My latest newsletter is out now!


** June 23 Newsletter
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** In It Together Festival
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There was such a lovely vibe at the In It Together festival in Margam and it was fantastic to see the festival so well attended. I caught Jake Bugg, Kelis and James Bay, and they were all brilliant.

And the weather wasn’t too shabby, either!


** Celebrating 1 Year of The Business Community at Glan Afan
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Behind the scenes of filming for the 1 year anniversary round up for The Business Community at Glan Afan.

They’ve done fantastic work during this first year and I wish them luck for many more successful years to come!

You can see the wonderful things they have achieved in their first year in the video on their Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/TheBusinessCommunityAtGlanAfan/videos/270167049020663


** Visit to Bulldogs Boxing
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It was wonderful to visit Bulldogs Boxing & Community Activities to see how they are coming along with their extension and to hear about the fantastic work they are doing to support young people, veterans, and the local community. They have some really exciting plans and once the extension is complete, they'll be able to build on the services they already offer the community.

It was also great to be shown the assault course, remembrance garden and community allotment. Thanks to NPTC Group of Colleges for the brilliant sign they’ve made from steel to welcome people to the activities area.


** This Month In Parliament
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Alzheimer's Society Drop In

I was very happy to go along to the Dementia Action Week drop in recently, on behalf of several constituents.

There are around 42,000 people in Wales living with dementia, and this figure is expected to rise as life expectancy increases.

Research is essential to allow us to better understand the causes and management of dementia, which will enable the development of new treatment and care approaches.
Home Office Oral Questions

The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are at loggerheads over immigration - it's as if the right hand doesn't know what the far right hand is doing.

Labour will maximise opportunities for local talent, and get people off the NHS waiting lists and back into work. The Home Secretary wouldn't answer my question.

My question was:
Ending these small boat crossings is, of course, one way of reducing immigration and Labour has a five point plan to do just that. But asylum seekers are only a fraction of the net migration total.

The reason that net migration is so high in Scotland and across the UK and the reason that businesses are so over reliant on migrant labour, is that for 13 years, the party opposite has failed to train up our homegrown talent.

They've slashed the skills budget, they've failed to get people off record high NHS waiting lists and back to work. Labour has set out plans to do each of these things because we want and expect immigration to come down. And yet the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are clearly at loggerheads on this issue.

So I would ask the Home Secretary, is she still committed to the 2019 Conservative manifesto pledge of bringing net migration below 226,000 and if so, does she think the Prime Minister agrees with her?
Asylum Seeking Children in Hotels

I set out Labour’s plans for addressing some of the challenges that we face because of the broader chaos and shambles of the asylum system across the board, which is the root cause, context and backdrop for the appalling issues with asylum seeking children in hotels.

My intervention in full:
Labour has spent the past nine months urging the Conservative UK Government to adopt our five-point plan to end the dangerous channel crossings, defeat the criminal gangs and reduce the asylum backlog, based on hard graft, common sense and quiet diplomacy. First, we would scrap the unworkable, unaffordable and unethical Rwanda scheme and redirect the money put aside into an elite cross-border 100-strong police unit to relentlessly pursue the real enemy, the ruthless criminal smuggling gangs, upstream where they are operating away from the French coastline. Secondly, we would negotiate an agreement with France and the EU that would enable us to return asylum seekers who have crossed on small boats back to mainland Europe in exchange for a more generous but strictly capped offer from Britain on resettling genuine refugees with family connections in the UK. Thirdly, we would clear the backlog by fast-tracking the processing and returns for low grant rate countries, and we would address the
incomprehensible decision to downgrade the seniority and expertise of Home Office decision makers. Fourthly, Labour would fix the broken resettlement pathways, particularly the Afghan schemes. Finally, we would develop an international development strategy that would include tackling the root causes of migration.

We need to look at the issues surrounding unaccompanied children, and Labour would look very carefully at how they are treated within the system. We are deeply concerned about the changes that were introduced in January this year with regard to short-term holding facilities. Ahead of the changes coming in, I wrote to the Minister privately to raise my concerns, particularly on the scope for women and children—some of whom will be fleeing sexual violence—to be held in small rooms together with men they do not know. Unfortunately, I have not received a reply to that letter. I know that the Minister is a very busy man, but perhaps he could comment on why I did not receive a reply within the expected three-month window. Perhaps he will also make clear what action he is taking to ensure that women, girls and unaccompanied children are safeguarded.

