As we head into 2021, I wanted to wish everyone throughout Montgomeryshire a very Happy New Year!
Reflecting on 2020, so many have made enormous sacrifices to keep us safe, so I would like to say a huge ‘Thank You’ to all key workers and volunteers. From essential workers going out everyday during the crisis to those educating children at home, there are many people who have done outstanding and courageous things in order to try to overcome this virus. It's been rewarding for me to visit those working within our health services, and to recognise the different ways of working that have had to take place during 2020.
As we begin 2021, and after what has been an extraordinary year, one which will stay in our memories for all the wrong reasons, we all hope and look forward to the return to normality at the earliest opportunity. Sadly, it looks like we still have bumpier times over the next couple of months. Today, the Welsh Government has confirmed that the current Wales wide lockdown will continue until at least the next review date on 29th January.
I sincerely hope that 2021 will see us refocus our attention on these salient issues – from community healthcare and wellbeing, education, transport, our local economy and broadband and mobile connectivity.
We will only be able to return to normality when we have a widespread vaccination programme in place and there is now reason to be optimistic. This week, I have been in discussion with Powys Teaching Health Board about its vaccination programme, and now that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has now been approved, the vaccine will become more widely available on an opt-in basis for people in the UK-wide priority groups, and then for the general population.
I have included a specific update below regarding the deployment of the vaccination in Powys.
I have also included relevant links below, but the best source of information in regards to the current lockdown rules form the Welsh Government are here.
I will also be holding weekly telephone advice surgeries so please see the details below. If you would like a copy of my 2021 Calendar posted to you, with surgery dates listed on the reverse, pleas let me know.
As always, if you have any comments or issues you would like to raise, please contact me by email at [email protected] or by phone by calling 01686 610887.
Kind regards
Russell George MS
Member of the Welsh Parliament for Montgomeryshire
Coronavirus - Useful Links & Frequently Asked Questions
The best source of information for the Wales lockdown rules, with Frequently Asked Questions can be found here.
The best UK Government rolling page with updated information is here.
Advice from Powys County Council is available here.
Information and Support for the Third Sector is available from the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO) here.
The Business Wales website is a good point of reference, which is updated regularly for those who want advice about business support.
The symptoms of Coronavirus are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss of smell or taste. To view more advice on what to do if you think you have symptoms, please click here.
Public Health Wales provides a daily update about the number of cases of coronavirus in Wales. It is available here.
Covid-19 Vaccination Deployment in Powys
I had a meeting on Wednesday with the CEO and other officials from Powys Teaching Health Board to discuss the details of the vaccine roll out programme for our area.
Sadly, Wales is lagging behind the rest of the UK so far, with a lower proportion of people getting a first dose.
Approximately 3% of the population have been vaccinated in Powys, which I am pleased to report is the highest rate in Wales. I have been concerned about the lack of information and clarity on the local rollout plans, and the pace of the rollout particularly for the over 80s group.
The CEO of the Health Board assured me that the rollout for the over 80s has already begun. Of the approximate 10,000 people in this group, 3,000 should have already received a letter about their vaccination. These letters are being staged to help for a smooth process. The letters sent so far ask people to ring to arrange an appointment.
However, I understand that in future, the letters will instead offer an appointment slot and ask for people to ring if they wish to make any alterations. The Health Board are asking people not to contact either them or their GP ahead of receiving this letter. The CEO also informed me that by the end of this month, those in the over 80s age group will have largely been vaccinated.
From the week commencing 18th January, the county’s three large vaccination centre hubs will expand to administer 4,000 vaccinations each week. The vaccination hub in Montgomeryshire is currently the Park Street Day Centre in Newtown. This will change to Maldwyn Leisure Centre from 18th January.
Then from the week commencing 25th January, the county’s vaccination programme is set to increase to 8,000 vaccinations each week when GP-led clinics open across the county.
At the moment, the vaccine programme is giving priority to care home residents and staff, people aged 80 and over, and frontline health and care workers. The next priority groups are people aged 75 and over, people aged 70 and over, and those deemed to be Clinically Extremely Vulnerable.
After this the next priority groups identified in nation-wide guidance are:
• People aged 65 and over
• People aged 16 to 64 with underlying conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
• People aged 60 and over
• People aged 55 and over
• People aged 50 and over
The UK’s independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will then provide advice on which population groups should be vaccinated next.
As you can imagine, the Health board are having to cope with a number of factors. My thanks go to those that are involved in the track and trace and the vaccination programme.
