Recent updates
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Article: Jan 26, 2012Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, has welcomed today's commitment from the Heritage Minister, Huw Lewis, that he will support calls to improve the provision of Welsh language and Wales-related television programming in North Wales. Currently, many areas of North Wales cannot receive Welsh programming through BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C. The situation has been exacerbated as a result of transmitter changes in England after Wales' digital switchover.
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Article: Jan 26, 2012
Brecon and Radnorshire, Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams has welcomed today's call by the Deputy Prime Minister to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 sooner than originally planned.
The Government increased the tax allowance by £1,000 in the 2010 Budget, from £6,475 to £7,475. This year we have already announced a planned rise of an additional £630, to take the allowance up to £8,105. Meaning that a total of 1.1 million more people will no longer pay income tax at all.
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Article: Jan 25, 2012
Post Offices in Wales have been saved by Liberal Democrat Business Minister, Ed Davey.
After ending Labour's shameful Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, Ed Davey has announce a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.
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Article: Jan 25, 2012
The Medical Director of NHS Wales, Dr. Chris Jones, today admitted in the National Assembly's Health Committee that one of the reasons for low recruitment levels to the Welsh NHS was down to poor services.
Responding to questions on low junior doctor recruitment levels prompted by Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, the NHS Medical Director said that "some of our services are intrinsically unattractive"
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Article: Jan 24, 2012
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Local Government, Peter Black, has welcomed the decision by the Welsh Government that it is no longer planning to legislate to force local councils to collaborate.
The Minister's announced in July 2011 set out the Welsh Government's intention to bring forward a Local Government (Collaborative Measures) Bill, giving Ministers the power to merge local councils. The Minister has now told Plenary that as a result of the Welsh Local Government Compact committing local authorities to further collaboration, and because of their progress that has been achieved already, he is "minded that there is no immediate need for further legislation in the area of collaboration."
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Article: Jan 24, 2012
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has raised the destruction of Libanus Chapel in Swansea by fire at the weekend with the Welsh Heritage Minister.
Speaking in response to a Government statement on, 'Priorities for the historic environment of Wales', Mr. Black described the fire that swept through the 100 year old chapel on Cwmbwrla roundabout on Saturday morning as, 'a tragic loss of an important part of our heritage'. He called on the Minister to review the way that Cadw and other government agencies seek to protect important and iconic buildings like Libanus.
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Article: Jan 24, 2012By Peter Black
Peter Black: I agree that some communities have seen improvements. However, as of March of last year, over £342 million had been spent on Communities First, with no discernable reduction in poverty across most of the 155 areas that it supports. I have another example in the county of Bridgend, which is also in my region. Look at some of the Communities First areas there and their relative positions in terms of the index of multiple deprivation. Bettws and Brackla 3 are more deprived now than they were in 2005. Caerau 1 and 2 are now in the bottom 2%, having dropped from thirty-fifth and sixty-sixth to eighth and thirty-eighth respectively. Clearly, there are issues in many of the communities where Communities First is in place of not achieving the objectives of eliminating poverty, raising people up, helping them to get back on their feet or delivering the fundamental change that Communities First was first intended to address. I have concerns that, despite the many changes that have been put in place, we have not yet got a scheme that is going to deliver what we need it to deliver.
The Minister referred to me harking back to previous schemes. I think that that is still relevant, because, although we have this model in front of us-I suppose that we have moved from a Ford Focus to a Prius, perhaps-we still have no guarantees that it is going to work, and I still have concerns that, unless we start to involve local government and the money it spends-unless we start bending its programmes as well as our own-we will still not achieve that. If you are going to introduce a top-down structure, effectively controlled from the centre, you are not going to get that buy-in from those other partners who operate on a local level, who will feel disenchanted and disempowered by the way that this new scheme will be delivered.
5.45 p.m.
We believe that one of the biggest weaknesses of the Communities First programme since its inception has been the failure to engage with the private sector, particularly local businesses, in regenerating local communities. There needs to be a set of indicators that shows specifically how money that is being spent in the Communities First area will produce an outcome and which will measure how successful it is. Clear targets must be set for that money and not necessarily for the whole range of programmes of which it performs a small part. Empowerment is very much a part of that and of how we deliver it.
