Daily Post - Gog in the Bay

Anglesey political fall-out will be 'ruthless', says Andrew RT

2013-05-08T07:29:51Z

THE political impact of voting in a new council on Anglesey continued to be reverberate yesterday.
A revamped electoral map and new method of voting were employed to try to bring the embattled authority into a new democratic era.
The share of votes amassed by Independent candidates plummeted from 56.2% in 2008 to 29.5%.
But it was enough to hand a collection of individuals 14 of the 30 seats and talks were soon underway over forming themselves into a group.
Among the political parties, Plaid Cymru had by far the best campaign securing 12 seats.
Labour will be disconsolate that a determined effort won them just three councillors on an island where they hold the seat at Westminster.
But there was no concealing the displeasure of Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, whose party achieved no seats and just 5.5% of the vote behind both UKIP (7.3%) and the Lib Dems (5.2%).
He told journalists yesterday "Ultimately we had the candidates, five times more candidates than in 2008, but that's not good enough, you have to have the campaign behind them, a message, and you have to communicate that message and on Thursday we didn't do that.
"From our perspective, we know exactly where our fault lines are and those fault lines will be ruthlessly, and I mean ruthlessly, sorted out."
What could he mean?
"That will come in the fullness of time," he added.
There was little consolation in Labour's performance: "They have the tools that most parties lack given the scale and size of operations they can count on."
He claimed Labour had marshalled up to 30 activists to turn out in one town alone and that it was 'literally bussing activists in' to the island. "But it didn't reap much of a harvest for them, it didn't."
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams remained more resigned: "It's surprising that the Conservative vote was where it was given that within my living memory that was a Tory seat (at Westminster)."
"It may be the unusual politics of Anglesey that could be subject to a PhD all of its own, about how it operates."
The one Liberal Democrat elected Aled Morris Jones could yet have an influence, she suggested.
"Aled you know likes to chat. He didn't have to canvass, just stand outside the Co-Op in Amlwch, it's all there," she joked. "What Aled is keen to do, as Liberal Democrats everywhere, is to be able to use whatever influence he has to achieve the things he stood on."
Plaid Cymru AM for Ceredigion Simon Thomas said as a party they would be eager to lead a coalition on the island and rebuild its reputation.
The numbers hadn't quite worked out because a coalition with Labour would produce just 15 seats, probably requiring an independent chair to secure a majority.
But there is now a responsibility on all councillors to deliver for the voters, who turned out in numbers last Thursday, and for the island as a whole.

First Minister denies A55 jams are barrier to growth in North Wales

2013-05-01T06:00:00Z

FRUSTRATED by traffic queues, delayed on business, feeling isolated in communities? It's all part of life along the A55.
But First Minister Carwyn Jones suggested yesterday that it's a price worth paying for the investment in one of Wales' major transport arteries.

]]> The First Minister is usually careful to avoid appearing complacent but flirted with 'self satisfied' on this occasion.
The A55 for those who travel it daily can be a deceptive two-headed beast - sometimes quick and clear , all too often snarled and gridlocked.
There has been major resurfacing under way between the Puffin roundabout and Penmaenbach headland near Penmaenmawr since February. A contraflow system would operate via alternate carriageways, as well as 40mph and 30mph speed limits
Accidents, snow, fire and floods have this year brought A55 traffic to a standstill, in the worst cases adding hours to journeys.
At First Minister's questions in the Senedd, North Wales AM Antoinette Sandbach asked whether he agreed that 'never-ending' roadworks and congestion on the A55 Expressway makes travelling and doing business a misery.
She wanted to know what plans the Welsh Government had to assess the economic impact of congestion on the North Wales economy and what targets would be set to reduce the number of days affected by roadworks.
Carwyn Jones replied: "I don't see the A55 as a barrier, I have to say. It is very much welcomed , I know, along the northern coast. Occasionally, of course, there will be a need for roadworks, sometimes these roadworks can be substantial.
"But the A55 is in good condition, it's well used and one of our major arteries. It's one of the reasons of course why such roads should remain within the control of the Welsh Government. I have seen some suggestion that somehow they should be pinched away from us. What's important, of course, is we are able to control and also maintain these arteries that are so important to us as a nation."
Plaid Cymru AM Llyr Huws Gruffydd waded in: "You say that deficiencies on the A55 are not a barrier but often your government has reminded us that problems on the M4 in South Wales is a problem for the Welsh economy. We have seen in South Wales billions are being spent on electrification of the railway line, a billion plus on upgrading the M4 in the Newport area and most recently £52m on the airport at Cardiff. When will we see an investment of that level in the North Wales infrastructure?"
Carwyn Jones: "I know it's a problem for people when they can't travel as quickly as they would hope to.
"But it demonstrates that there is so much investment in the A55."
North Wales is in need of transport investment in both road and rail and he could have acknowledged as much.
How about more hard shoulders on this vital route as a start?

