Last week, the Welsh Labour Government announced the expansion of the free school meals programme and has pledged £70m in funding to make sure all primary school children and more than 6,000 nursery-age pupils attending a maintained school will be eligible for free school meals by 2024 and this recent announcement extends free meals to years three and four, with years five and six coming next year. To date, nearly five million additional free meals have been served across Wales since September 2022 – and this has proved a real lifeline to families in Delyn, especially as we face a rising cost of living.
This week, it was a real honour to attend the Remembering National Service event at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on behalf of the Welsh Government and, of course, in memory of the many Welshmen who were conscripted into national service. The event marking the 60th anniversary of the end of National Service was organised by the Royal British Legion and remembers those who were conscripted into national service from 1947 to 1963. . Many of these men saw active service during their time on national service and 395 were killed during this time. I know this is something that many people here will have personal connections to and family recollections of, myself included. My own grandad Norman Wood, served in Lagos, Nigeria, shortly after the Second World War and grew up looking through photos of his time doing his national service, accompanied by lovely notes to my nana who he was then ‘courting’!
The National Service years spanned from 1947 until 1963 and in that time more than two million men were conscripted into the Army, Navy or Royal Air Force, many from Flintshire and across the rest of Wales. To remember this period of our history, Mold-based charity Same But Different has created an exhibition project called National Service Remembered, which aims to bring to life the stories of those who were conscripted via a virtual exhibition of images and recollections. You can see the exhibition at www.samebutdifferentcic.org.uk/nationalservice.
Also here at home in Delyn, after a long time coming and campaigning. I was pleased to learn of Network Rail’s plans to improve accessibility at Flint station as part of the Access for All programme. The project will see the installation of a brand-new fully-accessible footbridge and lifts, linking platforms one and two – something that the station has needed for some time. Subject to planning applications submitted to Flintshire County Council being approved, work on the project is due to start in the summer, the company says.
Finally, this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, set up by the Mental Health Foundation to get us all thinking about mental health, tackling the stigma around it and helping to create a society that prevents mental health problems from developing and protecting our mental wellbeing. This year’s theme is ‘anxiety’ – anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and a recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time and six in ten adults feel this way at least some of the time.
As usual, if you would like advice and/or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on any of the following contact details – 52 High Street, Mold, Flintshire, on 01352 753464 or by email hannah.blythyn@senedd.wales You can also keep up to date via my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/hannahblythynMS Constituents are, of course, welcome to contact my office to arrange an appointment to see me, you don’t need to wait until an advice surgery.