My monthly newsletter for
August. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌


THANK YOU FOR READING MY AUGUST NEWSLETTER – I HOPE YOU’VE HAD A
GOOD MONTH AND ENJOYED THE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND. 

 

 IN PARLIAMENT 

ENERGY BILLS CRISIS

Last week we had yet more dire news on energy bills – bills for an
average household will rise to £3,549 a year on 1 October, when the
new price cap is introduced.

This announcement is striking fear in the heart of many households and
forcing people into making unthinkable choices ahead of this winter.
Many are already having to make extremely tough decisions about buying
necessities, including food. The Tories now face an urgent choice.

THEY CAN CARRY ON LETTING OIL AND GAS COMPANIES MAKE HUGE PROFITS
WHILST EVERY HOUSEHOLD SUFFERS WITH RISING BILLS. OR THEY CAN ACT NOW
AND DO WHAT LABOUR HAS SAID SHOULD HAPPEN - STOP THE ENERGY PRICE CAP
RISING AND BRING IN A PROPER WINDFALL TAX ON THOSE OIL AND GAS
PRODUCER PROFITS.

The cost-of-living crisis is now a national emergency.

People need and deserve action. But Boris Johnson put his out of
office on months ago, and Truss and Sunak are too busy squabbling
between themselves to consider the scale of the crisis that families
are facing.

Labour has announced a fully-funded plan to freeze the price cap and
we would make sure households don’t pay a penny more this winter,
saving you £1,000.

Our plans for home grown renewable energy and to insulate 19 million
homes will keep bills down for the long term too.

LAST WEEK I WROTE FOR WALES ONLINE ABOUT OUR PLAN TO FREEZE ENERGY
BILLS. YOU CAN READ MY PIECE HERE:

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TORY LEADERSHIP ELECTION CHAOS 

Boris Johnson’s zombie Conservative Government has totally checked
out after crashing the economy.

The Bank of England has forecasted the joint longest recession in
three decades, but the disgraced Prime Minister lingers on, doing
nothing, propped up by Tory MPs fighting each other like rats in a
sack and ignoring the crisis facing households, businesses and public
services across the country.

Truss and Sunak have no plan, no ideas and no answers. Next Tuesday,
we’ll find out which of them is the new Prime Minister. I hope, for
the sake of people across Cardiff Central, that like the windfall tax,
the new PM will u-turn and immediately implement our energy price
freeze policy.  

ENDING UNFAIRNESS OF PREPAYMENT METERS

As well as the price cap freeze, we would eliminate the “premium”
that means people with energy prepayment meters, who are often on low
incomes, are charged more than those on direct debits.

Around 4 million domestic customers use prepayment meters, and their
price cap is about 2% higher than for direct debit customers.

It’s outrageous that people on prepayment meters have to pay more
for their energy. Why should those with the least have to pay more to
heat their homes and put the lights on? This is unjustifiable and
morally wrong and Labour will end it.

STRIKES

You know that the Tory government’s failure to tackle the
cost-of-living crisis means food, energy and petrol costs are soaring.
We ‘ve had twelve years of Conservative (and Lib Dem) mismanagement
and it’s left us with a weak economy and record falls in real pay.

Royal Mail staff are essential workers. Whether it was delivering test
and trace kits or being a point of contact to those isolating, they
worked through the pandemic. Royal Mail staff take real pride in the
service they provide to us all and they want to ensure its long-term
success.

Labour has urged Royal Mail management to return to the negotiating
table to ensure a fair pay settlement and to secure the long-term
health and future of Royal Mail. And because Royal Mail provides a
vital public service, the Government should do its job and make sure
that steps are taken to make this happen. Same with the BT Group where
workers have taken strike action for the first time in 35 years and
unless Grant Shapps does his job properly by allowing a fair
settlement in the rail dispute instead of stoking it up, the travel
disruption which no-one wants (except it seems, Grant Shapps) will
continue.

COST-OF-LIVING ADVICE

As Tory government inaction on the cost-of-living crisis continues, I
want to make it as easy as possible for Cardiff Central constituents
to access any help they may be entitled to, to ease the current
burden.

On my website I have page containing all links to support for
utilities, and any benefits or discounts you may be entitled to –
and some links to support agencies who will be able to assist you if
needed.

I’ll be continually updating this list as I receive more information
– and you can access it here:

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CHECK YOU'RE RECEIVING THE HELP YOU'RE ENTITLED TO:

Families are feeling the strain on their household budgets due to the
rising cost of living, making that extra bit of help more important
than ever.

Many people are unaware they may be entitled to benefits that could
offer them the support they need.

If you are unsure about what benefits you can claim, Advicelink Cymru
can help you check and claim what’s yours.

Get in touch with one of our advisors today by calling their free
helpline on 0808 250 5700 – or visit their website here.

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HELP WITH SCHOOL COSTS

Applications for the Welsh Labour Government’s Pupil Development
Grant are now open.

Children whose families are on lower incomes and qualify for certain
benefits (linked to existing eligibility criteria for free school
meals) can apply for the grant of £225 per learner, and £300 for
those learners entering year 7, recognising the increased costs
associated with starting secondary school. The additional £100 is for
this year only.

