Tonia Antoniazzi MP has warned that the UK Conservative Government’s Spending Review, which was announced with a glaring £95million black hole for Welsh farmers, will leave farmers in Gower worse off.
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NFU Cymru have called the potentially near £100 million shortfall in funding for Welsh agriculture a ‘bitter blow at a critical and extremely uncertain time’ for Welsh farmers.

The Chancellor’s Spending Review announcement on Wednesday 25th November appears to show a £95million black hole for Welsh farmers, just as the Brexit transition period nears its end.

Tonia Antoniazzi MP said, “The UK government have said they will make up the difference but my constituents in Gower know how this song goes as they’ve seen the UK Government renege on their commitments time and time again. We were promised investment, rail electrification, and the tidal lagoon, but all these promises were broken. The Secretary of State for Wales needs to immediately outline how and when the Welsh Government will receive the funding to make up the shortfall, otherwise all Gower farmers have is empty words from an unscrupulous, double-dealing Government in Westminster.”

NFU Cymru President John Davies said: “The apparent £95million shortfall in the Chancellor’s Spending Review is a bitter blow for Welsh farmers at what is a critical and extremely uncertain time for our industry.

“In the build up to the EU Referendum and thereafter, we have been consistently told that funding for Welsh farming would be maintained and protected following our departure from the EU - we were told Welsh farming would not receive a penny less in funding as we move out of the CAP.
“Now we appear to be in a position where Welsh agriculture looks like it will lose £95million of funding that it can ill afford to lose at any time, never mind with widescale and unprecedented changes and uncertainty lying ahead for the sector. We are a matter of weeks away from the ending of the Brexit transition period, with the potential for significant disruption to our markets for agricultural produce, alongside the massive disruption in the UK food supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Any reduction in funding puts at risk the unparalleled contribution that Welsh farming makes to society in Wales, being the cornerstone of the multi-billion pound Welsh food and drink supply chain that employs 229,000 across the whole supply chain with 78,000 of these employed in the Food and Farming Priority Sector. The prospect of such a funding cut is a severe blow to the industry’s future ambitions.
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“We seek urgent clarification from our elected governments as to how they will resolve this funding shortfall. If our fears around future funding are realised, I am afraid it will be bleak news for everyone associated with Welsh agriculture and is clearly not consistent with the government’s levelling up agenda. It is simply not acceptable that Welsh farmers will be the ones left to suffer.”

I have always been proud of our Armed Forces and, I want the UK to be the best country in the world for veterans.

Making that ambition for our veterans a reality in Gower and Swansea requires the Government to do much more to support local services and employment opportunities for those leaving the armed services.

It also requires Parliament fix the problem of vexatious legal claims and investigations that has made the lives of too many of our troops a misery after serving in overseas conflicts.

The Government’s Overseas Operations Bill is meant to deal with this problem but it would have done nothing to help 99 percent of those put through the trauma of repeat investigations after Iraq and Afghanistan, while worse still it removes rights of troops and their families to claim against the MoD when its failings lead to injury or death.

I want you to be aware there is still the chance to change this legislation in Parliament, and Labour has been working to build a broad consensus behind the changes needed to make the Bill fit for purpose. But this needs Conservative MPs to change their stance. On 3 November Tory MPs voted to do three things:

• Strip British Forces personnel serving overseas of their right to claim compensation from the MoD for injuries; these are basic employment rights that all of us as citizens continue to enjoy.
• Reject changes to the Bill to deal with the flawed system of investigations; so the Bill only deals with the prosecution system that would not have helped in more than 99% of cases against our veterans.
• Reject Labour’s proposal for a new duty of care standard on the MoD to provide legal, pastoral and mental health support to Forces personnel who have been accused; those who have been through the trauma of long-running investigations often say they felt ‘cut adrift’ by the MoD and by their chain of command.

 
I am inviting veterans and their families in Gower to write to me with their experiences of going through investigations and give their views on how we can offer more protection and support to them.

I have also written to local branches of the Royal British Legion to ask their members to do the same.

If you'd like to share your experience, please email me at tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk. 

​Working together, we can help to provide the support our service personnel really need.

I was pleased to be able to put a question to the Secretary of State for Wales this week on the issue of women’s sport. On 10 November, the difficult decision was taken to cancel the remaining games of the women’s rugby Six Nations 2020 competition due to the impact of Covid. I appreciate that we live in unprecedented times and that everyone is having to make allowances for things which can and cannot happen. However, we must ensure that women’s sport is given the same priority as men’s sport. Women’s sports organisations and sportswomen have worked so hard to gain recognition for their sport and have battled prejudice and discrimination. It is so important for women’s health and fitness that we encourage the view that women’s sport is just as valuable and enjoyable as men’s and I hope to see the Secretary of State for Wales stand up for Welsh women’s sport.