Meanwhile, the Illegal Migration Bill has raised real concerns. Clause 14 will disapply the safeguard duty to consult the independent family returns panel when a child will be removed or detained. Clauses 15 to 20 deal with issues relating to the rights of separated children, with the provisions likely to undermine the key principles of the child protection framework, including by giving the Home Secretary the power to terminate a child’s looked-after status when they are in the care of a local authority.

For the past 18 months, the Home Office has been providing accommodation to vulnerable children, yet provision of accommodation and support to children sits outside the Home Office’s competence and knowledge base, raising serious concerns over safeguarding. It was therefore shocking but not surprising that the Minister announced on 24 January that as many as 200 unaccompanied children had gone missing from hotels. What progress has he made on finding those children? What additional safeguards are in place?

Charity workers have said that children are being picked up by gangs from outside their accommodation. What action is the Minister taking to prevent that? We have heard heartbreaking stories from my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow about children who have been sexually assaulted. On 7 November, she asked the Minister to publish the details of all those cases and the number of incidents. Does the Minister have the latest data on that to share with the House?

I will end with some additional questions on wider asylum system failures, which have led to vulnerable children being placed in dangerous conditions. Last December, the Prime Minister said that the Home Office would recruit 700 new staff to the new small boats operational command. How many are in post? Last year, the Home Office announced plans to increase the number of asylum caseworkers from 1,277 to 1,500 by the end of March this year, and then to 2,500 by the end of August. Will the Minister tell us whether he has met the first target and what progress he has made towards the second? Less than 10 years ago, almost 90% of asylum claims were decided in six months. Last year, that figure stood at barely 10%. Can that possibly be explained by anything other than incompetence? Is there perhaps another agenda that explains why the backlog is so large?

The asylum system is a mess. Vulnerable children are victims of this failing system, a system that has failed because of 13 years of sleeping at the wheel and the Government taking their eye off the ball. We need a Labour Government to sort this out—and we need that as rapidly as possible.
Dignity in Dying Drop In

I was happy to go along to the Dignity in Dying drop in recently, on behalf of several constituents who asked me to go along.
Tug of War for Macmillan Cancer Support

I took a break from political battles last week to take part in a more light-hearted contest to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The 35th annual Macmillan Tug of War saw MPs battle it out against Peers from the House of Lords on the 6th June in the grounds of Westminster Abbey. Sponsored by Banham Charitable Foundation, the event was hosted by sports broadcaster, Mark Pougatch and raised £130,000 and counting for Macmillan Cancer Support.

To take part in a Macmillan fundraising event this summer, visit: [link removed] ([link removed])

For cancer support and advice, call the Macmillan Support Line free on: 0808 808 00 00 (8am – 8pm, 7 days a week)
Carer's UK Drop In for Carers Week

I attended the Carers Week parliamentary event to meet with Carers UK and other charities involved. I spoke with carers about the challenges they are facing and the support they need. I will continue to champion carers in Parliament and in Aberavon.


** Media Highlights
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LBC Radio

I spoke to Nick Ferrari on LBC Radio about how the Conservatives have been chasing headlines and running government by gimmick for the last 13 years.

I also outlined Labour’s plans for immigration and to tackle the small boats issue with common sense, diplomacy and hard graft.

Listen below:
[link removed]
The Mirror

For 13 years Conservative underinvestment has driven manufacturers out of Britain, with well-paid jobs in steel and other industries offshored to our overseas competitors. But the mask has slipped and only now are the Prime Minister and the Chancellor admitting that the Conservatives are ideologically and actively opposed to investing in the critical sectors that form the backbone or our economy.

Read my full piece in The Mirror:
[link removed]
Channel 4

I spoke to Channel 4 about the ballooning asylum backlog and the fact the Tories have processed one per cent of the people that came on small boats last year.

Watch the interview in full here:
[link removed]
Radio 4 and Sky News

I spoke about the sky high net migration figures and the fact this is partly caused by the total failure of the Tories to train up homegrown talent.


** Contact Details
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You can get in touch with us by calling the office on 01639 897660 or ending an email to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected] )

Check my website ([link removed]) , Instagram ([link removed]) or Facebook ([link removed]) page for details of my next advice surgery.
All the best,

Stephen Kinnock
MP for Aberavon

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My mailing address is:
MP for Aberavon
Water Street Business Centre
Water Street
Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot SA12 6LF
United Kingdom

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