Last week I got to do one of my favourite jobs for the year – chose my Christmas card design for the festive period. This year’s overall winner was Willow Stocks from Class 3 at Ysgol y Waun in Gwernaffield with her lovely design and it was clear that she spent a lot of time on it, but all this year’s entries from the children were excellent – so it was a really difficult task to find an overall winner! My thanks to all the children who entered the competition and all the staff at the schools who made it happen, and to Radar PR and Wind2 for sponsoring the competition and PG Framing Ltd for framing the designs. Other winners from each school that took part also received a framed copy of their design as well as a chocolate Santa.

In the Senedd last week, the Welsh Government reached an agreement to secure the budget that ensures additional investment into our public services. As the governing party, Welsh Labour doesn’t have enough members to pass a budget alone, but an agreement has been reached that puts Wales and our public services first, securing almost £300m extra for local authorities and our NHS and social care services. For us here at home, Flintshire County Council will see a 4.2% increase in its settlement, bringing an extra £11.7m to support the services we all rely on – from social care to schools and community facilities. This is about working together in the national interest – doing what’s right for people and communities across Wales.

Friday just gone was Christmas Jumper Day – an annual festive campaign organised by Save the Children. Many people across the country wore their Christmas jumpers for this important cause and the money raised will go towards supporting Save the Children Cymru’s work in providing grants to buy food and essential household items and making sure children can thrive within their communities. If you want to support the charity’s amazing work this Christmas, you can donate at www.savethechildren.org.uk.

At First Minister’s Questions earlier this month I raised the importance of supporting small businesses to make the most of new AI opportunities here in North Wales. From tech to agriculture, businesses in our own communities can use AI to help small firms grow responsibly while creating more local jobs and investment. With the new AI Growth Zone and support through Business Wales, we can ensure our communities aren’t left behind and that AI works for our people and places. In response, the First Minister outlined how this investment will help us build a fair, ethical and future-focused economy for North Wales – you can see many of my contributions in the Senedd on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HannahBlythyn.

Closer to home, on Friday I spent some time with North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin checking in with businesses and residents in Holywell town centre. This follows on from the event I held earlier in the year at Holywell Town Football Club, bringing together the traders and businesses that are the heart of the high street to raise issues and generate ideas to support the town to thrive, not simply survive. During the discussion, a number of people raised concerns about the impact of anti-social behaviour – from scooters creating concern on the roads to aggressive behaviour – that’s why I invited our PPC to come to talk to some of the business owners who were in attendance. I’ve also taken it up with North Wales Police and I will continue to work with Andy as PPC to make sure any future projects to tackle anti-social behaviour take in Holywell.

Finally, as we get ready for Christmas, it’s worth remembering that the festive period can be a challenging time for our dogs, especially if you have a full house and lots of human treats lying around. There are lots of Christmas foods that us humans love and which are tempting to dogs – but many of them can cause dogs to be ill or, in the case of chocolate, to need urgent help from vets. The Dog’s Trust has issued advice for dog-owners this Christmas – make sure human treats are out of reach, ensure dogs don’t eat Christmas cake or puddings or drink anything alcoholic and make sure you keep dogs away from mistletoe or holly berries as these can cause illness.

As always, 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/HannahBlythyn. Constituents are, of course, welcome to contact my office to arrange an appointment to see me, you don’t need to wait for an advice surgery.