So, Mr Clegg what's fair about welfare cutbacks?

2013-04-24T06:30:00Z

NICK Clegg arrived in Wales on a mission to explain the Liberal Democrats' role in the Coalition Government.
The deputy prime minister still has a job to soothe that 'uncomfortable feeling' of coalition among many in his party, not least Welsh leader Kirsty Williams.

]]> Research by his local Sheffield Hallam University estimated £1bn would be taken out of the Welsh economy by 2014-15 because of the UK Government's welfare reforms.
The most deprived communities will be hit hardest by many of the changes which threaten to widen the gap between the richest and poorest areas, they said.
Fortified by an early breakfast of 'very good bacon and egg bap' from a service station in Reading, Mr Clegg came to Cardiff armed with preparatory soundbites.
The Government was 'unflinching but not unthinking' on cutting the deficit, and there would be 'no lurch to the right by this government not while I'm at the Cabinet table'.
He told journalists: "There is a constant daily duty, if you like, on Liberal Democrats in Government to make sure things are being done more fairly than they ever would be by the Conservatives on their own."
Kirsty Williams had brought to his attention in detail the downside and dangers of moving towards regional pay in the public sector as mooted by George Osborne in Government. "I looked at it over a series of months and I eventually blocked it. That's a good example of the Liberal Democrats acting in the interests of Wales and that has fairness at its heart," he said.
But what about those welfare reforms hitting the poorest hardest?
Mr Clegg said: "For far too long under Labour we had a welfare system where people were provided with benefits and little incentive to work. Most reasonable people in Wales would agree with me that you need to value work. Work is the best route out of poverty and disadvantage."
The Office of Budget Responsibility estimated that the UK economy would be 11% smaller by 2016 than it was at the start of the economic crisis in 2008.
"Welfare and pensions are about one third of total Government expenditure, inevitably we need to make some changes and I accept that the changes we are trying to make are controversial."
Snap shot studies of the economy such as the Sheffield Hallam one did not anticipate people changing their behaviour, he said.
The UK Government was combining big welfare change and the tax system and some 130,000 people in Wales on low pay would be taken out of paying income tax.
"I don't apologise for the reform that you can't receive more on welfare than you would on a pre tax income in work of £35,000. Most people would think that is fair enough. We have made some changes to the spare bedroom subsidy in response to complaint and we are listening again and working with local authorities where we see there are other anomalies which aren't justified we will act again."

More work still to do on this 'deemed consent' donations Bill

2013-04-17T07:47:00Z

THE gradual move towards a Human Transplant (Wales) Bill took another tentative step yesterday.
New health minister Mark Drakeford made concessions to the 'significant concerns' over the operation of a proposed 'opt-out' organ donation system during its first reading in the Senedd.
Key among them was a commitment to address a 'lack of clarity' over the role of relatives and close friends of the deceased in consent to donations.
This Bill has already prompted powerful reactions to the emotive and ethical issues that it raises.
The nub of the debate is that three people a month in Wales die waiting for a suitable transplant organ.
The aim is to increase the number of organs made available by fundamental change in the way every adult in Wales makes their views on donation known.