I was in the Welsh Affairs Committee this week, where we questioned Jeremy Miles MS, the Welsh Government Minister for the EU, about the Welsh Government’s view on the lack of a Welsh-specific approach for products such as Welsh lamb and beef after Brexit. In 2018, Welsh exports to the EU were valued at £17.2 billion and obviously, it is vital for the Welsh economy that tariff-free access continues after Brexit. 35% of Welsh lamb is exported overseas; 95% of that going to the EU. I am deeply concerned that the Tory Westminster Government are failing to take Wales into account in their discussions with the EU and are not looking at the various ways in which Brexit is going to affect different regions of the UK outside London.

This week is Usdaw’s annual Respect for Shopworkers Week which they run as part of their Freedom From Fear campaign, seeking to tackle the rising problem of violence and abuse towards our vital frontline retail workers. It’s appalling that shopworkers have grown to almost expect abuse and the fact that during this crisis instances of abuse have doubled I think is disgusting. I am pleased to support this campaign and would encourage all constituents to sign Usdaw’s petition to call on the UK Government to enact legislation to create a specific offence of abusing, threatening, or assaulting a retail worker with a penalty that shows that we are serious about stopping these disgusting attacks.

It's Anti-Bullying Week this week and as a mother of a teenager and former secondary school teacher, bullying is something that has obviously concerned me at various times. Bullying is too often characterised as something all children go through at school, or something that makes you a stronger person.  This is wrong.   I have, unfortunately, seen the effects of bullying in school. Bullying can have a long-lasting effect on those who experience and witness it, but by working together, by sharing our experiences, and by educating young people, we can reduce bullying. We all have a part to play – parents, teachers, politicians, celebrities, and young people themselves – we can all speak out against bullying and speak up for those experiencing it.

We marked International Men’s Day this week - a time to remind everyone that men’s health needs to be discussed more and the stigmas removed around having these ‘emotional’ conversations. In 2018, roughly 13 men took their own life every day, making up 3 in 4 of all suicides in the UK. We need to talk more about men’s mental health and make it clear that there is help available for men – it’s not just women who experience poor mental health. Domestic abuse is another area which has traditionally been viewed as affecting only women, but 1 in 3 people who experience domestic abuse are men. Tackling suicide and domestic abuse means also tackling the societal stigma that exists around these issues and being open with friends and family and people who can help about what is happening in our lives.
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You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increased, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe!

This week, I was pleased to be able to speak in the House of Commons on behalf of all the sub-postmasters who were falsely accused and prosecuted during the Post Office Horizons scandal. Over 900 false prosecutions have led to ruined reputations, destroying families and careers. I called on the UK Government and Minister Paul Scully from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to ensure that there is a judge-led independent inquiry into how such an appalling miscarriage of justice could have been allowed to happen.

I was also pleased to tackle the Health Secretary on his plans to ensure that cancer professionals in England are not redeployed away from cancer care during this second month-long English lockdown, in my role as the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer. We have a rising backlog across the United Kingdom and there are worrying signs that many people who have perhaps noticed some symptoms of cancer have not discussed them with their GP, for fear of putting added pressure on the NHS or from the fear of contracting the virus themselves. It is vitally important that we continue to check for the signs of cancer and that if we have any concerns at all, we raise them immediately with our GPs. Our NHS is still there to look after us all and Coronavirus does not mean that other serious illnesses are any less important.

With new figures out from the Office of National Statistics this week showing the rise in unemployment rates across the country, this will be a very difficult period for many. This week it’s Talk Money Week - and we as a nation are notoriously bad at discussing finances! We have to get better – not to be able to boast about how wealthy we are (wishful thinking!) – but to share our difficulties so that we can find the support that we need. It is not shameful to be struggling with finances – the economy has been hit hard and shouldering the pressure alone is incredibly burdensome. Citizens Advice Cymru are there to help and their trained advisers can help with everything from better budgeting to dealing with unpaid bills or debts, to navigating the benefits system. Please, if you are struggling, reach out and know that help is available.

