Last week saw me start work on the Senedd’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee with a session talking to representatives from the tourism sector in Wales. Since being elected, I’ve always been keen to champion our tourism offer here in North Wales, whether that’s in my role as a Senedd Member or personally. We’ve got so much here on our doorstep and, during the summer, I met up with the Clwydian Range Tourism Group at the beautiful Maes Mynan Park to discuss how we can better support and shine a spotlight on tourism in the area and address challenges within the industry. You can see a video of me raising the meeting with the Clwydian Range Tourism Group in the Senedd on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HannahBlythynForDelyn.
As I said in my column last week, I held a short debate in the Senedd entitled ‘It’s the economy stupid!: How can devolution make it work for workers and Wales?’ Whilst Wales may not have control over major macroeconomic levers, there is an opportunity to think differently about what we can do, from procurement and the power of the public purse to approaches such as community wealth building. You can watch or read my full speech at www.hannahblythyn.cymru/its-the-economy-stupid-how-can-devolution-make-it-work-for-workers-and-wales.
Back home last week, I met with representatives of Caerwys Women’s Institute (WI) to talk about moves to make communities cashless and how that has been impacting people who don’t have access to the sort of banking facilities that make this possible and their campaign to compel businesses in Wales to take cash as a choice. Not everyone in our corner of North Wales can go cashless and many people, especially older generations, find online banking difficult to use – with the closure of many banks in Flintshire and some shops preferring to use cards or phones for accepting payments, we run the risk in Wales of simply leaving more vulnerable people behind.
I’ve offered to support the campaign moving forward, whether that is raising questions on the floor of the Senedd or backing local initiatives. I’m keen to find out about what more we can do in Wales to make sure people can retain the choice to use cash as much as possible, but any legislation on this matter would ultimately need to be made in Westminster.
If you represent a community group or organisation that’s looking for funding, there are many funding streams available from various places – which is why I’ve joined with Flintshire Local Voluntary Council (FLVC) to host a funding fair on October 18th from 10am at the Daniel Owen Centre. Several organisations have signed up to the event, including FLVC, the National Lottery Community Fund and Heritage Fund, Cadwyn Clwyd, the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), Sport Wales, the Steve Morgan Foundation, the National Churches Trust and Business Wales as well as the Police And Community Trust (PACT) and the North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner, who have various community grants available.
Another useful resource is Community Foundation Wales, which not only provides help with grants but also lets organisations know about funding opportunities in the wider community – you can find out more at the website and sign up for the newsletter at www.communityfoundationwales.org.uk.
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/HannahBlythynForDelyn. 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.