]]> Mr Drakeford puts it in a straight forward enough way.
Three equally valid choices will be available: to register a wish to be a donor, by opting in; to register a wish not to be a donor, by opting out; or to deem consent to donation by taking no action.
For the first time, 'taking no action' would signal consent to organs being removed for transplant.
Seeking the clarity AMs have sought, Mr Drakeford proposed an amendment: "Deemed consent donation will not go ahead in the absence of any family member. In deemed consent cases, the presence of the family is essential - both as a source of necessary information about the potential donor and in order to ensure that donation does not go ahead in the face of the deceased's known objection to organ donation."
That offers a clear right of objection for family members, 'where they can confirm that a potential donor would not have wished donation to take place'.
Another hurdle concerns a guarantee that every adult possible in Wales is aware of the change in the law and what deemed consent implies. A lack of knowledge of the system in these circumstances would be a breach of their human rights.
Questions remain to be answered over the rights of prisoners not normally resident in Wales, or international students, or members of the armed services transferred to bases in Wales.
Of 30,000 deaths a year in Wales, just 250 people are found to be potential donors, normally those who die in hospital on a ventilator in intensive care units. Of these around 67 become donors. The Welsh Government believes the Bill could increase that number by 15 donors.
Legislation alone won't achieve the Welsh Government's desired outcome of more life-saving organs being made available.
Education must still play a part. The critical care facilities in our hospitals - already running at 100-120% - will need investment to ensure the capacity to carry out the operations.
Clarity and consistency is essential so that there will be public confidence in such a system.
Mr Drakeford still has work to do.

Mrs Thatcher's revolution carried a cost on Deeside

2013-04-10T06:00:00Z

MARGARET Thatcher paused, waiting for the inevitable media scrum to form as she toured a research-based enterprise on Deeside.
It was a noisy environment and as a radio reporter at the time, I had to get in close to record her words.
We jabbed our microphones uncomfortably close to her face, .
But she didn't flinch as she extolled the virtues of the 'new industries' in what was an unemployment blackspot.
The Welsh Development Agency had been given its head to attract the jobs to replace those in steel, coal and textiles being lost across Wales. Despite her love of the free market, this was an era of grant aid and job creation programmes in North Wales.

]]> Earlier, in 1980 a generation of workers, mainly men, lost their incomes overnight when the nationalised British Steel plant at Shotton was closed, plunging 8,500 steelworkers and allied workers into redundancy.
A community united behind efforts to save it, as they could see no future without its well-paid jobs. It was a fight that ended in sudden failure.
Many of those men who lost their jobs in their 50s, including my father and uncle, were never to work again. An era of 12 hour 'Continental' shifts was replaced by living off redundancy packages. Opportunities for apprentice fitters, or boilermakers, also disappeared.
In the early 80s, in Flint - doubly ravaged by steel redundancies and textile closures - male unemployment peaked in pockets at around 40%. On many council housing estates on Deeside, it averaged 25%.
House prices plummeted.
The industrial and social revolution introduced by Thatcherism came with a human cost.
It is hard to image today that this area of Deeside was once dominated by the black shape of a steelworks' blast furnaces and the daily rhythm was set by shift patterns and fleets of buses travelling into the works.
The land was reclaimed and 30 years on Deeside Industrial Park has emerged, along with Airbus at Broughton, as the vital regional mainstay of employment.
During the year-long miners' strike the political and class divisions were at their most raw. Families at Point of Ayr and Bersham were split for years among those who walked out and those who defied Arthur Scargill's call to arms.
These years were a drastic, even brutal, therapy for the 'sick man of Europe' as Britain, strike-riven and with an ailing manufacturing sector, had become known.
The Falklands War, in which Welsh soldiers died to defend British islands in the South Atlantic, served to give her new momentum.
Mrs Thatcher was returned and returned again to office as Prime Minister. In Labour-voting Wales, that fuelled the early fires of devolution.
After 11 years, her own cabinet turned against her and she was forced to resign. But Britain and North Wales was never to be the same again.
There was to be no return to the nationalised industries. Employment laws - so detested by the trade unions - remain largely unrepealed.
Her place in history is assured.