The Health Board also asked for us to have patience with them as they work though the ongoing plans, and information is also available from their website here.
School Closures & Exams
This morning, the Welsh Government announced that alert level four restrictions will continue and unless there is a significant reduction in cases before 29th January, the date of the next review, schools will continue to provide online learning until February half term. Schools will remain open but only for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners.
I would like to thank schools for their ongoing efforts to support pupils during this difficult time and I would also like to thank parents for their patience.
I am receiving a number of concerns from young people and others who are worried about GCSE and A-Level assessments.
The Welsh Government have previously said that final grades will include externally marked set assessments. However, they have not yet released the details of how assessments will look. I am concerned about the impact which this uncertainty is having on young people – many of whom have worked incredibly hard and so this is causing anxiety about their futures.
Colleagues and I have asked Kirsty Williams MS, the Welsh Government Minister for Education, whether she will be re-visiting the decision on assessments. Qualifications Wales has also made an announcement to learners and teachers in Wales that it "will be continually monitoring arrangements put in place for the assessment of qualifications in 2021 in the light of changing policy on the opening of schools and colleges."
In England, it has been announced that teachers' assessed grades will be used to replace cancelled GCSEs and A-levels this Summer. It may well be that the position changes again in Wales but in the meantime I shall continue to raise the concerns of young people about this matter.
Getting Our Economy Moving & Business Support
I am optimistic that in spite of the devastating effect which the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the economy, we will bounce back stronger. I enjoyed visiting a number of business in the first part of December to support the Small Business Saturday campaign.
I am however currently concerned at the lack of clarity with regards to the business support available in Wales following the latest lockdown. There is a particular lack of clarity and information about the support available for the hospitality sector which was forced to close on December 20th.
This is a very concerning time for businesses and workers in this sector, and there is the real concern that if support and clarity from the Welsh Government does not come forward quickly, further businesses may not be able to re-open at all.
I welcome the announcement of £227 million from the UK Government which will hopefully come forward to support Welsh businesses but it is vital that the money is allocated quickly and where needed by the Welsh Government.
I have already raised this this an urgent matter with Ken Skates MS, the Economy Minister, and I am currently in discussions with officials at Powys County Council.
If you would like to be aware of the result of my current discussions on this, please let me know by email, and I hope to be able to provide you with clarity next week.
Please also use the above links to keep up to date with information from Powys County Council and Business Wales.
Mid Wales Growth Deal signed - £110 million for Mid Wales. Click above to watch a short video with our reaction to the news...
Mid Wales Growth Deal
I have been a long-time advocate of pushing for a Mid Wales Growth Deal and I'm pleased to report that its Heads of Terms were signed last month by both the UK & Welsh Governments, as well as Powys & Ceredigion local authorities. This will see £110 million of investment pumped into the region with the deal committing both the UK & Welsh Governments to each invest £55 million.
The partners in the deal will now move on to identifying specific projects to benefit from investment, with 8 strategic growth areas identified. These are:
· Applied Research & Innovation
· Agriculture, Food & Drink
· Energy
· Digital Connectivity
· Transport
· Strengthened Tourism Identity
· Business Support
· Skills & Employment
What is particularly pleasing is that the UK & Welsh Governments have closely worked together on securing this deal, in conjunction with the 2 local authorities. I am extremely pleased that we are now one huge step closer to seeing these hugely exciting projects for Montgomeryshire and Mid Wales become a reality.
This investment will bring real growth and new opportunities to Montgomeryshire and Mid Wales as a whole and will be used on areas such as digital infrastructure, transport, agriculture, tourism – all areas which are of huge importance to Mid Wales and will matter even more as we emerge the other side of this pandemic.
I am very pleased by the positive collaboration between not just the UK and Welsh Governments, but also MPs, MS’s and County Councillors. We can now say with certainty that the Mid Wales Growth Deal is actually going to be delivered.
Assurance sought on Rail Improvements
I have been raising concerns about the performance of Transport for Wales on the Cambrian Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury Line and have been seeking assurances over commitments made, following the Welsh Rail franchise coming under public control during the Autumn.
There have been many concerns since Transport for Wales took responsibility for the service a couple of years ago. I am pleased that the Transport Minister has confirmed to me that previous commitments made will still be honoured following the rail service coming under public control.
A new fleet of trains is being built specifically for the Cambrian Line and will be introduced from 2022. These trains will deliver increased capacity for passengers but will also run with faster acceleration, allowing services to meet the timetable more reliably. However, until the new trains are introduced, I will be calling for Transport for Wales to make progress on improving their level of service.