All compulsory school years are now eligible.

Families who are on lower incomes and qualify for certain benefits can
submit a claim if they have a child in:

•   PRIMARY SCHOOL FROM RECEPTION TO YEAR 6

•   SECONDARY SCHOOL FROM YEAR 7 TO YEAR 11

AROUND CARDIFF CENTRAL

VISITING TRIONGL

I recently had the pleasure to visit Triongl based in the Creative
Quarter of the City Centre. Triongl are an independent TV production
company producing drama programmes and has worked with S4C, BBC and
Channel 4 to date on productions.

If you’re an avid TV watcher you’ll have most likely watched
something they’ve worked on. Most recently they've produced a back
to back drama (filmed in Welsh and English) broadcasting currently on
S4C under the name "Y Golau" and will broadcast on Channel 4 later in
the year in English as "The light in the hall".

Thank you for inviting me to visit you, and keep up the good work!

TRANSPORT FOR WALES: TRYING THE TRAIN SIMULATOR

I was very excited to try the new Transport for Wales Class 231 train
simulator at their HQ. This simulator is used by new Transport for
Wales recruits.

The simulator was pretty challenging to say the least! But it was a
really good experience to get an insight into how complex a job
driving a train full of people safely is.  

Thank you Transport for Wales for giving me the opportunity to
experience it first- hand and for the discussion on the progress with
the South Wales Metro. The Metro will make a big difference to us in
Cardiff Central.

VISITING ENTERPRISE

I recently met Georgia, Gemma, Randall and James from Enterprise,
based off Colchester Avenue in Penylan.

Enterprise have rented their fleet of cars and vans from their Penylan
site for many years, but asked me to come and find out more about how
they’re diversifying their fleet to include more electric and hybrid
cars.

More than 40% of the fleet is now electric or hybrid, helping to cut
emissions and keep our city’s air clean.

ADAMSDOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL'S PROJECT

I recently had a wonderful visit to Adamsdown Primary School with
Councillors Owen Llewellyn-Jones and Grace Ferguson-Thorne.

A very talented group of Year 6 pupils, the “Adamsdown
Investigators” had been busy researching the history of their
school, and have put together the most remarkable exhibition following
completion of their research. Thank you to the team for showing us
around and explaining how you put it together.  

In mediaeval times, Adamsdown lay just outside the east walls of
Cardiff.  It is thought that the area may take its name from Adam
Kyngot, porter and gatekeeper of Cardiff Castle in 1331.

For hundreds of years, the land was farmed, and up until the early
1800's, there were only two buildings that dominated the majority of
the area - Adamsdown Farm and Adamsdown House.

These days of course, Adamsdown is a vibrant community, with shopping
centres like Broadway and Clifton Street. Former pupils and staff who
have heard about the exhibition have been volunteering more
information and exhibits to the school and I have a feeling this
brilliant project will continue for some time yet.

BLOOD DONORS NEEDED!

Can you help?

🩸 The Welsh Blood Service need more people from the Cardiff area to
sign up as donors to help patients across Wales!

✨ Do something amazing today -  book to give blood 👉🏻
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PRIDE CYMRU RETURNS!

It was great to see Pride Cymru returning to the city centre after 3
long years away – complete with a mile long parade and festival.

Thank you to the dedicated team of volunteers for organising this
year’s event and I hope everyone had a brilliant bank holiday pride
weekend!

CAN YOU HELP CARDIFF FOOD BANK?

It was brilliant last weekend to see Clifton Street brought to life
for the Clifton Street Festival.

The festival featured circus and performance from No Fit State circus
– as well as other music, performances, food and more. All in all,
it was a lovely community celebration – thank you to everyone to
organised it and took part.

Thank you to our Cardiff Central Labour
[[link removed][0]=AZW6_tVwySoSzvXn8pJpOPlWRF3w5cuo7yY73Ud0olUj7_0HUsBrJFmYIRZZ6R3u1_bYxZedZAxKWrO6gPUPRjcFC2vpOwqZ2Cy88OMQnM4U1mCdR5iJhFVwr1S6026TZq-BS9MgI4CyO9wNruuoqgnAP6NF1-4JjdAjRmLunkZ5_Erhk4qRHDhDIJkc7WyhoIw6LM-K2C-aQG7ZrBdWesH-&__tn__=-]K-R]
Councillors in Adamsdown, Cllr Owen Llewelyn-Jones and Cllr Grace
Ferguson-Thorne for ensuring that the Brewery Park redevelopment was
delivered by our Cardiff Labour Council. It's wonderful to see and I
know from listening to Adamsdown families and other Adamsdown
residents that it was exactly what they wanted.

ADVICE SURGERIES

I have now confirmed my advice surgery dates to Christmas which take
place across Cardiff Central.

These advice surgeries are an opportunity for any Cardiff Central
residents to come and speak to me about a problem you may need some
help with or a question or query you have.

You can see my full plan of surgery dates online using the link below
– please call my office on 02921 329736 or email me at
[email protected] to make an appointment.

UPCOMING ADVICE SURGERIES:

FRIDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER – ROATH 

FRIDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER – ADAMSDOWN 

FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER – CYNCOED

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