John,
It’s often revealing how little connection there is between national news and local concerns....
.................................................................
Here in the constituency the most frequent inquiries to our office remain housing and health. Ambulance waiting times, access to GP’s and dentists crops up time and time again and we continue to press the relevant people in Welsh Government in Cardiff to acknowledge the challenge and tell us what their plans are.

Housing is one of the council’s bigger headaches. There are simply too many people applying for a very limited supply. Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire's Councils are trying to acquire new properties either by way of new builds or from existing private stock but there is no silver bullet.

In other news, increased training pressure down at Castlemartin Range has caused some local anxiety which we are trying to resolve by way of swifter communication with the Ministry of Defence. As a former Reservist I am hugely sympathetic to the needs of our armed forces so we will endeavour to find a “sweet spot” which will facilitate training needs and local interests.

I am hoping for good news any day soon on the question of Freeport status for West Wales. The final decision is yet to be taken but if we strike lucky it will be a credit to the work of the local authority and will unquestionably increase our ability to attract new business and jobs to our area, especially in the renewables sector. Watch this space….

On the national stage, today is Budget Day. Our commitment to see inflation halve is on course, as is our determination to return to a lower tax regime. But these things take time and we only have to think of last year to realise how the economy can easily catch fire.

The Chancellor will be determined to avoid spooking the markets, and certainty and calm will be two vital buzzwords. Thousands of jobs depend on us avoiding the temptation to be populist.

I hope that the PM’s reputation for resilience and determination have also been evident in the way he landed a deal with the EU on Northern Ireland which nobody thought was possible, as well as a deal with the French which will help us resolve the long standing problem of small boats arriving on our shores.

Let's not forget that the absolute priority is to safeguard people who may be dragged into this awful situation by criminal gangs across the world.

There is nothing remotely compassionate about turning a blind eye to that danger.
At Home...
Opening Folly Farm Learning Centre

I was delighted to be on ribbon-cutting duty at Folly Farm, officially opening their joint project with Pembrokeshire College.

Designed for Level 3 Animal Management learners, this unique teaching facility exemplifies what can be achieved by educators and employers working together.
Meeting With Broadway Partners

I had a very productive meeting with the team from Broadway Partners and some of their Local Authority colleagues, and it was great to hear about their plans to improve connectivity in our community.

It's no secret that access to reliable and fast internet is crucial for both personal and professional reasons, so I was pleased to hear about the steps Broadway is taking to address this issue.

Broadway were frank in acknowledging that there have been some unavoidable delays in their infrastructure projects, but they have promised to offer more realistic timeframes and improve their communication with residents.

I had a clear commitment to the importance of realistic targets, transparency, and timely updates, and they are committed to keeping our community informed every step of the way.

I urge anyone with any questions or concerns about the progress of their project area to direct them to Broadway in the first instance on [email protected] but of course do get in touch with my office in the usual way if any further information is needed. More on accessing reliable broadband. ([link removed])
Apply For Alternative Fuel Bill Support

Most households will have already received their £200 Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP) if they use alternative fuels for most of their heating, such as liquid petroleum gas, oil or solid fuel.

Check your eligibility and apply here. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Tap here for more on what we are doing to support people and businesses with the cost of living. ([link removed])
Finally...

------------------------------------------------------------
As always, do get in touch if there is anything I can help with - my office is ready to assist in any way we can.
------------------------------------------------------------
With my very best wishes,

P.S. If you would like more regular updates, click the button for my Facebook page:
Like My Facebook Page ([link removed])

============================================================
Copyright © 2023 cwandspcons, All rights reserved.
Thank you for signing-up via our website.



Promoted by Charlie Evans on behalf of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Conservatives, both of 15 St Johns Street, Whitland, Carms SA34 0AN

Our mailing address is:
cwandspcons
15 St Johns St
Whitland
Carmarthen, Cmn SA31 1AA
United Kingdom
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.