Future of Our Schools
This year, Powys County Council's Cabinet has given the go ahead to start plans to reorganise education in Powys. Their proposals involve new school builds, with the closure of several small schools.
The plans include the proposal for a new all-age dual stream school for Llanfair Caereinion and the building of a new facility for the all-age Ysgol Llanfyllin. The new facility at Llanfyllin could also include pupils from the Llangedwyn, Llanfechain and Llansilin areas.
A new 360-place area primary school could also be built to replace Carreghofa County Primary School and Llandysilio Church in Wales Primary School, and possibly other schools in the Welshpool catchment area.
Investment could also see an extension to Llansanffraid Primary School and a new Welsh-medium primary school in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant is also proposed, by merging Ysgol Pennant and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant primary schools.
The ultimate decisions on these proposals are predominantly for Powys County Council and Powys County Councillors to take but I have asked to be updated on proposals and has attended ‘remote’ meetings regarding the proposed plans
Powys County Council will be carrying out public consultations on each of its proposals as their plans progress. I have made the point that consultations must be genuine and as consultations may take place during the Covid-19 pandemic, Powys must ensure that all residents’ views are listened to before decisions are made, including those residents who may not be able to engage through electronic/remote meetings.
It is important that Powys County Council takes the time to listen to all parents and schools which may be impacted by these proposals. They must listen to the concerns raised by residents in order to ensure their proposals address the needs of all learners, including those pupils who thrive in small school settings. I will be actively encouraging as many residents as possible to engage with the consultations and also to make sure that their local County Councillors are aware of their views too.
Advice Surgeries
As your local Senedd Member I’m here to represent you, your family and our community in the Welsh Parliament. In ‘normal times’, I hold advice surgeries throughout Montgomeryshire. During the remainder of the Winter and into Spring, I am going to continue to hold telephone or virtual meetings.
If you have any issues to raise that you believe I can support you with, please call my office on 01686 610887 or email [email protected] so we can arrange for a suitable time for a conversation.
I have also arranged specific times for specific communities across the County, and where appropriate, I can also involve relevant County Councillors. If your community is not mentioned, or a different day is more suited for you, I am happy to meet at another time that suits.
For the meetings listed below, no prior appointment is required so please just call my office on the day. You can also call in advance to book a call back time.
Aberangell
Thursday 25 February
Aberhafesp
Thursday 21 January
Abermule
Thursday 14 January
Adfa
Thursday 21 January
Arddleen
Thursday 11 March
Berriew
Thursday 21 January
Bettws Cedewain
Thursday 14 January
Bont Dolgadfan
Thursday 25 March
Buttington
Thursday 4 March
Caersws
Thursday 25 March
Carno
Thursday 25 March
Castle Caereinion
Thursday 1 April
Cefn Coch
Thursday 21 January
Cemmaes Road
Thursday 25 February
Churchstoke
Thursday 14 January
Crew Green
Thursday 11 March
Dolfor
Thursday 4 February
Foel
Friday 15 January
Forden
Thursday 4 March
Four Crosses
Thursday 11 March
Guilsfield
Thursday 1 April
Kerry
Thursday 4 February
Langadfan
Friday 15 January
Leighton
Thursday 4 March
Llanbrynmair
Thursday 25 March
Llandinam
Thursday 4 February
Llandrinio
Thursday 11 March
Llanerfyl
Friday 15 January
Llanfair Caereinion
Friday 15 January
Llanfihangel-Yng-Ngwynfa
Thursday 11 February
Llanfyllin
Thursday 28 January
Llangurig
Thursday 18 February
Llangyniew
Thursday 11 February
Llangynog
Friday 12 February
Llanidloes
Thursday 18 February
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
Friday 12 February
Llansantffraid (incl: Llanfechain)
Thursday 1 April
Llansilin
Friday 12 February
Llanwddyn
Friday 12 February
Llanymynech
Thursday 11 Marc
Machynlleth
Thursday 25 February
Meifod
Thursday 11 February
Middletown
Thursday 4 March
Montgomery
Thursday 14 January
New Mills
Thursday 21 January
Newtown
Thursday 18 March
Penegoes
Thursday 25 February
Penybontfawr
Friday 12 February
Pontrobert
Thursday 11 February
Sarn
Thursday 4 February
Trefeglwys
Thursday 18 February
Tregynon
Thursday 21 January
Trewern
Thursday 4 March
Welshpool
Thursday 7 January