Airport wars to heighten risks after £52m buy-out

2013-04-03T06:02:08Z

THERE was little cheer in North Wales at the prospect of the Welsh Government buying the ailing Cardiff airport.
The price tag of £52m is a huge sum and, let's be frank, there will be little benefit from this venture beyond the South Wales corridor.
First Minister Carwyn Jones argues that Wales' global credibility as a place to do business was at risk from a failing international airport.
A public buyout from its Spanish owners Albertis was the solution the Welsh Government favoured.
Travellers in the North would have preferred to see spending on their links to the North Western airports at Manchester and Liverpool improved.

]]> As someone who lives near Cardiff, the airport at Rhoose had been losing its appeal since low cost carriers pulled out in favour of Bristol and Birmingham, and the number of destinations available from our 'local' airport diminished.
The Welsh Government has turned to tried and tested Lord David Rowe-Beddoe to chair the new arm's length airport board. The former international businessman, and ex-chair of the Welsh Development Agency has a track record of success is government appointments, having been knighted after his stint at the WDA. He was also called upon to chair the them loss-making Wales Millennium Centre project, attracting vital private investment.
He admits, even as a time served world traveller, he knows little about running an airport and that will be the job of experts. A chief executive will be appointed soon to join the management team in place. (Update: Jon Horne, former MD Managing Director at Cardiff Airport 2001-07, returns to Cardiff as CEO from being a partner in Airport Investment and Enterprise LLP.)
The task ahead of him is difficult and not without risk.
If those in North Wales were sceptical, the move prompted a retaliatory response from Bristol Airport chief executive Robert Sinclair, who had concerns over continued Welsh Government support which was 'highly likely'.
"Bristol Airport has never been concerned about competition from Cardiff or other airports, provided that competition is on a level playing field without any form of state subsidy or government support."
But the rival was worried over the Silk Commission's recommendation to devolve Air Passenger Duty for direct long haul flights from Wales and the Welsh Government's call for this tax to be scrapped.
This proposal could give the Welsh Government the power to set the tax regime for a business of which it was the sole owner and beneficiary, potentially distorting a competitive market and damaging Bristol Airport as a hub to 100 destinations.
"In view of the serious implications for our business, Bristol Airport will continue to monitor this situation closely to ensure State Aid rules are complied with," Mr Sinclair said ominously.
In the meantime, Bristol would work to improve access from South Wales and a Greyhound bus service between Swansea, Cardiff, Newport, north Bristol and Bristol Airport is under way.
Welsh taxpayers will be hoping for a return on their £52m in the near future, but in the meantime, the gloves are already off in the new 'air wars' between Cardiff and Bristol.

A 'duty of candour' must be right in Welsh NHS too

2013-03-27T07:30:00Z

IT is sad that the UK Government needs to impose a 'legal duty' on the NHS to be honest about mistakes.
Sad too that it feels medical staff ought to be schooled more in caring and compassion.
The measures, proposed in England, came yesterday in an overhaul of the system in the aftermath of the Stafford Hospital scandal.