On Thursday, we were able to see the fantastic work of the DIY SOS team and all the amazing volunteers who gave up their time and resources to help Surfability in the Gower. Based in Caswell Bay, Surfability is a fully inclusive surf school that helps children with even the most severe disabilities enjoy the thrills of surfing a wave amid our glorious scenery. This is a fantastic reminder that sport is and should be for everyone – no matter their gender, skill, or physical abilities. It’s about finding something you love doing, with people you get on with, and having fun while keeping fit. Ben Clifford, who founded Surfability, was operating out of an out-of-use bus shelter when he met Nick Knowles at a Pride of Britain Awards ceremony where he had won a community partner award. Along with the beautiful DIY SOS build, he has been given a £120,000 Children In Need grant to help deliver his surf-based activities. If you didn’t watch it on Thursday, catch up! And have your tissues ready – it’s a real tear-jerker!

You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increase, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe!

I was pleased to lead a debate this week in Westminster Hall on the sale of fireworks - and thank you to all the Gower constituents who signed my petition calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks given the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in this year. Fireworks are dangerous; each year around the 5th November, there are thousands of visits to A&E because of injuries caused by fireworks and traffic to the NHS website giving advice on how to treat burns and scalds skyrockets. The NHS is under extreme pressure this year with the second wave of the coronavirus coinciding with the usual winter pressures and the impact of the first wave on scheduled procedures and routine check-ups. I know how much people enjoy Bonfire Night – I remember as a child sitting with our hot dogs and watching the fireworks over Stradey Park - but this year, we will have to do things differently. Protecting lives and safeguarding health must come first.

On Tuesday, I was called to speak in the Urgent Question to the Treasury on the economic support that will be in place during this next lockdown. The Prime Minister on Monday said that funding for furlough schemes would be available to the devolved nations, not just during the current lockdown, but in the future if devolved nations are forced to lock down regardless of England’s measures for public health reasons. On Wednesday, however, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government cast doubt on this assertion, claiming that it would be a matter for the Chancellor and not the Prime Minister to decide. The Treasury Minister then failed to clarify who had ultimate responsibility for the judgement – the Chancellor or the Prime Minister. The Chancellor’s subsequent announcement on Thursday that furlough be funded through to March is welcome, but it’s ridiculous - and fundamentally damaging to business - that it took so long for him to confirm.

On Thursday, it was a busy day in Parliament with Welsh Affairs in the morning, followed by an Urgent Question to the Health Secretary and a Statement from the Chancellor. During Welsh Affairs we discussed the impact of the Brexit negotiations on the Welsh economy and how the UK Government are negotiating with regards to Wales. The UK Government must work to ensure that Brexit does not disadvantage any of the devolved nations in the UK. I am concerned that the focus is on Westminster priorities rather than considering that devolved nations may experience different impacts in different sectors and that these are not being properly addressed.

Thursday’s Health Urgent Question was on the issue of assisted dying and the impact of the Covid restrictions on travel for the purpose of seeking end of life care abroad in countries like Switzerland where assisted dying is legal. It is such an emotive and sensitive issue, and there are related concerns within the UK around hospices. Our hospices provide crucial care to those needing palliative care and the Covid pandemic has hit them incredibly hard. They rely hugely on the finances raised through charity shops and with long periods of closure and donations being restricted at times, they have had to make drastic cuts to staffing. The UK Treasury must commit to providing the necessary resources so that these services cannot only continue to provide care but are able to do so in a dignified and peaceful manner.

I was also able to speak in the discussion after the Chancellor’s statement on the extension of the furlough scheme. This is, of course, an announcement to be welcomed, but I am getting rather tired of feeling like the devolved nations like Wales are ignored when they ask for help and only get given the support they were asking for when England is given the same, or should we say the South of England? Why does the Chancellor insist on suggesting that the Welsh should be grateful for what they receive when the English receive it and not that they are equally and fairly entitled to the support? The Chancellor needs to remember that he acts for the whole of the United Kingdom and not just Tory constituencies in the South of England.

As with everything this year, Remembrance Day Is going to look very different. There will be no long march past the Cenotaph in London and no organised gatherings at local memorials. However, Remembrance Day isn’t about the display and the pageantry; it’s about the people we remember and honour. It’s about the brave men and women who sacrificed so much during those dark days in the 1930s and 1940s, the men and women who answered the call of their country and contributed in whatever way they could. It’s about honouring those today who serve their country and this year, I will be thinking about the great support our military men and women have been providing during this pandemic. Thank you to each and every one of you, past and present, for the service you have given to this country.
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You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increased, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe!

 We are moving into our first winter as a country truly shaped by coronavirus and as a nation, we need our Governments in Westminster and Cardiff to be on the ball and get our response right to save lives.
 
