December 22 / January 23 Newsletter
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I recently visited three fantastic businesses for Small Business Saturday.
The first business is Afan Deli who sell a wide variety of food and drink, lots of healthy vegan salads, delicious cheeses and fruits too.
They also stock a range of Asian food and healthy snacks; with some delicious chilli pickles you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere locally. They also do great hot chocolates which will warm you up!
Make sure you pop along and see what they have on offer.
The second local business is a new one, Wanna Thai Food who serve delicious and authentic Thai dishes.
They have a good range of really tasty dishes, cooked with plenty of fresh produce and bursting with flavour. Sunan and Justin who run Wanna Thai Food are very friendly and warm and will make you feel very welcome!
You can order from them online from Neath and Port Talbot Eats, Just Eat UK or via their own website – https://wannathaifood.com/
If you can visit in person, all the better!
The third I highlighted this #smallbusinesssaturday was Mundo Bar and Kitchen.
Mundo has been a jewel in the crown of Port Talbot with their delicious tapas for some time, under the new management of Adam and Richard, that certainly is more true than ever.
Not only do they still serve a range of extremely tasty tapas, but they have expanded their menu to include other items such as burgers and ribs. They put on world curry nights, do roast dinners every Sunday and have lots of local talent come to sing at the bar.
They also serve a variety of cocktails, with a great selection of daquiris too!
The restaurant has an extremely warm atmosphere and is very welcoming to all.
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Wonderful to drop in to Bryn Community Centre and chat with the volunteers who have been doing some fantastic work collecting and packing donation to support Ukrainians.
It’s amazing to see the generous donations keep coming in and the van loads that are being sent to Ukrainians.
It was also great to hear from those delivering the clothes, blankets, medicine and toys to families and orphanages in Ukraine, and to hear about the difference it’s making to those receiving the donations. Well done to everyone involved!
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Really enjoyed meeting pupils at Awel Y Mor to hear about what they’ve worked on for UK Parliament Week.
Interesting to hear the strong arguments they’d put together about whether or not to support the world cup in Qatar, should we eat fast food, whether to support Halloween, should pupils where school uniform, should children have mobile phones in school and whether there should be animals in circuses.
They’d really done their research into the topics and spoke passionately; I was very impressed.
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Everyone Deserves a Christmas
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Amazing to be part of Everyone Deserves A Christmas.
It was a busy two days packing over 800 hampers at Bay Studios, here in the Aberavon constituency.
The hampers we put together fed 447 children and their families across Neath Port Talbot this Christmas. They provided food for a Christmas dinner for vulnerable families across Swansea and for the first time, Port Talbot and Neath as well.
So pleased to be able to extend this project to our Aberavon constituency for the first time.
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Tesco Winter Food Collection
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Great to pop-in to Tesco Port Talbot and hear from the team there about the Tesco Winter Food Collection. They’ve been collecting food and toys in store and it was heartening to hear how those donations help to support the local community. Despite the difficult times people are still being incredibly generous with their donations.
Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work and to everyone that has donated.
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Briton Ferry Llansawel AFC Community Reds
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Great to hear from the guys at Briton Ferry Llansawel AFC about the fantastic work the Community Reds are doing in Briton Ferry and their exciting plans for the future.
Since being set up during the pandemic the Community Reds have raised funds to support local charities, established Briton Ferry Llansawel AFC as a dementia friendly football club, run Summer of Fun and Winter of Wellbeing schemes which saw over 200 children enjoy free activities and food, delivered adult educational courses, and they’ve just launched their Home from Home scheme to provide a warm space offering hot drinks and soup for the community.
Speaking to them it was clear there is a real passion for the club, a wonderful community spirit and a strong desire to ensure that Briton Ferry Llansawel is more than just a football club.
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Useful to chat with Dwr Cymru and NPTCBC about the flooding on Talbot Road. Dwr Cymru will be desilting and cleansing the network, that work together with the cleaning of highways and gullies by the Council should help the water flow away as quickly as possible.
Will be keeping an eye on this along with my colleagues Cllr Sharon Freeguard and Cllr Saif Rahaman.
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Funding Success for Empower Inspire
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It was great to catch-up with Joanne from Empower Inspire at the Moving Together group being held at St Theodore’s, and to hear about her success in securing funding at my Funding Fair in September for the Sunflower Café she also runs. Joanne and Empower Inspire are doing some brilliant work to bring together the community and support people.
It’s fantastic to hear how money secured through the Funding Fair is helping people in Aberavon and the real difference it is making to people’s lives.