]]> A public inquiry found harrowing neglect and abuse at the hospital between 2005-08 which led to needless deaths. There were between 400 and 1,200 more deaths than would be expected.
The package includes a new ratings system for hospitals and care homes, while changes to nurse training will be piloted.
Ofsted-style rankings would rate hospitals as 'outstanding', 'good', 'requiring improvement' or 'poor'.
NHS bosses in England would be put on a blacklist to ensure they can no longer work in the health service. Trusts which do not deliver adequate care could be put into a 'failure regime' and ultimately put into administration.
None of these proposals, of course, would apply in Wales where the running of the NHS is devolved to the Welsh Government.
But even if you believe that our health service is a ahead of the problems identified in Stafford, it would be complacent not to watch developments over the border with sincere interest.
Subject to pilot schemes, students seeking NHS funding for nursing degrees will become healthcare assistants or support workers, and .
given 'hands-on' patient care.
There must be merit in at least some of these proposals that could be adopted in Wales.
UNISON, the largest union for health workers, was concerned at the Government's failure to recommend minimum staffing levels to boost patient care. Staffing is an issue in Welsh hospitals too and partly identified as a reason for the controversial and unpopular reorganisation proposed in North Wales.
Wales requires since 2009 all prospective nursing and midwifery students seeking a university place to supply a character reference.
The Welsh Government said. "The reference focuses on the following personal attributes or qualities: be self aware, polite, kind, caring, honest, compassionate, trustworthy and able to communicate well."
It was disappointing last week when new statistics - the risk adjusted mortality index - revealed higher death rates in Welsh hospitals than could be expected.
But even as they were published to encourage more openness in the NHS, the Welsh Government admitted that data errors cast doubt of their accuracy.
A 'duty of candour' as described for England would be a major step forward in the protection of patients. It would reinforce the basic principle that if something goes wrong and a patient is harmed the NHS should be open and honest about it.
That can only inspire public confidence.

Election switch allows AMs to hedge their bets once again

2013-03-13T07:30:00Z

WELSH Secretary David Jones yesterday gave his alternative answer to the 'Clwyd West Question'.
The Conservative MP reversed the Labour ban on dual candidacy in Assembly elections, prompted by the experience in his own constituency.
Since 2006, candidates have been prohibited from standing for election to the Assembly in both a constituency and on a party list in a region.
In the 2003 Welsh election, Alun Pugh was elected for Labour in Clwyd West with 34.8% of the vote.
His opponents in the seat Conservative Brynle Williams (32.8%); Janet Ryder Plaid Cymru (21.3%) and Eleanor Burnham Liberal Democrat (7.9%) also all took places in Cardiff Bay after topping their parties' regional lists for North Wales.
Labour argued this caused confusion for voters, made 'winners' out of 'losers' and was 'antidemocratic'.
The UK Coalition Government made clear in a Green Paper its intention to repeal this ban. And now, after due consultation, it will.

]]> A 'small majority' of respondents to the consultation disagreed with this proposal. Many of them, including a number of AMs, argued that the ban was introduced under a democratic mandate, had been a Labour manifesto commitment at the 2005 General Election, and was included in the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Conservatives and Plaid Cymru had suffered most from the previous switch which forced candidates to choose where to make their stand, constituency or region.
Former Conservative group leader in the Senedd, Nick Bourne, opted to stay in his Mid and West region, and lost out in 2011 when his party returned more constituency AMs. Former Mid and West Wales AM Glyn Davies, now Montgomeryshire MP, also lost out.
Jonathon Morgan switched from South Wales Central to Cardiff North losing to Labour, while former Plaid AM in South West Wales Nerys Evans chose Carmarthen West to make her stand and finished behind the Conservatives.
"Several respondents agreed with the Government's concerns that good quality candidates were being lost to the Assembly, as a result of having to choose between standing in a constituency and a region and losing a regional seat when their party had done better than expected in constituency elections within a region," the report of the consultation said.
It was argued that the ban also had a disproportionate impact on smaller parties and independent candidates.
Labour was accused at the time of seeking to 'gerrymander' the rules to gain political advantage.
It is hard to avoid a feeling of 'tit for tat' as Conservatives do the same.
Ex AM in Clwyd West Alun Pugh said candidates would again be able to place an 'each-way bet' on the outcome of their election.
The switch also means that Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood - who declared she would move to a constituency from a region in the next election - will be able to hedge her bet one more.