We have already referred to the Wales Audit Office and its view, as well as that of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which said that, between 2001 and 2008, some conditions have improved in first-generation Communities First areas and that, on average, population and house prices have increased and economic inactivity has declined. However, it said that, in comparison to similar neighbourhoods, the gains that have been made in the first-generation Communities First areas have been relatively marginal. What we want from this new scheme is to go above the marginal. We need to start introducing a step change in the way that communities are empowered and improved. The latest incarnation has a great deal to prove to deliver on that.
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Article: Jan 24, 2012
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Local Government, Peter Black, has welcomed the decision by the Welsh Government that it is no longer planning to legislate to force local councils to collaborate.
The Minister's announced in July 2011 set out the Welsh Government's intention to bring forward a Local Government (Collaborative Measures) Bill, giving Ministers the power to merge local councils. The Minister has now told Plenary that as a result of the Welsh Local Government Compact committing local authorities to further collaboration, and because of their progress that has been achieved already, he is "minded that there is no immediate need for further legislation in the area of collaboration."
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Article: Jan 24, 2012By Peter Black
Peter Black: I welcome this statement, and in particular the Minister's positive response to the signing of the compact by local government. I also welcome this commitment to shelve, for the time being, the local government collaborative measures Bill, as it would have proved controversial in this Chamber. Certainly, the positive response by local government to this agenda, not just in the signing of this compact, but through a range of different measures, justifies the Minister's not proceeding with that Bill.
Minister, I have raised this issue on a number of occasions, and I will raise it again now. The key part in terms of collaboration is not just the willingness of local authorities to collaborate with each other, but also the willingness of Welsh Government departments and organisations funded by the Welsh Government, such as the Welsh NHS, to collaborate positively and proactively with local government. There are instances of very good collaboration-the Deputy Minister for social services talked earlier about how we can make progress in that regard-but can you again give a commitment that all of this Government's Ministers are on board with this? Is every aspect of the Welsh Government-each silo, if you like-being told that it has to go out to seek this sort of collaborative approach with local government? Are they actively going out and doing it, and would you be able to provide evidence of that?
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Article: Jan 24, 2012By Peter Black
Peter Black: Minister, on Saturday morning, I stood and watched as a grade II listed chapel near my home was, effectively, destroyed, first by fire and then by demolition experts seeking to make it safe. The chapel had been empty for the best part of a decade and had been subject to vandalism and to the elements. However, it still made a major contribution to the architecture and history of the community in which it stood. Its loss is not only sad, but tragic for those who value the heritage that we all enjoy, but which is rapidly vanishing from communities around us because such buildings are neglected or, in the case of the Customs House and Royal Buildings, which Bethan Jenkins mentioned, are deliberately demolished because the people responsible for them do not see their value. I would hope, therefore, that the Bill that you have promised us will start to address some of those problems. It is important that we re-evaluate the value of community buildings, look at how they can be preserved and seek new uses for them. Nobody is really doing that at the moment. Local authorities have some responsibility, but they do not have the resources, or, in many instances, the will to go about doing that. Cadw seems to be focused on the more historic buildings and sites such as castles, many of which were referred to in your statement. There does not seem to be any body that has a proactive role in going out and taking charge of those few remaining community assets and trying to bring them back into use, albeit perhaps a different use than that for which they were originally built.
I note that No. 7 of the aims and priorities for the Welsh historic environment sector listed in your discussion document states:
'We will continue to allocate grants to support conservation, but the focus of our grant giving will be action to help with assets that are at risk. Grants will also be directed to projects, which provide wider benefit, such as providing housing or community regeneration benefits.'
I think that that encapsulates exactly what I have just referred to, but I would be grateful if you could expand on how that will happen, what sort of resource you will be investing, and what responsibilities you will be giving to bodies to go out there and deliver on that for those chapels that are still lying neglected but have not yet suffered the fate of Libanus in Cwmbwrla and for other buildings in a similar situation.
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Article: Jan 24, 2012By Peter Black
Peter Black: I start by welcoming this statement and the level of consensus that the Deputy Minister has gathered around this Bill. It is important that you have the agreement not only of Members across the Chamber, but of the Welsh Local Government Association to the vast majority of it-not everything, but the vast majority-as well as that of ADSS and a number of other bodies. That augurs well for the Bill when it comes in October. I particularly welcome the commitment in the statement to extending the range of services for which people will have the right to a direct payment. That is something that the Welsh Liberal Democrats have been pressing for for some time, and I am pleased that the Deputy Minister has listened to that. I also welcome the strengthening of the complaints procedure and the extension of the public service ombudsman's powers to consider complaints. That is essential, particularly given some of the casework that I have come across, as I am sure have other Members, in terms of social services departments.
