Happy New Year to you all, I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas.
Firstly can I thank all of the volunteers who helped make our “Everyone Deserves a Christmas” campaign such a great success this year.
On December 23rd at Merthyr Town Football Club we packed 270 Christmas hampers, containing ingredients for a full roast dinner, and other festive treats, to go out across Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney, and Merthyr Tydfil & Aberdare.
It was a big project for Gerald Jones MP and me, but, thanks to the brilliant team of volunteers who gave up their free time on the day, it was fun and festive morning that went very smoothly, resulting in 270 families across our valleys receiving a helping hand during what can be a very difficult and stressful time for some, with 10 hampers being delivered to the Hospice of the Valleys.
The distribution of our hampers here in Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney would not have been possible without the invaluable help of Sian Tucker and her team at the Ebbw Vale Institute Pantry, and the Caerphilly Cares team alongside volunteers Lee and Leanne Chapman.
I am also grateful to Braces Bakery for their donation of bread, Platt Packaging in Tredegar for providing boxes and Convatec Rhymney for their financial contribution.

 

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
I was glad to support the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill last week. I used to work for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, I remember the abuse suffered by children like Victoria Climbie and I worked over a number of years to support children. I take these issues very seriously and I know Keir Starmer does too, as is reflected in his work on this issue during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, where he led the charge against grooming gangs.
There was already an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA) which reported its findings in October 2022, although these were not implemented by the previous Conservative government.
There has already been a delay of more than two years in implementing the independent inquiry’s findings and any new public inquiry is estimated to take at least five to seven years to complete.
If the proposed Tory amendment had passed, the entire Bill would fall. Since the Bill contains vital measures to tackle child abuse and grooming that should not be delayed, I voted to ensure the passage of the Bill.
As a first step, our Government is taking immediate action on key recommendations from the IISCA report:
– Making it mandatory to report abuse and making it an offence to fail to report, or to cover up, child sexual abuse.
– Legislating to make grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing for child sexual offences.
– Overhauling the way evidence is gathered on child sexual abuse.

The Labour Government is also accelerating the work of the Grooming Gangs Taskforce, which saw a 25% increase in arrests between July and September last year.
The vote has sparked some interest, largely driven by social media and Elon Musk’s public attacks on Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips. I stand with Keir and Jess on this issue.

Brynmawr Medical Practice
There continues to be an ongoing issue with health provision in the Brynmawr area. I’ve written to Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles and I am garnering further information on the wider footprint of, and delivery of services by, the company behind Brynmawr Medical Practice and three other surgeries in our constituency

Looking Ahead
As we begin a new year we have to focus again on the task ahead for Labour. Addressing the horrendous financial mess we inherited from the Tories – a £22bn black hole – so that we can begin building on solid ground has been tricky, as we knew it would be, and some difficult decision have had to be made.
But the work has begun, and our Labour values are being put into action.
As I have highlighted previously, work is already well under way on issues such as strengthening renters’ rights, employment rights, tackling water pollution, returning rail to public ownership, establishing a government-owned clean-energy company GB Energy.
Our UK Labour Government budget announced the largest real terms settlement for Wales in the history of devolution. Just a few months in to being in power and Labour has finally put right the Mineworkers Pension Scheme, transferring the £1.5bn reserve back to members, providing a boost to 1600 former mineworkers and their families in Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney alone.
Last week I was pleased to see Keir Starmer reaffirming what is at the core of this Labour Government’s mission, to change Britain for the better and demonstrate how politics can be a force for good.
There are challenges coming down the pike, not least the Welsh Senedd elections in 2026, and it is important that we continue to deliver tangible, positive changes in the coming year, with two Labour governments working together and through our local councils. It is also vital that we continue to campaign regularly and deliver our key messages in support of the work being done.

Mineworkers Pensions
Just before Christmas I spoke in Parliament about how pit staff who paid into the separate coal board staff pension scheme should benefit from the same uplift as Mineworkers Pension Scheme members.
It is fantastic that our Labour Government fulfilled its promise to do right by our former miners but we risk leaving behind those who were signed up to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS), this would include Pit Supervisors or staff that worked in the canteens and other areas of the pits.
I asked the Secretary of State for Energy Ed Miliband about this and was pleased to hear in his response that is something that Industry Minister Sarah Jones was already looking into.

Convatec
It was great to visit a superb local business in Convatec, Rhymney with Dawn Bowden MS and Cllr Carl Cuss to find out more about the company’s pioneering medical products.
I was very pleased to hear about Convatec’s values around sustainability and their support for communities locally and globally.
The team’s enthusiasm and pride in the products and company was clear.

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