Gerald Jones MP: “As many as three million people in the UK are missing out on their income”

Urging the chancellor to revise the UK Government’s coronavirus support schemes

While the UK Government’s furlough and other support schemes have provided crucial financial help to many people both in our area and right across the country, there are still as many as three million people in the UK who are missing out on their income due to falling through the gaps in the schemes, including those who were new starters in late March and many self-employed people.

Many of those excluded from the schemes are being left without any income at a hugely difficult time, through no fault of their own, and in a debate in Parliament earlier this month I called on the chancellor to revise the parameters of the schemes urgently. I am also currently working with the All Party Parliamentary Group set up to support those who’ve been excluded, and I’ll continue to push the Government on this to ensure nobody is forced to miss out on essential financial help.

Urging the UK Government to provide promised flood relief funding for our communities

Well over five months have now passed since the February floods caused huge damage to our local communities, and we have yet to receive the confirmation on the promised flood relief funding from the UK Government, despite an assurance the Prime Minister gave me himself back in February.

I have called on the Government time and time again to do the right thing and provide the funding our local authorities need, and in a debate earlier this month I urged ministers to finally step up and deliver the promised support.

In recent weeks I’ve attended meetings across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency, including in Deri, with residents who were affected by the floods and local authority representatives to offer assistance to those who still have not been able to recover from the damage caused, and I’ll continue to press the Government to provide the relief funding our communities need.

Off-road bikes: working with our local authorities to address concerns of Upper Rhymney Valley residents

Earlier this month I attended a site meeting with councillors Eluned Stenner, Mark Evans, John Bevan and David Harse, as well as officers of Caerphilly County Borough Council, to look at what can be done to mitigate the issues arising from off-road bikes between Abertysswg and New Tredegar, following up earlier discussions with Gwent Police.

A number of constituents have contacted me regarding this, and I am grateful to our police and local authorities for the work they are doing to address the concerns of local residents. I will continue to hold meetings with the council and Gwent Police to look at possible solutions to this issue.

Working with our local representatives and authorities to tackle current issues in Rhymney

Last week I attended a virtual meeting with Dawn Bowden MS, Cllr Carl Cuss, Gwent Police and representatives from Caerphilly County Borough Council to discuss a way forward to tackle current issues in Rhymney, following a number of concerns raised recently with our offices by local residents.

In the meeting we heard from the police about actions being taken to tackle problems in the area, such as antisocial behaviour and drug misuse, including an increased local police presence, providing information to residents on how to report issues, ensuring that landlords and tenants are adhering to regulations, and a meeting to look into potential environmental improvements.

Further regular multi-agency meetings are planned in the coming weeks to assess the progress made with tackling these issues, and I want to encourage any local residents with similar concerns to continue to raise them with our offices so that we can work together to address them.