I appreciate this has been a challenge that we’ve faced like no other, however for the good of the country Boris Johnson and the UK Government need to hold their hands up and accept they’ve got it wrong on outsourcing the track and trace system in England.
 
Instead of addressing the failures of a privatised and centralised contact tracing model, they’ve squandered millions outsourcing track & trace to big private companies, some of them with truly terrible track records. In October the contact rate in England was as low as 63%!
 
We can’t afford to have companies like Serco putting the public’s health at risk with their frightfully low contact rates.
 
Thankfully in Wales contact tracing is devolved to local communities, and our local authorities have been resourced to do it properly.
 
We can be proud that our track and trace is a public service that is locally run, achieving a 96% contact rate since 21 June. I believe this model where a public service is being delivered in the public sector for the public interest is the best way forward and the results speak for themselves.
 
Therefore, I am urging the government to hand over control of contact tracing to councils and local public health teams, following revelations that the national – largely privatised – system is only making a marginal difference to addressing rapidly rising rates of Covid-19 infection. 
 
For months, Labour has been asking this government to put contact tracing into the hands of councils and local public health teams who know their own communities better than anyone.
 
In the face of all the evidence, I can’t believe the Tories are continuing with a system that rewards failure by handing enormous sums of money to big companies which deliver such poor results.
 
The government should look at the science, follow my call to transfer control of contact tracing to local authorities, so that we can better protect people’s lives and livelihoods. 

As a result of increasing levels of infection across Wales, the Welsh Government have implemented a ‘firebreak lockdown’. From 6pm today until the start of Monday 9 November, there will be a new set of restrictions in place.  We must now stay at home, except for limited and specific purposes, and we must not visit other households or meet with people indoors or outdoors who do not live in our households. Most shops and hospitality venues will close, including pubs and restaurants. For the week after half term, secondary schools will provide online learning only for all pupils except those in years 7 and 8, but primary schools and childcare settings will remain open. Face coverings will continue to be mandatory in the indoor public spaces that remain open, such as in supermarkets and on public transport.  I know this will be a difficult and frustrating fortnight, but it's clear that we are facing a very difficult winter and we must all play our part to help keep levels of infection down.  For more information and to find the answers to frequently asked questions, take a look at the Welsh Government website here.

I was pleased to question the Health Secretary this week as the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer on the resources that the UK Government are deploying to tackle the more than 110,000 people waiting more than 52 weeks in England for cancer services – the most in 12 years. We had a meeting with the Catch Up With Cancer campaign recently and impressed upon Matt Hancock the importance of not neglecting cancer now and experiencing a tragic and unnecessary loss of lives. The NHS has dealt admirably with the pandemic but now we must ensure that they have the resources they need to support cancer services to deal with their backlog alongside normal winter pressures.

A survey from a cross-university research team with the Welsh Rugby Union has been launched this week about women in rugby. Players and coaches are encouraged to complete the survey, from which the data will be used to help create an evidence base to develop targeted, female-specific interventions to improve player safety. I’ve said for a long time how important it is that we get women into sport and feeling comfortable playing sport, but unfortunately there is a significant sex data gap which exists in medical and sport science, particularly in contact sports. Contrary to popular belief, women are not ‘small men’ and we need to find out exactly how women are impacted by certain sports and what can be done specifically to support them. This survey is a fantastic innovation from some great universities with great reputations for sport and I look forward to reading their findings!

On Wednesday this week, the Labour Party held an opposition debate on free school meals and asked the UK Government to ensure provision of free school meals throughout the holidays in England until at least Easter 2021, given the likely impact of Covid on household finances over the coming months. More than 300 Tory MPs voted against this motion. There are many differences between Labour and Conservative political beliefs, of course, but I had not thought that ensuring children had at least one square meal a day would be a difference. More than 1.4 million children in England are eligible for free school meals. That’s more than 1.4 million children who will go hungry during the holidays. This shouldn’t be an issue that divides politicians; it’s not a political issue, it’s moral. The Welsh Government have already committed to ensuring the provision of free school meals for children in Wales during the holidays until at least Easter 2021. That’s the difference a Labour Government makes.

This week we marked the 54th anniversary of the tragedy at Aberfan. At 9.13am on the 21st October 1966, the village school clock stopped for the final time. We remember the 116 children and 28 adults who were killed, those families who had to face the unimaginable, the survivors who struggled to deal with the trauma, and the rescuers who rushed from across South Wales to help in the rescue effort. We will not forget them and we will work everyday to ensure that no such tragedy befalls the Welsh valleys again. 
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You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increased, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe!

