MY LAST column looked at the general election result and its impact on non-devolved and devolved services. We now have to look at the year ahead towards the Assembly elections in 2016 and, further into the distance, a possible EU-membership referendum.

I am looking forward to the long campaign trail ahead, making the case to my constituents that I am and have been the right man for the job in Cardiff South and Penarth, as well as championing the record of the Welsh Labour Government.

One of the outstanding accomplishments this term has been the success of Jobs Growth Wales.

The Welsh Labour Government announced this month that it has secured EU funds of £25 million from the European Social Fund for a further three years to allow Jobs Growth Wales to continue with the good work it has already done.

That means a further 2,900 young people across Wales will be supported into work opportunities this year.

Jobs Growth Wales has played a hugely significant role in reducing youth unemployment right across Wales.

Last year the numbers of 16-18 year olds in Wales not in employment, education or training fell in December 2014 to 8.1 per cent (8,800), down from 11.9 per cent (13,500) at the end of 2013 – the lowest percentage rate in the UK.

The scheme has been an outstanding success in the constituency with nearly 2,500 jobs filled in Cardiff and the Vale. From questionnaires that were sent from my office to participating businesses in the constituency, 85 per cent of respondents said that the placement was useful to their business, 81 per cent said that the placement has helped lead to further work or learning for the young participants who took part, and all said that they would recommend taking part in Jobs Growth Wales to a fellow employer.

Young people and businesses across Wales have been given help and much better prospects for the future as a direct result of Jobs Growth Wales.

This didn’t happen by accident. Welsh Labour made a choice to create Jobs Growth Wales after the Conservatives and Lib Dems scrapped one of the largest employment schemes for young people across the UK. This is a fantastic example of what we can do to give young people hope when we work with businesses across Wales.

Underpinning this successful scheme is EU funding alongside Welsh Government backing. It is important that these successes are highlighted along with the wider importance to business and employment that we in Wales and the UK benefit from by being a member of the EU. This is even before reflecting on the lessons from the bloody history of Europe, which the commemorations of the centennial of the First World War bring to mind.

I welcome my own party’s changed position on the future EU referendum bill and we will be campaigning to stay in. Reform and improvement are always possible in political institutions and we should strive to make the EU more democratically accountable in the interest of all. I’m interested in hearing what constituents have to say on this big issue and I look forward to debating it on the doorstep