Minister, I have a number of questions around this statement. I think that the pooling of budgets is important and it is certainly to be commended. However, there is also a need to integrate the care elements of both health and social services over time in a planned and coherent fashion that builds on the community networks in place. I think that we need to wean the NHS in particular away from its dependence on acute services. Could you explain how the pooling of budgets will lead to that further transformation of services, not just in terms of sharing money, but of the way in which they both work together in a more integrated fashion? Could you also say how the work that the Welsh Government is undertaking in terms of the Marmot review will inform this Bill? It is important that we deal with some of the issues of health inequity around Wales, and the Bill needs to recognise that changing that is a generational thing; it is not something that you can do overnight. I would hope that we can look at that in terms of how you structure the way that social services operate in the future.
The big issue that I have come across in terms of my own casework as an Assembly Member is the turnover of social workers in some social service departments, which can have a huge impact on the level of care available, particularly for vulnerable children, but also for vulnerable adults. I welcome the commitment to further professionalise social work and to offer support to social workers as part of that. We certainly need to find ways to stabilise that profession, and I hope that you will be able to bring forward proposals to help social services departments to manage that situation.
Finally, Lindsay Whittle raised the size and number of safeguarding boards, and it is an issue that concerns local government. There have been issues where safeguarding boards work together without stability of personnel, which has meant that important work is not being done and not being sustained. I would hope that we could look at that. Certainly, there is some concern that we have too few safeguarding boards trying to do too much work. Perhaps you could look at that as part of the consultation process.
The process for serious case reviews, which are charged to those safeguarding boards, is eminently unsatisfactory and cumbersome at present. It does little to protect children in a timely manner; it certainly protects them over the long term, but a number of cases have arisen that required a timely response, yet the response took several years to come. That needs to be looked at as well
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Article: Jan 24, 2012
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to work with the Coalition in Westminster to ensure that comparable school expenditure statistics can once again be made available.
Last week, it was announced that the 'Local Authority Budgeted Expenditure on Schools 2011-12: Wales and England Comparison' was to be discontinued because of changes in education policy in England meant it was not possible to produce comparable figures.
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Article: Jan 20, 2012
William Powell, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, has today welcomed the UK Government's decision to delay its changes to Feed-in-Tariff (FiTs) rates. After losing its case in the High Court, the UK Government has imposed a new registration deadline of 3rd March, with the proposed drastically reduced rates taking effect on 1st April. However, should the UK Government win its appeal; the previous deadline of 12th December, 2011 will still be imposed.
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Article: Jan 19, 2012
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has questioned the future of Swansea's Digital Technium after information he obtained by way of a Freedom of Information request revealed that since mid-August 2011 only renewals of existing leases in the building have been accepted despite widespread business interest in the Technium. All existing tenancies come to an end in 2013, with a number ending in January and February this year. Only one new lease has been granted since April 2010.
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Article: Jan 18, 2012
Aled Roberts, Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children and Young People in the National Assembly, has called on the Welsh Government to make sure that adequate resources are available to meet the demands of planned expansion of the Flying Start scheme.
Flying Start is a Welsh Government scheme aimed at providing additional support to families with children under the age of four who live in deprived areas of Wales.
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Article: Jan 18, 2012
Eluned Parrott, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise, has welcomed statistics released today showing that unemployment in Wales has fallen by around 1,000 over the last three months.
The number of people out of work in Wales stood at 130,000 between September and November, down from 131,000 during the previous three months. However, people in Wales are still more likely to be out of work, with 8.9% of 16-64-years-olds unemployed.
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Article: Jan 17, 2012
Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has condemned the Welsh Labour Government over its continued deferring of decisions regarding the future of Wales' Enterprise Zones.
In the Senedd today, Kirsty Williams criticised the First Minister for once again failing to make the big decisions that the people of Wales need.
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Article: Jan 17, 2012
Shadow Business Minister, Eluned Parrott, has called for the Welsh Government to do all it can to support Peacocks to have a stable future and retain the thousand or so people that it employs in Wales.
In response to the Business Minister's comments in the Senedd, Eluned Parrott said:
"Despite knowing that she was expected to speak in the chamber about the issue today, it is both surprising and disappointing that the Business Minister can not even recall when her department started having discussions with Peacocks and its creditors.
