Dear Friend, 

This week gave us a sobering insight into the toll the virus has taken -over 5,000 deaths here in Wales and many loved ones grieving. There are encouraging signs that cases are stabilising but the situation remains very serious due to the new highly infectious strain. 

I continue to regularly meet with Welsh Government and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for updates on the progress of the vaccine rollout locally. The Health Board is working hard to roll out vaccines across all front-line staff, care workers and to GP practices to deliver vaccinations to those in priority groups – I cannot thank staff enough for their hard work to vaccinate at pace given the huge logistical effort they face on top of treating our loved ones. The rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has and will continue to accelerate progress. Welsh Government now need a steady and reliable supply of vaccines from UK Government to build on this progress. 

Lockdown is working and admission rates are levelling out thanks to the swift action of Welsh Government and your continued efforts to stay at home despite the difficulties these past 6 weeks. This is our only route out from this deadly virus and back to some resemblance of normality. Until then we must continue to stay at home, keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and protect our NHS. 

Please remember you will be contacted directly by your GP practice to have your vaccine when it is your turn - please do not call them to enquire as practices are currently swamped. I will continue to monitor progress of the rollout and will continue to raise your questions and concerns.

As ever, my team and I are here to help in any way we can. If there's anything we can do to assist please do not hesitate to get in touch on [email protected].

With very best wishes, 

This week the Cardiff North Eco Team Committee – a core group of volunteers to drive the Team forward - was established and met for the first time to discuss our priorities and our first community initiatives. Each and every member has lots of experience and enthusiasm to help get this initiative off the ground and into our communities and I am really excited to be working with them. Keep your eyes peeled for the Eco Team on social media in the coming weeks and let us know if you want to get involved!

I recognise the difficulties university students and staff have experienced this year. In light of the disruptions to learning and the experience students are receiving, I understand why many are calling for increased hardship support, including on rent and fees. 

Some universities have been able to reach agreements on at least partial rent refunds with their students, as have some independent student housing providers. I am encouraging all universities and providers to engage with student representatives on this, recognising the clear injustice of students paying for housing and services that they are unable to access. I will be supporting Cardiff North constituents in calls for Cardiff University to follow suit and ensure students receive the support they deserve during this difficult time

It's been a busy start to the New Year with my team and I supporting 154 families in January so far. Queries range from Covid-19 and the vaccine, NHS pay rises and educational support. The map above is an indication of the locations across Cardiff North some of the cases are arising from.