Last week the Senedd passed the Welsh Government’s Final Budget, which provides £27.5bn for people, public services and businesses across Wales – this is £1.2bn more than in 2025-26 and £400m more than at the Draft Budget in the autumn. This includes £300m of funding for local government and the NHS and provides certainty and stability for public services, while ensuring the next Welsh Government has the resources is needs to deliver its priorities. At its heart, this is a Labour budget that puts people first – protecting frontline public services and safeguarding jobs across our communities.

It means more money going into frontline services – supporting the staff who keep our NHS, schools and local services running. By using all the resources available to it, the Welsh Government has secured a more ambitious budget, with new investment to help services cope with rising costs and pay pressures. It also includes funding to move forward with bus franchising, so we can build a public transport system that works for passengers and workers, not just profit, but one that focuses on helping people get to work, education and accessing services more easily. And, crucially, it avoids the cliff-edge of a no vote – protecting councils from crippling cuts and giving communities the stability they need. This is about backing workers, supporting communities and making sure our public services are there when people need them most.

Our town centres matter. They’re not just places to shop – they’re part of who we are and where we come from. Growing up in a small town, and living in one today, I know how important it is that our high streets are able to thrive, not just survive. That’s why I asked Welsh Government for an update on investment in town centres across North Wales last week. Through the Transforming Towns programme, more than £80m has already been invested – helping to support local businesses, create jobs and bring new life back to our high streets. In Holywell, funding helped to reopen the high street and I’m continuing to work with traders and local voices to shape what comes next. Across North Wales – including major projects like Queen’s Market in Rhyl – investment is starting to make a real difference. But we can’t stop there. I’ll keep pushing for continued investment and for communities to have a real say and stake in their town’s future.

On the subject of town centres, it was really disappointing to hear that Santander has confirmed Mold as one of 44 branches set to close across the UK – I have had several people contact me about this issue and this will be worrying for many local customers who rely on face-to-face banking. Sadly, this is part of a wider UK-wide trend we’ve seen on our high streets and I will continue to raise this issue both in the Senedd and when I meet people in the industry, such as my recent visit to Nationwide, where their commitment to keeping a branch presence in communities until at least 2030 was genuinely welcome news for customers and town centres alike. I’ve long stood up for high street banking and I’ve campaigned for the use of Banking Hubs like the successful ones in Flint and the hub I opened in Prestatyn.

Regular readers will know that Wales has been leading the way on recycling for some years now, something that I helped to champion when I was Minister for Environment back in 2017. In 2019, I helped to kick-start the ban on single-use plastics and the move towards creating a circular economy by launching the Beyond Recycling policy in Llangollen, one of Wales’ first ‘plastic-free’ towns. Last week, new figures were released from local authorities which show the recycling rate has gone up to 68.4% in 2024-25 – a complete transformation from around 5% pre-devolution.

These statistics are the first annual data published since new workplace recycling measures were introduced in Wales, requiring all businesses, public and third sector workplaces to separate key recyclable materials. This is good news for our nation and for our environment as an extra 8,187 tonnes of recyclable material has been collected from workplaces by local authorities – up 42% on the previous year. This means thousands of tonnes of additional recyclable materials are being fed back into the economy instead of being incinerated or landfilled – just 0.7% of waste was disposed of via landfill in 2024 to 2025, a vast decrease on the 95% sent prior to devolution.

Finally, if you’re looking for a job or you represent a business looking to hire, Flint Town Council has a Job & Apprenticeship Fair coming up on February 9th. It’s the third time the council has run this popular event and it’s open to anyone any age – plus the council’s on the lookout for any businesses which would like to take part. It’s at Flint Town Hall from 3pm to 5.30pm and it’s free.

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/HannahBlythyn. 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.