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Doorknocking in Sandfields West
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It was great to get out and knock some doors in Sandfields West today. It was good to hear about the issues facing people in the local area.
Thanks to all of the local residents who took the time to talk to us!
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It was interesting to hear from Eirwen and Geff about the work of the Rich History group.
Amazing to hear more about the rich history and culture in Port Talbot, from Medieval times to more recent times. They have some exciting plans to promote this.
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Unison Fair Funding Event
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It was great to visit the hub in Llandarcy which is collecting and distributing donations such as clothes, mobile phone sim cards, bedding and other items for Ukrainian refugees.
There’s been tremendous generosity from the community in support of Ukrainians and through Chris O’Callaghan Goods For Good have added to that support with over £135,000 in clothes and other essential equipment since December 2021.
Everyone involved is doing a wonderful job collecting and distributing this support.
If you’d like to help, you can donate via avivacommunityfund.co.uk/p/fundsforgood
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Great to take part in the Unison Fair Funding Event In Port Talbot Civic Centre.
Councils and council workers are at the forefront of delivering vital services that we all rely on, but this is becoming increasingly difficult to do with ever decreasing budgets.
For too long our economy, our public services and our communities have suffered from the sticking plaster politics that has epitomised the past twelve years of Tory governments.
The UK government needs to recognise the importance of local government and acknowledge the value of the services they provide by giving local government the resources they need to provide these vital services.
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Great to catch up with Rhiannon from Port Talbot Town FC to hear about the exciting plans they have for the future of the club!
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Prepayment Energy Vouchers
As we continue to experience freezing weather it’s appalling that some haven’t received their prepayment vouchers which are vital to help them meet eye-wateringly high energy costs.
Energy companies must ensure they have the right support in place to ensure customers with traditional prepayment meters do not lose the value of their vouchers, which expire after 3 months if not redeemed.
I asked the Minister what he was planning to do about it, and his response was pitiful. I’ll be writing to him.
I asked:
"My constituency office is being contacted by a great many people who have still not received their prepayment vouchers from the energy suppliers, but are receiving letters from the suppliers telling them that if they do not use the vouchers by January they will be cancelled, which would of course push those people further into debt.
What are the UK Government doing to ensure that they receive the vouchers and do not lose the money to which they are entitled?"
The minister gave the below response, which is pitiful and I will be writing to him further to push him on this issue.
"I will conclude by talking about the vouchers. There is a problem in terms of vouchers. About 60% of people have managed to gain support through vouchers. We have written to suppliers on this particular matter. We need to improve the communication between suppliers and customers to ensure that take-up is higher.
We believe that the take-up will improve over future weeks, but we are definitely keeping that under review and are keen to ensure all that support reaches households where it is intended to do so."
I will be writing to him again as the response he gave was pitiful.
You can see my full intervention on my website:
https://www.stephenkinnock.co.uk/its-appalling-some-havent-received-their-prepayment-vouchers/
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Contaminated Blood
The contaminated blood scandal has deeply affected the victims and their partners, but also other family members. There is is a clear and compelling moral case for the children of the victims to be compensated. It’s pleasing to hear the UK Government accepts the moral case.
I asked:
"My constituent David Farrugia is part of what is called the fatherless generation. The scandal and the length of time it has taken to address these issues have had a profound effect on his mental health, as I am sure the Minister can imagine. Does he agree there is a clear and compelling moral case for compensation for the children of victims, which they are not currently eligible for? If he agrees that there is a clear and compelling moral case, can he set out when the compensation will be forthcoming?"
The minister answered:
"The moral case for compensation for children was specifically referred to by Sir Robert and Sir Brian. The interim compensation payments were arranged in the way recommended by Sir Brian—we accepted that recommendation in full. They were, among other things, to be as swift as possible—that defined the terms of those payments, but that does not mean that children are being ignored in this process. The moral case was set out in the report, and we as a Government accepted a moral case for compensation to be paid".
You can see my full intervention and the Minister's response on my website via the link below.
https://www.stephenkinnock.co.uk/theres-a-clear-and-compelling-moral-case-for-children-of-infected-blood-victims-to-be-compensated/
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Windrush Review
I secured an urgent question on the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.
The Windrush Generation helped rebuild Britain after the war. Yet, after thousands were wrongly targeted by the government’s hostile environment policies, ministers are now breaking promises on implementing the important changes they previously committed to. Shameful.
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the progress in implementing the recommendations of the Windrush lessons learned review.