Looking to make a Silk purse out of constitutional confusion

2013-03-06T09:46:25Z

THE process of devolution continues apace. Two years since the referendum and yet another new settlement is on the constitutional horizon.
The deadline for submissions to the Silk Commission on Devolution in Wales has encouraged a welter of evidence from politicians.
Today the UK Government will reveal its own thoughts on future developments to a cross party commission it set up itself. (Click here.)

]]> The Silk Commission Part I has already recommended devolution of tax-varying powers to Cardiff Bay, raising the prospect of a future 'Welsh Treasury'.
Now thoughts turn to what further powers are better suited to control from Cardiff.
There are differing opinions about this among politicians and indeed within political parties.
The Labour Welsh Government set out its stall for policing, for example, but not criminal justice - the courts, judges, probation and youth services and such. But some of Labour's MPs are yet to be convinced and we have yet to see a submission to Silk from the UK Labour Party.
The Conservative group in the Assembly and the Welsh Liberal Democrats have both put forward proposals, different in material ways.
How these compare to that of their coalesced cousins at Westminster will be interesting for students of the tensions within government.
But after 14 years of Welsh devolution, it remains unclear just what is devolved and what is not.
To the extent that the highest court in the land was faced with a Solomon-esque judgement over whether the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill was lawfully within Wales' powers.
It was.
In Scotland, it is simpler. There is a list of what is NOT devolved. In Wales, the original Government of Wales Act drew up a list was what WAS devolved, much more complicated and, well, it left a lot of things out.
This latest Commission, led by former Assembly clerk Paul Silk, will have to decide how to sort this out.
Tax-varying powers seems to have gained a traction within the political bubble.
Even opinion polls suggest that the public are content for Cardiff to decide at least some of their taxes.
With more power becomes more responsibility and more often a bigger bill to pay for it.
How the Welsh Treasury of the future would fund its government's increased activity is also yet to be fully resolved.
Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler is concerned that the new weight of responsibilities resting on the institution means that the number of AMs needs to rise from 60 to 80, something rejected by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
There is speculation that the UK Government could reverse a previous Labour decision to stop candidates standing for constituencies and the regional lists, which they labelled 'vindictive'.
Whatever the outcome, it must surely then be time to stop talking about the constitution and concentrate fully on Wales' relative poor health, under-performing schools, and ailing economy.

Kirsty Williams: Wales not immune to 'inappropriate behaviour'

2013-02-27T08:30:00Z

WELSH Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams had an uncomfortable time as she fronted up a press briefing over the party's sexual harassment scandal.
The allegations surrounding the Liberal Democrats have links to Wales.
One of the women who made claims about the behaviour of former party chief executive Lord Rennard is a Cardiff based activist and a former candidate Alison Goldsworthy. She confirmed yesterday that she was one of the anonymous women interviewed by Channel 4 News who said they had been subjected to unwanted attention by Lord Rennard.
Another of the women was Bridget Harris, a former special adviser to Nick Clegg, who said she was touched on the knees and legs by the peer at a party event in Swansea in 2003.

