has to learn on an empty stomach. With nearly 30 million meals already served to children, this programme benefits an additional 176,000 learners across the nation. Beyond easing the strain on Flintshire families during the cost-of-living crisis, free school meals also promote healthy eating, social interaction and even boost academic performance. It's a real win for our children’s wellbeing and future.

I’m also happy to share that Asda has launched a new initiative called Cashpot for Schools, which will provide donations to primary schools or Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) across the UK. If you shop at Asda, you can use your Asda Rewards account to donate money to a specific school using the app and they will get a percentage of your shop as a donation – and Asda will put money in too. These donations could help pay for things like school trips, books and sports equipment for your local school – you can find out more and how to register as a school or PTA at www.asda.com/cashpotforschools.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining a coffee morning at Flint Town Hall, where I met with local residents for a warm and engaging chat. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with the community, listen to their thoughts and share a coffee together. I chatted to those attending about my health survey –Our Home, Our Health – and heard some of their concerns and thoughts about issues locally, particularly access to GPs. If you’d like to take part in the survey, it’s also available on my website 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.

This weekend sees the fabulous Mold Food Festival kick off in the town, with stalls, food demonstrations and live music, including a Queen tribute band! It’s always a great event attracting hundreds of people from across the area and beyond and it really shows off some of our brilliant food producers and organisations in Flintshire, as well as Mold itself, so if you’re thinking of coming I’d recommend it. You can find out more about the festival and buy tickets at www.moldfoodfestival.co.uk. In other local news, residents might be interested to know that the Flint Mayor’s charity concert is coming up on September 28 and tickets went on sale last week – tickets are available from Flint Town Hall or you can pop into Candid Cards or Altered Images Salon, Church Street. All proceeds go to the Mayor's charities – Ysgol Pen Coch and Hope House Hospice.

Finally, I’d like to offer my huge congratulations to shot-putter Sabrina Fortune, from Bryn-y-Baal, Mold, who not only won gold at the Paris Paralympics recently but she also smashed her own world record with a 15.12m throw – the community and country are so proud of you! The beginning of September was great for North Wales as another Flintshire native, Rhys Darbey, also won gold with the ParalympicsGB relay team in the S14 mixed 4x100m freestyle swimming event. Rhys, who is 16 and from Connah’s Quay, trains at the Flintshire-based Nofio Clwyd team at Cambrian Aquatics in Connah's Quay – Rhys also won silver in the men's SM14 individual medley on Wednesday. Very well done to you both!

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.