May 2024 Newsletter
Welcome to my May 2024 Newsletter
I have provided a detailed report on the decision reached last week to close the Welshpool and Air Ambulance base.
Last month I changed my role in the Senedd. I will now be my party’s spokesperson for mid Wales, I look forward to championing the region further in the Welsh Parliament. I continue in my role chairing the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee.
As ever, if you want an update on something not mentioned in my newsletter, or I can help in another way, please email me at [email protected] or call my office at 01686 610887.
Wales Air Ambulance
Following a fundamentally flawed decision taken by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee last week to close and centralise the Caernarfon and Welshpool Air Ambulance bases, campaign groups in both areas have met to agree on a joint way forward.
Following the announcement last week, I raised the decision as an urgent question in the Senedd, as the Welsh Government are ultimately responsible. Sadly, the calls I made were dismissed by the Health Minister, Eluned Morgan MS. She even said that she believed that the proposed changes would see improvements.
Craig Williams MP and I are working with several other people, on a cross-party basis. We met as a campaign team following the decision, and we agreed that the most appropriate course of action now is to begin the process of seeking a Judicial Review.
My full update provides more details.
Russell George MS asks Eluned Morgan MS to intervene to save Welshpool and Caernarfon Wales Air Ambulance bases from closure.
111 Option 2 - Mental health support for all
I was pleased to attend an event to discuss the new 111 Option 2 urgent mental health support line.
Mental health support for all is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week – offering urgent mental health support to people of all ages across Wales.
The number is free to call from a landline or mobile, even if you have no credit left.
I spoke with Senior staff from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales, along with frontline psychiatrists who were present to answer my questions about the 111 Option 2 in Powys.
People can use the helpline if they have urgent concerns about their own mental well-being or that of others.Callers will be connected with a member of the mental health team in their local health board area.
Specsavers supporting NHS
I recently visited Specsavers in Newtown to see how expert local opticians and audiologists are caring for patients and supporting the NHS – and are ready to do more.
Specsavers has more than 1,000 stores throughout the UK and is the leading provider of NHS primary care optometry services and NHS community audiology services where they are commissioned.
I chatted to the team at Specsavers Newtown, on Broad Street, about how they are delivering NHS services and providing vital access to eye and ear care.
Police and Crime Commissioner Elections
The Police and Crime Commissioner elections take place tomorrow – Thursday 2 May 2024. Voters in Wales will need to show photographic ID at polling stations.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are elected by the public to hold police forces and Chief Constables in Wales and England to account.
Their responsibilities include setting police budgets and engaging with communities to set police and crime plans and organise local projects.
You can find out more about the election and the candidates standing in Dyfed – Powys in the link below.
Dyfed-Powys - Choose My Police and Crime Commissioner (choosemypcc.org.uk)
Polls close at 10pm and you will need to present photo ID in order to cast your ballot
Tackling Flooding Across Montgomeryshire
Year in year out, one of the biggest issues that we face within our area is flooding. The beginning of 2024 was no exception, with several periods of heavy rainfall causing major flooding and disruption across Montgomeryshire.
For too long flooding on the River Severn has been managed on a basis of either UK or Welsh Government responsibility, depending on which side of the border the flooding takes places.
As Montgomeryshire’s and indeed the UK’s longest river, clearly this just doesn’t work. Together with local flooding groups and organisations, Craig Williams and I have been working to change how we manage the Severn and look at it as one entity from Wales to England.
Major progress has now been made through the establishment of the River Severn Partnership (RSP), which comprises the 8 Welsh and English councils within the Severn’s catchment area, as well as cross-border politicians, environmental agencies and wildlife trusts amongst other key stakeholders.
The RSP will look to transform how we manage flooding on the Severn, including looking at all rivers, tributaries and confluence areas across Montgomeryshire.
The RSP hopes to secure £500 million of UK Government funding, much of which will be fed into Montgomeryshire as one of the Severn’s key catchment areas. This will be hugely beneficial to our area and is a major step towards preventing flooding for good.
Russell and Craig have campaigned for a cross-border approach to flood management, from Llyn Clywedog (pictured) to the Severn Estuary.
Ysgol Caersws Visits the Senedd
I had the chance to welcome the primary school I attended, Ysgol Caersws to the Senedd. I met the students at the beginning of their visit where I had the chance to explain my role in representing the people of Montgomeryshire and explaining what a Senedd member does when he or she is in the Senedd.
The young people asked me lots of interesting questions and I was impressed by their knowledge.
The students were then given a guided tour of the Senedd, learning more about the role of Members and how they implement changes in Wales.
Educational visits are an important part of our democracy. If the School class has enough time, they are able to participate in activities in the Education Centre - Siambr Hywel.
Within the Education Centre, students will complete workshop activities, considering the qualities that make an effective School Senedd member and discuss how they can best work together as a school Senedd to implement effective changes within their school community.
Students can then bring these ideas into the original chamber - Siambr Hywel - and can debate a contemporary issue or a topic relevant to their current work as a School Senedd.
Please let me know If you would like more information about how your school can visit the Senedd.
Please let me know if you would prefer to receive my newsletter in Welsh.
Promoted by Russell George MS, 13 Parkers Lane, Newtown, SY16 2LT
The costs of this publication have been met by the Senedd Commission from public funds.
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