Posted: Wed 14th Oct 2020

A view from Clwyd South’s Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Oct 14th, 2020

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates writes…

I am continuing to receive emails from constituents about the localised restrictions covering Wrexham and Denbighshire, as well as other parts of North East Wales.

The temporary restrictions were introduced following a sharp, rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in both counties areas at the request of council leaders, police and public health stakeholders across the region.

I’m sure readers will appreciate it was not a decision taken lightly. But it has been further vindicated by the rises in the seven-day rolling figures since the plans for temporary measures were announced two weeks ago. The restrictions will only be in place until the risk of the spread of coronavirus locally has reduced, when they will be relaxed again. The Welsh Government will review these restrictions this week and every week from now on if they remain in place for longer.

Where possible, more localised restrictions are considered. As we have seen recently in Bangor, if the virus is clustered in a small geographical area, hyper-localised action can be pursued. But the spread of the virus is not isolated in North East Wales and the numbers continue to rise.

The Welsh Government has FAQs pages on local health protections areas, which you can find here (https://gov.wales/wrexham-county-borough-lockdown-frequently-asked-questions) for Wrexham & here (https://gov.wales/denbighshire-county-lockdown-frequently-asked-questions) for Denbighshire.

Readers will have seen in the news that the First Minister has called on Boris Johnson to follow Wales’ lead by introducing urgent travel restrictions in English areas with high infection rates. Sadly, the Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to implement similar restrictions in England despite neighbouring councils such as Cheshire West and Chester calling for the UK Government to take action. I hope we will soon see the Prime Minister respond to the increasing calls from councils over the border.

I am acutely aware of the economic damage being inflicted by Covid-19, but if the virus is not contained then it will burn further through our economy and continue to take the lives of people who could otherwise be saved.

The Welsh Government recently announced the third phase of its Economic Resilience Fund will open soon. An eligibility checker for businesses is live now, and can be found here (https://fundchecker.businesswales.gov.wales/erfphase3) Of the additional £140m announced, £20m will be ring-fenced to support tourism and hospitality businesses who are facing particular challenges as they enter the winter months and another £60m will be allocated to support businesses impacted by localised restrictions.

The temporary restrictions are something I am discussing with Welsh Government colleagues and the First Minister on a daily basis and that will continue this week ahead of the review. I will continue to highlight concerns expressed by my constituents in all discussions.

On Friday morning I held a virtual discussion with sixth form students at The Maelor School, Penley.

Among the topics covered were mental health, how the Welsh Government has protected jobs during the pandemic and how the UK leaving the European Union might impact young people.

I’d have loved to have been able to join the students in person, but it was a really enjoyable morning and I’m grateful to Head if History and Politics Rob Quinn and the IT team at the school for making it possible. It was fantastic to chat with such a knowledgeable group of young people.

Next week I will be meeting with the interim chief executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to discuss the ongoing campaign for a new surgery in Cefn Mawr.

As I have said in previous columns, the pros and cons of a number of possible sites for a new facility were being weighed up before coronavirus took hold, and further, more detailed investigations and survey work were due to be undertaken.

Along with local councillor Derek Wright, I am looking forward to picking this up again with the health board and continuing to make progress.

In the next few weeks I will also be discussing the plans for a major upgrade of Hanmer Surgery with the health board and other elected members. I continue to support Dr Peter Saul at Rhos Health Centre with his redevelopment plans.

Although I am unable to hold public surgeries at present, my team and I are still here to help and are continuing to deal with casework as normal. If you need advice or support, please email [email protected] and include your full home address and contact number. You can also find useful information about coronavirus support on my website www.kenskates.co.uk and Facebook page @KenSkatesMS. I also put out regular e-newsletters with the latest Welsh Government coronavirus updates and local news, which you can subscribe to here: http://www.kenskates.co.uk/en/newsletter-signup/

 

 

 

 

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).



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