OF late, there doesn’t seem to be a single day passing by without a concerning development

coming to light.

Last week was another busy time in the Senedd for me, raising issues and challenging the government on things affecting the Monmouth constituency.

Recent online reports show that the cost-of-living crisis and other factors are driving up levels of poverty throughout the Western world—and Monmouthshire isn’t immune to this, with many people here really struggling.

And to credit when credit’s due, I welcome schemes taken by the Welsh Government to tackle poverty; however, I had to challenge the Minister for Social Justice about how she would be responding to a recent report from the Auditor General for Wales, which highlighted some important areas that the Government and local authorities can improve upon to help increase the effectiveness of those schemes.

For example, the report noted that councils are reliant upon short-term grant funding, provided by the Welsh Government, which is often administratively complex, whilst there are weaknesses in guidance provided as well as grant restrictions.

Meanwhile, only a third of local authorities actually have a lead councillor and officers for addressing poverty. These things may not sound much but are important in addressing the challenges within our communities and getting support out to those who really need it.

Another area of concern facing the Monmouth constituency and many local businesses is the Welsh Government’s proposed tourism tax, which would undoubtedly hammer jobs and livelihoods. Given that tourism is a huge part of our economy here, the tourism and hospitality sectors should be helped not threatened.

Self-catering accommodation providers are rightly hitting out at the proposals because of the impact it will have on the viability of their businesses coupled with new, constraining, occupancy rules.

I have told the Welsh Government that it needed to reflect on the real concerns expressed by the sector. The Minister for Economy suggested that he had listened to their concerns, but that’s not how the industry see it.

This country, and our county are wonderful places, and we need to encourage people to visit here and spend here, not put them off with additional taxes.