I called for a Welsh Government Statement on Local Authority Reserves, where the Welsh Government’s Local Government Settlement 2019-20 gives Cardiff, with total usable reserves of £109.6 million, a 0.9 per cent rise; Rhondda Cynon Taf, with reserves of £152.1 million, a 0.8 per cent rise; Newport, with reserves of £102.3 million, a 0.6 per cent rise; and Swansea, with reserves of £95.1 million, a 0.5 per cent rise, but Councils with the largest cuts of -0.3 per cent include Flintshire, with reserves of just £49.4 million, Conwy with £22.7 million, and Anglesey with £24.1 million.
Responding to the Statement on ‘The Warm Homes Programme’, I called on the Welsh Government to ensure that a new Fuel Poverty Strategy is focused on more than just energy efficiency, highlighted the need for a Cold Weather Plan and Crisis Fund in Wales, and stated that Flintshire’s Affordable Warmth Scheme should have been a flagship project.
Questioning the Welsh Government on ‘Improving Community Safety’, I stated that although third sector agencies are increasingly providing a wide range of community safety services, third sector agencies had reported ‘that statutory agencies often pay lip service to notions of involvement and co-production’ with them.
I asked the First Minister to respond to Community Housing Cymru’s call for the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Authorities to work with Jobcentre Plus in Wales to co-locate services and enable applications for Local Authority benefits and Universal Credit to be made at the same time.
Speaking on the housing needs of Veterans and their families, I welcomed the UK Defence Secretary’s announcement that service leavers and their families will now be able to access military accommodation for up to a year after leaving, and emphasized the need for better Welsh Government integration of housing, health and care services for ex-services personnel.
I Chaired the Cross Party Group on Hospices and Palliative Care, which included a presentation by Tŷ Gobaith Children's Hospice on the new end-of-life care model developed in North Wales for 0-18 year olds.
Other Assembly engagements included Marie Curie’s ‘Great Daffodil Appeal’ Launch, and a meeting with Ruth Marks, Chief Executive of Wales Council for Voluntary Action.
North Wales engagements included Flintshire's Sight Loss Stakeholder Event, a visit to Red Cross Emergency Department support at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, and a meeting with my mentee, Lee Tiratira, under EYST’s ‘Routes to Public Life’ Programme to get more Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people into public life.
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