I was pleased to be called to ask a question during Prime Minister’s Questions this week. We were all eager to stand on our doorsteps and come together on a Thursday evening over the summer to applaud our hard-working and dedicated frontline NHS staff. It was very moving to see thousands upon thousands stand outside their doors, clapping their hands, banging saucepans, and making an almighty racket to pay tribute and to show their support. It is therefore even more sickening to know that the key workers we were clapping will now be hit with a real term pay cut to their wages by the Chancellor’s pay freeze. The summer clapping was a moving and important act of solidarity, but those claps do not pay the bills. Our nurses and junior doctors already struggle on pitiful wages for the difficult, complex, and emotional hours that they work in order to save and improve lives. It is disgusting; almost as patronisingly tone-deaf as the Prime Minister’s response to me when he told me I should “contain [my]self” as I spoke out for our key workers.

Following the Chancellor’s statement, I went on Radio Wales to discuss the contents. I was extremely disappointed with the lack of understanding and clarity from the Chancellor on the issue of public sector pay. He was not very clear at all – he said that nobody earning under £24,000 in the NHS would be impacted, but public sector workers have had a pay freeze for the last 8 years. 8 years without a pay rise while goods and products have risen in price – this has had a huge impact on the key workers themselves but also on the economy. The Covid-19 crisis has come at the end of a decade of austerity and the debt that we now have as a country is like a war debt – tightening our belts and introducing more austerity will not help. Both the IMF and IFS have said that now is not the time to be tax focused, but instead build and support consumer confidence and ensure that people have the resources to spend in shops, on services, to get the economy going again. And on a more human level, these are the workers who have kept the country going during this crisis – we relied so heavily on our frontline workers and they have sacrificed so much and worked so hard, beyond what anyone could have expected from them, and now the Chancellor is handing them a real-terms pay cut. It is completely unacceptable and a real kick in the teeth.  

The Spending Review was also disappointing in the lack of funding for Wales. The UK Government have promised that Wales would not be worse off outside the EU, but the Shared Prosperity Fund investment falls far short of what we would have received from the EU Structural and Investment Funds and will have serious implications for our businesses, communities, and people across Wales who are struggling after a decade of austerity and now the significant effects of the Covid pandemic. There was also no mention of the promised funding to support the recovery from the horrific flooding that hit parts of South Wales at the start of the year. The UK Government must respect the devolution settlement and provide the funding Wales requires to be able to recover the economy and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the United Kingdom as a whole. We need investment, not tax hikes and pay cuts - especially with Brexit just around the corner. 

In happier news, on Thursday, I was pleased to be able to once again bring up the fantastic work of Surfability and the importance of supporting community groups that work to ensure inclusive activities locally I am so proud of the work that Surfability do to allow those with disabilities to enjoy surfing, and while it may not be something that Jacob Rees-Mogg MP has any intention of trying, I hope that the publicity they have enjoyed from DIY SOS means that other such groups are inspired across the country.

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!

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!