February 2026 Newsletter

With spring just around the corner, I hope you are looking forward to slightly longer days and milder weather!

February has been another busy month, with lots going on in Pembrokeshire, and Parliament, so I hope you enjoy this update.

As always, please do get in touch if there is anything my team and I can help with, or if there’s anything you would like to discuss.

I host regular surgeries, so please contact us to book an appointment.

Best wishes,

Henry

In the Community

Fighting for Local Healthcare

As some of you may have seen, this month Hywel Dda Health Board voted to remove general emergency surgery from Withybush Hospital in their Clinical Services Plan.

This decision to further downgrade Withybush Hospital is incredible concerning, and I will be urging the Health Board to revisit this decision and improve access to healthcare in Pembrokeshire. I will be sure to keep you updated.

Campaign for Local Banking Services

Over the past year I have been pushing for improved banking services in the south of the county.

Since Lloyds Bank closed its Pembroke Dock branch last year, many residents have been left travelling to Haverfordwest or even Carmarthen for in‑person services. I have been working hard to address this issue, engaging with government ministers, the banking hub assessor LINK, Lloyds Bank, the Post Office, and the regulator.

This month I had a constructive meeting with the LINK assessor. We made some real headway in exploring potential solutions to the lack of access to banking services. I will continue to work hard until people in Pembroke Dock and beyond have access to the banking services they need and I will keep you updated on my progress.

Keeping Pembrokeshire’s Streets Safe

I am committed to making Pembrokeshire’s streets safer. I have supported the government’s measures to put more police on our streets, and more recently to remove the £200 cap meaning that all shoplifting is treated as a crime and investigated, regardless of the value.

It was good to meet with the Superintendent of Dyfed-Powys Police this month to discuss how the police are working with the community, local authority, and schools to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime.

I will continue to work closely with the police and government to crack down on crime.

St Mary’s Church Bells Restored

It was a privilege to visit St Mary’s Church in Pembroke and see the fantastic work the team and volunteers have been doing to restore the church bells there. They were removed from the tower in April 2024, after being deemed to be in a dangerous state.

Thanks to tireless fundraising from volunteers, donations from the community and funding from the UK Government, this vital piece of our history and heritage has been restored by expert craftsmen. The team at the church have also been hard at work renovating the tower ready for the bells’ return.

It is great to have the bells ringing out in Pembroke again. Please head down to listen for yourself!

Visit to Mind

Mind Cymru in Haverfordwest is a lifeline for so many people across our community. They provide essential support for those who need it – from daily drop-ins and well-being activities to crisis-prevention services.

Thank you so much to the team there for taking the time to meet with me. Mental health is a cause very close to my heart, and I will always use my voice in Parliament to advocate for improved mental health services.

To find out more about the range of programmes Mind Cymru provides across Pembrokeshire, please visit: https://www.pcmind.org.uk/pembrokeshire-services 

Access to Justice in Pembrokeshire

It was great to spend an afternoon with the fantastic team at PATH (Pembrokeshire Action for the Homeless), including a great conversation with their in-house solicitor. They provide such important support for people across Pembrokeshire, including a legal clinic offering advice on housing, employment, and family law. This brilliant service is made possible thanks to the support of Peter Lynn & Partners, Price and Kelway, and Law Works.

I am determined to see better access to justice for our rural communities. I’ll be continuing my conversations with the Minister Sarah Sackman in the coming weeks to discuss how we can build on the brilliant work being done by PATH and help expand access to justice even further.

A big thank you to the whole team at PATH for having me.

Opportunities for the Next Generation

It is crucial that we have good training and employment opportunities for young people right here in Pembrokeshire. So, it was great to visit Valero and meet their brilliant new cohort of apprentices. They have an exciting future ahead of them working in one of Pembrokeshire’s key local industries. As your MP, I’ll always stand up for our local industry, to protect and create secure jobs for our community. 

Thank you to whole team at Valero for having me.

Pembrokeshire’s Brownies and Guides

A huge thank you to the Milford and Hakin Brownies and Guides for welcoming me this week. We had some great conversations about local democracy and leadership. There were definitely some future changemakers in the group!

Special thanks to the incredible volunteers who give up their time to create such a supportive space for the girls to make friends, build their confidence, and develop skills for life.

Celebrating Pembrokeshire’s Young People

This month the Pembrokeshire Spotlight Awards were held at Pembrokeshire College. It was a fantastic evening celebrating the outstanding achievements of children and young people across Pembrokeshire.

There is so much talent in our constituency, and I am committed to ensuring that all young people have access to good opportunities and bright futures right here in Pembrokeshire.

