December 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to my December 2023 Newsletter
As Christmas approaches, sending you and your family all the very best for the festive season. I think it’s also correct to reflect on the many people who Christmas is a difficult time for, and I include in this the many families across the world who are caught up in conflicts.
This newsletter contains updates on several areas such as £17 million of new investment into Powys, our new banking hub, and other stories.
As ever, I can help you with an issue or concern, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me by email - [email protected]
Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas.
My thanks to Rose May Foskett for doing an excellent job designing my Christmas card this year. I always receive amazing entries and it can be difficult to choose!
UK Government £17 Million Funding
In late November, Craig Williams MP and I welcomed the news today from the UK Government that Powys was successful in the third round of the Levelling Up Fund to receive £17,714,498. This announcement builds on the £16 million award Montgomeryshire received in the first round of the Levelling Up Fund for the restoration of the Montgomery Canal.
The bid focused on transport investment in the County to support the recreational tourism industry as well as the wider economy in Mid Wales. There will be refurbishments to bridges across the county as well as a large scale highway resurfacing programme. Some of these projects include the Footbridges at Berriew, Caersws, Garthmyl and Llangadfan, resurfacing at locations across the county, especially tourist hot spots such as Lake Vyrnwy and Llanrhaedr.
Historically Montgomeryshire and Powys missed out on huge investments like last month’s announcement by the UK Government of the further £17 million from the Levelling Up Fund. Working alongside Craig Williams MP, I am delighted that tens of millions pounds of investment into our area over the last three years has been secured. This money will provide much needed investment to enable significant projects to move forward, which will strengthen our tourism offer, and make Mid Wales an attractive place to visit.
Banking Hub to Open
Craig Williams MP and I have been actively working with Cash Access UK who are delivering a new Banking Hub to serve Welshpool and the wider area.
The new Banking Hub opens in Welshpool this month and will offer shared banking access and services to customers of all major banks. This will be one of the first banking hubs of its kind to open in Wales and will be located at the former Lloyds Bank building on the high street. The Hub will be open Monday - Friday 9am-5pm and will be able to support every day banking services and cash transactions.
On top of this, a Community Banker from each bank will be available on rotation, who will be on hand to help with more complex queries and issues. The schedule for this is listed below.
Monday: Lloyds
Tuesday: NatWest
Wednesday: HSBC
Thursday: Santander
Friday: Barclays
Better Management of Dams
View Russell George's question to the First Minister.
Sadly, we are approaching the time of year when flooding is once again in our minds - especially for certain communities who have been hit in recent years.
I asked the First Minister for an update on how improved management of Clwedog and Vyrnwy reservoirs could mitigate serious downpours and storms. He acknowledged that better forecasting should mean that capacity could be cleared in these reservoirs by releasing water before these weather events. Weather conditions have in the past exposed the operational arrangements and flood risk management at Clywedog and Lake Vyrnwy which has resulted in both reservoirs overflowing, the consequence of which has been downstream flooding in both areas.
Both reservoirs are owned and managed by Hafren Dyfrdwy, part of Severn Trent, but creating spare capacity by releasing water can only be undertaken at the request of the England-based Environment Agency. There is a particular need for National Resources Wales to work with the Environment Agency to manage flooding in our communities more effectively. Rivers flow over the border and poor management by one of these two bodies can impact the other area significantly.
Education Proposals
Powys County Council has been consulting on a number of proposed changes. Currently, several proposals are on the table which I want to update you on. These include moving Ysgol Bro Caereinion to a Welsh Medium school and closing several primary schools. I go into each specific proposal and my views on my website. Use the link below to access this information.
Fraud Awareness
Craig Williams MP and I recently hosted a Fraud Awareness event in Welshpool. Fraud can have such a deep and significant emotional as well as financial impact on victims. It was great to bring together a wide range of organisations such as banks, the police and others to offer advice and support. Citizens Advice was one of the attendees of the event. They have a number of ways in which you can discuss any particular concerns about scams:
A consumer hotline, open Monday to Friday (8am to 6pm). 0808 223 1133
An online chat function.
Email contact.
They can point you in the right direction and give support if you are suffering emotionally after a scam, on banking specifically and on reporting.
New Emergency Service Provision in Shrewsbury
Along with Craig Williams MP, I recently met with senior staff at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SATH) to discuss their detailed plans for the proposed development of the Shrewsbury Hospital site. This is such a positive development for us in Mid Wales as we will see improved life-saving emergency healthcare located in Shrewsbury where so many of us go for treatment. The services planned are more significant than a standard A&E department. The plans also mean the return of the women and children’s consultant-led inpatient service return to Shrewsbury. I also believe the plans will vastly reduce current A&E waiting times at both hospitals, as well as ambulance turnaround periods.
Improving IT in the Welsh NHS
In November, I led a debate in the Senedd on the need to improve technology in the Welsh NHS. The debate called on the Welsh Government to urgently roll-out the NHS app and e-prescribing, accelerate the integration of digital and AI technologies; and begin the phasing out of outdated technologies.
