Welsh public services and councils are facing staggering budget gaps - and this is a direct result of the cruel austerity agenda pursued by the Tories, and as yet unabandoned by Keir Starmer.

What's more, Wales's economic woes are compounded by the disastrously unfair funding formula in which we're trapped - the Barnett stranglehold in which our economy is gripped.

Those cuts, at a local level, are having disastrous consequences, and some of the decisions being made will have long-lasting implications. I've called on Caerphilly County Council to think again when it comes to their proposed cuts to Meals on Wheels, and for the council to secure the future of Llancaiach Fawr Manor House and Blackwood Miners Institute.  

I share the concerns of many people locally about the proposal to "mothball" these two landmark buildings in the county borough, as well cuts to a vital service on which so many vulnerable people depend.

Llancaiach Fawr and Blackwood Miners Institute are cherished local assets, and I are deeply concerned that if they close now, they won’t reopen. Sites like these are cornerstones for the community: they simply must be saved.  

When it comes to Llancaiach Fawr, the council’s predecessor, Rhymney Valley District Council, had the foresight to save the manor house from possible oblivion.

The council brought it into public ownership in 1979, and since that time, millions will have been invested in restoring and maintaining the site. It has been turned into a major tourist attraction which also helps to educate children from across the valleys about our history.

All of that investment could come to nothing if it is closed and doesn’t reopen. It is a site which holds significance for the wider nation and our shared history.

I am also worried about how cuts to the Meals Direct Service could affect vulnerable people, and could exacerbate the isolation experienced by elderly people living on their own.  

In recent years, the council has been criticised for holding significant sums of money in reserves, and for spending high amounts to settle disputes with senior officers.  

Our heritage cannot be sacrificed as a result, and neither can the services which vulnerable people rely on.  

Support must be found to avoid these drastic cuts from taking place.

FURTHER READING: Council leader defends service cuts

I have contacted the council, alongside my colleague Peredur Owen Griffiths, and together we have offered to seek national support for these sites from the Welsh Government.

It is so important that local voices are heard in this consultation: it cannot be a done deal. The consultation ends in the next few weeks' time: please make your own views known to the council.

The details about how to do this can be found on the council's website.

Delyth Jewell is a Senedd member for South Wales East