The reality is that this Government’s treatment of the Windrush generation is surely one of the most shameful episodes in our post-war political history. The Windrush community played a pivotal role in rebuilding Britain. We all owe them a debt of honour and gratitude but, instead, consecutive Conservative Governments have treated them with utter contempt. First, they were victimised under the hostile environment policy, and then they were let down by a poorly administered compensation scheme, under which just 1,300 people have been awarded compensation when the Government originally estimated that 15,000 should be eligible. Now it is reported that the Government are set to betray the Windrush generation once again by U-turning on their commitment to implementing all 30 recommendations in Wendy Williams’s lessons learned report.
In September 2021, the then Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), restated her aim to put right the wrongs of this sorry affair, yet today we find the Government are rowing back on some of their commitments, including by refusing to hand additional powers to the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration and by scrapping reconciliation and community events.
Why are the Government so terrified of scrutiny? Their toxic combination of incompetence and indifference is failing the Windrush generation, just as it is failing the country as a whole. Given that Wendy Williams says that only eight of her recommendations have been implemented, will the Minister tell me today how many of the Williams recommendations have been implemented and how many the Government are ditching, as is widely reported by the media?
Why have thousands of the Windrush generation still not received any compensation at all? On the 75th anniversary of the Windrush landing, are the Windrush generation being betrayed by this Government once again?
You can view my full question here:
https://www.stephenkinnock.co.uk/windrush-lessons-learned-review/
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Energy Support for our Steelworks
Our steel industry MUST be able to compete on a level playing field, but UK govt has slashed its energy support scheme, leaving UK steel paying *63%* more than German competitors.
Yet again steelworkers are forced to compete with one hand tied behind their backs. I questioned the minister on this.
“I am sure the Minister would agree that a key aim of the support scheme must be to ensure that our steel industry can compete internationally on a level playing field. The German Government have guaranteed their steel industry an electricity price of €130 per megawatt hour for 2023. In contrast, what the Minister has announced today only provides our steel industry with a discount on electricity prices above £185 per megawatt per hour. That leaves UK steel producers to pay an estimated 63% more than their German counterparts.
Why are the Government once again letting down our steel industry and forcing our steelworkers to compete with one hand tied behind their back?”
You can see my full intervention here:
https://www.stephenkinnock.co.uk/energy-support-for-our-steelworks/
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Procurement Bill - Supporting British Steel
I spoke in the Procurement Bill about the importance of supporting British steel.
“On partnership between the public and private sectors, the steel industry is a crucial aspect of that. Does the Minister agree that the Government should be looking to set indicative targets for the amount of domestically produced steel that we are putting into Government-funded projects? That would enable us as a country to make, buy and sell more in this country, which should surely be a strategic objective of the Bill.”
“My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Returning to the issue of the three fleet solid support vessels, the MOD contract was awarded to a Spanish-led consortium. That in itself was a deeply disappointing decision, but what is even worse is that the Government are not insisting on legally enforceable guarantees from Navantia, the Spanish company that leads the consortium, that the ships will be built with British steel. Does she agree that it is outrageous that we have three key vessels being built without British steel?”
You can see my interventions in full here:
https://www.stephenkinnock.co.uk/procurement-bill-supporting-british-steel/
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English Football League Briefing
Great to host an English Football League briefing for MPs in Wales and South West yesterday. Good discussions around the need for an independent regulator and improved financial structures in football.
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Sky News
I went on Sky News and discussed the failures of the Conservative health secretary in sitting down and negotiating with striking nurses to give them a pay rise.
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BBC Any Questions
I went on BBCs Any Questions to discuss a whole range of political topics from throughout the year including nurses pay, food banks and closing the non-dom tax loophole.
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BBC News Night
I discussed Labour's 5 point plan to end channel crossings and made clear the fact that Labour would scrap the failed Rwanda plan to fund an elite unit to tackle criminal smuggler gangs.
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Times Radio
I discussed the processing of asylum seekers on Times Radio and made clear that under Labour asylum claims will not take more than 6 months to process and those who are not granted leave-to-remain will be removed.
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The House Magazine
I have written in The House Magazine about supporting out British steel industry and about the fact that the more steel we import, the more we undermine our ability to stand on our own two feet.
You can read the full article here:
https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/we-cannot-afford-to-lose-the-british-steel-industry
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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]
Check my website, Instagram or Facebook page for details of my next advice surgery.
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Stephen Kinnock
MP for Aberavon
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