This week, as a member of the House of Commons Petitions Committee, I was pleased to lead a debate in Parliament on two petitions about this summer’s exam results. While these were petitions from England, this was a really important debate which allowed me to draw on my 9 years experience teaching in the North West of England and the work of the Welsh Labour Government, who are responsible for education in Wales. I want to thank all the students, parents, and teachers who have dealt phenomenally with this unprecedented situation and, in particular, to the students who have shown remarkable resilience. The lack of clarity around the whole situation has been hugely damaging to the mental health of students, who fear that the UK Government’s decisions will have a huge impact on their future lives. Our students have been severely impacted by 5 months of no in-person teaching, particularly in places where internet and IT resources are limited. Any teacher will tell you, 3 weeks’ catch up will not alleviate the situation. The UK Government needs to do much more to listen to those who, unlike them, understand what it is like to work within the comprehensive school system and put in place measures that will support them, rather than beat them down.

It was great to be able to intervene on a debate held on the UK Government's support for women’s rugby this week. Rugby is a fantastic sport for women and having visited West Swansea Hawks in Gowerton recently, I was amazed by the fantastic Covid-secure training sessions that they have managed to set up. All sport gives women confidence and is, of course, vital for their health and wellbeing, both physical and mental - but they often face more and different barriers to men in getting involved. It is incredibly important that sports clubs and organisations are supported to get back up and running (pun intended!) in a safe and secure way to allow people, and especially women, to resume participation in sport.

I was also able to speak again in the Wales Question session on Wednesday and tackled the UK Government on support for tourism and hospitality. Tourism and hospitality is the backbone of the economy of Gower. My constituent, Lara Joslin, who runs the King’s Head in Llangennith, is crying out for support to keep her family business alive. Her popular rural pub and accommodation, like many others in the area, provides a meeting space and entertainment for locals and visitors, and vital jobs for locals, both part-time and full-time, and custom for local suppliers. I asked the Secretary of State why he wasn’t pushing the Chancellor to ensure that adequate support means that strong, independent hospitality businesses like this are able to weather this storm to return to full strength once the pandemic is behind us.

There were two meaningful awareness events this week – we had the week ending yesterday for baby loss awareness and today it’s Wear Red Day for Show Racism the Red Card. Pregnancy and baby loss is a tragic reality for so many parents across the country and for too long, it’s been considered taboo and a private matter. The pandemic has compounded the sense of isolation for so many, but we must ensure that support is there for parents who experience terrible loss, both from professional services as well as friends and family.

As many of you must be aware, I am a big fan of sport – both getting out and playing and enjoying watching a game (usually rugby!). Racism has absolutely no place in sport - or society! - and I am disgusted whenever I see instances of racism both on and off the pitch. We must stamp out these vicious and vile attitudes with the help of educational organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card and teach our children to value the hearts and minds of those they meet rather than the way they look and the colour of their skin.
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You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe

​Former Welsh international rugby player and Member for Parliament for Gower has welcomed the WRU’s decision to allow community rugby to resume. This is great news especially after the Welsh Government changed coronavirus restrictions to allow children to travel between areas affected by local lockdowns.
 
Clubs and teams of all junior ages in Swansea may now return to training within the current return to rugby guidelines, if they feel they can provide a safe environment for players, coaches and volunteers.
 
This follows the easing of restrictions which allows children to travel between areas under lockdown so they may continue to participate in organised sporting activities.
 
Member of Parliament for Gower Tonia Antoniazzi MP said, “The clubs are doing a brilliant job to protect their youngsters and provide a safe training experience”
 
“We know how important sport is for their mental health and physical wellbeing, as well as with their personal development with skills they gain through teamwork and socialising with their friends outside of school. “ 
 
“The last few months have been hard on everyone with lockdown restrictions upending everyday life and we have all had to make sacrifices as we’ve adjusted to the new normal.”
 
“Likewise, the next 6 months will be a real challenge for us all, so the WRU’s decision to bring back community rugby and let children train again is fantastic. I’ve had many constituents have contact me since March saying their child’s physical and mental health has been drastically impacted by lockdown so it’s only right that we strike a balance with our restrictions.”
 
“The return of community rugby for our youngsters is a welcome reprieve from lockdown life.”