A big thank you to the Children & Young People’s Rights Office, Pembrokeshire Youth & Children’s Services, and Pembrokeshire County Council for hosting a brilliant event.

Bluestone National Park Resort

Our beautiful county is a popular holiday destination for so many, with brilliant local businesses offering great places to stay and enjoy. I was delighted to visit Bluestone National Park Resort this month to learn more about their business and the amazing facilities they have there. Thank you to the team for having me.

Pembrokeshire leads the way on Recycling

This month I visited the Eco Park Waste and Recycling Facility in Milford Haven. This facility opened last year and plays a crucial role in minimising waste going to landfill by maximising recycling and reuse of materials. It was great to learn more about the important role the centre plays in our waste management system, and in promoting a more circular economy and reducing the environmental impact of waste.

Supporting Pembrokeshire Lido

It was really exciting this month to meet with the Chair of Pembrokeshire Lido Park Society and hear about their plans to set up a community-owned 50 metre swimming pool in Milford Haven. This would bring huge benefits to the community and local businesses, as a place where locals and visitors can enjoy.

In Parliament

Protecting our Children Online

No social media platform should get a free pass when it comes to protecting our kids.

That is why the Government is taking action to close a loophole in the law and force all AI chatbot providers to protect their users from illegal content or face the consequences of breaking the law.

This is part of a range of measures the government is proposing to keep children safe online, including creating new powers to enable the government to act in months rather than years in the face of rapid changes in technology.

I will continue to work with colleagues and government to ensure that we have proper safeguards and protections in place for our children online.

Backing Pembrokeshire’s Defence Sector  

This Government’s commitment to increased investment in the defence sector in Pembrokeshire represents a huge opportunity for businesses and the local community.

I will continue to work closely with the Minister to ensure that this investment strengthens our local supply chains and creates good, well-paid jobs for local people.

ArgiTech and Farming

It was great to host an event in Parliament with MSD Animal Health to discuss some of the latest agricultural technology. It was exciting to see how technological developments can be used in the agricultural sector – to help farmers monitor and maintain the health of their livestock, and even to verify the origin of the food on our supermarket shelves.

Our farmers are at the heart of our community and local economy here in Pembrokeshire, and I will continue to be an advocate for the sector in my work in the constituency and Parliament.

Warm Homes Plan

This month I met with the Minister for Energy Consumers, Martin McCluskey, to discuss what this government is doing to reduce energy bills though its Warm Homes Plan.

We spoke about how £15 billion government investment in home upgrades – from heat pumps and solar panels, to batteries and insulation – will benefit households in Pembrokeshire and across the UK. I was also pleased to hear about new measures to improve consumer protection and advice, to ensure that households can access reliable support and services when upgrading their homes.

If you have had any issues with home insulation installations under the previous ECO4 scheme, please do not hesitate to contact me. This government has introduced remedial measures so that no one is left paying out of pocket to fix the damage caused under the last government’s disastrous scheme.

Cutting Single Use Plastics

This month I hosted a roundtable discussion on reducing single-use plastics in sport. It was great to hear from leading voices in policy, sport, sustainability and community engagement leading the way in phasing out single use plastics, and to explore what more can be done at a local and government level to accelerate progress.

More broadly, I am pleased that this Labour Government is taking action on single-use plastics, including banning the sale of single-use vapes; creating deposit return schemes for single-use plastic and metal drink containers; and legislating to make organisations responsible for the packaging waste they produce. This follows the Welsh Labour Government’s ban of single-use plastics in 2022.

In my role as member the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, I have also been working on this issue, conducting an inquiry into preventing waste and enabling a circular economy.

Improving Government’s Delivery of Infrastructure Projects

This month, I chaired another meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Project Delivery. We heard from experts on how infrastructure projects – from railways and roads, to hospitals, schools and stadiums – can be better managed and delivered to maximise their benefit to local communities.

Upgrading old infrastructure and building new infrastructure is vital to improving our public services and driving economic growth. I am committed working with government and industry to strengthen how we plan and deliver these projects so they are efficient, effective, and truly serve the people they are built for.

St David’s Day Celebrations in Parliament

Celebrations for St David’s Day started early in Parliament, with a special evening in No. 10 in honour of Wales’ culture and heritage. I was also lucky enough to attend a fantastic event in Parliament showcasing some of Wales’ best food and drink products, including Pembrokeshire’s very own MamGu Welshcakes. If you haven’t already tried their welsh cakes, I can’t recommend them highly enough - they really are second to none!

Thank you again for reading this month’s update! I hope March is a great month for you and your family.

Best wishes,

Henry