It's been another busy week here in Gower and Westminster.  I was pleased to be called to ask the English Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, a question in this week’s Health Questions. It’s come to light that the Northern Ireland authorities have taken unprecedented action and have committed to paying the private prescriptions for severely ill children in Northern Ireland who need medical cannabis. I have been campaigning on this issue for a long time, and I asked the Secretary of State if he would finally do the right thing and follow the Northern Irish example and support severely ill children with intractable epilepsy. He refused to answer my yes or no question, instead praising significant progress made and promising to follow the clinical advice. The clinical advice is clear: where no other treatments have been found to be effective, medical cannabis can be prescribed.

I was also pleased to join other Catch Up With Cancer campaigners on a call with Matt Hancock to discuss a national cancer recovery plan. Cancer waiting lists and in NHS England, waiting lists are at the highest level since records began. We need the UK Government to ensure that cancer specialist health care workers receive adequate testing to ensure Covid-protected safe spaces so that cancer diagnoses and care can continue throughout the winter and ensure that everyone with a diagnosis is given the best chance of survival. The pandemic has been a worrying and uncertain time for everyone, but for those awaiting cancer treatment there is the added fear of losing precious time. Cancer hasn’t gone away during this pandemic and we need to ensure that our capabilities for treating cancer are not lost either.

This week we had the utterly ridiculous suggestion by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, that those people employed in the creative industries who are currently unable to work should just find alternative jobs. According to one of the Government’s own press releases from earlier this year, the UK’s creative industries contribute (in normal times) almost £13 million to the UK economy every hour. The sector was growing more than 5 times faster than the national economy before the pandemic hit. It was incredibly moving to see the 400 musicians who assembled in Parliament Square (socially distanced, of course) to protest against the UK Government’s lack of support in the way they know how – by performing one of Gustav Holst’s best known pieces, Mars from his Planets Suite. Holst was an English composer and it is terribly saddening to think of all the talent and hours of enjoyment that could be lost from the UK Government’s short-sightedness.

The Welsh Affairs Committee met this Thursday to discuss the implications of Brexit for Welsh trade, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals, the automotive industry, and the steel industry. I’ve noticed over the last few years an issue with the drugs available in pharmacies, particularly HRT. It is very important that we tackle the lack of availability of drugs, especially with the impact of leaving the EU. The UK Government must ensure that the supply of vital drugs, as well as other vital products for trade, is not disrupted by Brexit and that safeguards are put in place to ensure stocks remain able to cope with demand.

Women in Sport are running a fantastic initiative this month called #TimeTogether to get mums and daughters to find new, fun, and active ways to spend time together. Research has shown that only 42% of teenage girls meet physical activity guidelines and that mums are often reluctant to allocate time for themselves to be active as they are busy spending time looking after others. They also found that teenage girls cherish and value time spent alone with their mum and so Time Together have put together 4 weeks of ideas of ways to spend time more actively enjoying that important relationship. Take a look at their website and social media for lots of great ideas and go and have some fun!

On Monday we marked World Teachers’ Day. As a former teacher myself, I know how hard the job is in normal times, trying to plan and prepare for lessons, ensure that every student is given the help they need to succeed, deal with behaviour, and try to keep your head above the ever-growing pile of marking and paperwork! It’s a wonderful job – watching children develop is a joy, but it can be extremely challenging. I want to thank all the wonderful teachers who have worked so hard to ensure that students can go back into Covid-secure classrooms and maintain as much normality as possible. The end of last year was completely unprecedented and the beginning of this year is no less strange. Good luck to all teachers for the academic year and I hope you still find the moments of laughter, joy, and bewilderment that reminds every teacher why they do this job!

This Saturday is World Mental Health Day and this year’s is more important than ever. According to Mind charity’s research, more than half of adults and over two thirds of young people said that their mental health had got worse over lockdown. Some may have developed new mental health problems and others had their existing mental health problems exacerbated. We must now get rid of the idea that mental ill-health is somehow a weakness and that it is something to be ashamed of. In the same way that we need to eat well and exercise to keep our physical health good, we need to look after our minds. For some that mean a jog, or a yoga class, or an hour with a book in a corner somewhere. Others might need more help and that might mean reaching out to others.  Mind mental health charity have lots of information about the support available on their website, or you can visit your GP. It’s important that we look after ourselves – body and mind.

You can keep up to date with Welsh Government announcements and information on their dedicated coronavirus page. If you have any issues or concerns to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01792 899025. My office is not open, my staff and I are working from home, but my email and phone are still being monitored and responded to. You may experience a slight delay in receiving a response from us as the demand has increased, but we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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Keep well and remember – and remember - observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and keep Wales safe!