]]> Lord Rennard refutes allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour made by a number of women. His spokesperson said he will co-operate with any properly constituted inquiry.
Ms Goldsworthy, a popular and well known figure around the Welsh party in recent years, said it was 'inevitable' that her name would be revealed. "I commend Channel 4, the Liberal Democrats and individuals within the party, for the efforts they have gone to maintain my anonymity over a period of years."
Welsh Lib Dem leader Ms Williams arrived at the weekly media conference in the Senedd to discuss NHS reconfiguration. But she quickly accepted the interest in the Rennard affair.
She had received an e-mail from the federal party in October 2008 asking if she had any issues with the behaviour of Lord Rennard, she said.
"I had no issues to report with regard to Lord Rennard's behaviour nor have I had any knowledge with regard to the issues that have been raised.
"These are very serious allegations an I am satisfied that the investigations that has been set up by the federal party are an appropriate response. The women who have come forward deserve to have them looked at." She was a mother of three girls: "I want them to be able to make their way in the world without being subjected to such behaviour. Any allegation where people have behaved inappropriately towards women makes me sick to the pit of my stomach regardless of where the allegation is made.
"If you think that Wales, Welsh politics or Welsh society is immune to this kind of behaviour you are kidding yourself. There are very few women in Wales that have gone through their life without being subjected to some form of behaviour of this kind. Be it low level stuff 'phwor if I was just 20 years younger and you looking like that' to more serious allegations of inappropriate touching or molestation. Unfortunately for many women that is the reality of their lives. If there is any woman in the Liberal Democrats that had issues they would like to raise I would urge them to come forward. This is very personal decision and I wouldn't want any woman to be criticised if they felt she didn't want to come forward."

Food for thought...

2013-02-20T17:04:01Z

AMs stirred up a fuss after the hot food selection in their tea-room was reduced to just a baked potato.
Members are used to sampling something more substantial in the cafe directly outside the chamber at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.
But after some wastage of foods such as chilli and rice, and curry - enticingly desribed as the 'hot wet dish' - catering chiefs decided to drop them from the tea room menu.
The Assembly office block adjacent to the Senedd also has a fully functioning restaurant operating at breakfast and lunch times as well as a second tea room for members.
They may have been debating the horse meat scandal in the chamber nearby, but a food issue much closer to home was also exercising politicians' minds.
Normal service in the Senedd tea room resumed today after an intervention by Delyn AM Sandy Mewies who as an Assembly Commissioner is responsible for catering and other issues.
She told cross party colleagues and support staff in an email: "Several people raised an issue yesterday when the Senedd tea room was serving only a baked potato hot dish. Normal service should be resumed today.
"However there has, it seems, been a great deal of waste associated with what is described as the 'hot wet dish' which means such things as curry or chilli and rice.
"It means a pilot scheme may be started some time in the future and I will ensure members are be informed."

Are we paying the price in horse meat scandal?

2013-02-20T09:51:32Z

FOR the first time in memory, there was a queue stretching outside my local butcher's shop at the weekend.
Shoppers were voting with their feet in the aftermath of the horse meat scandal which has seriously shaken consumer confidence in supermarket bargain meals.
The received wisdom was 'buy locally sourced meat' and they did, well at least those who could afford it.
Some mass market traders claimed to be unaware just what was being put into their 'minced beef' lasagne and as they have become know, Shergar burgers.
As criminal investigations continue in Wales and across the Europe Union, I was reminded of the quote attributed to 19th century poet lawyer John Godfrey Saxe, among others. "Laws like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made."

]]> Boss of the Deeside-based frozen food chain Iceland Malcolm Walker was pointing the finger back at governments at the weekend.
He suggested that within the catering industry, schools, hospitals, prisons, local authorities were driving down the price for food in their public contracts. Mr Walker would not personally eat another supermarket's 'value products' because 'they won't contain much meat'. The other things in there, he suggested, might be 'rusk', or 'filler', or 'whatever it is'.
First Minister Carwyn Jones was having none of that: "I find it very odd for a supplier whose responsibly for checking what they sell to start blaming the consumer. It's a bit like saying, 'the reason why horsemeat has apparently been found in some products is because of the people who buy the products. That can't possibly be right."
Alun Davies, Welsh deputy minister for agriculture, food, fisheries and European programmes told AMs yesterday: "At its heart, this matter is one of crime for economic gain."
Gratifyingly, he had been assured by the Food Standards Agency that on the basis of evidence to date: "There is no risk to human health from these incidents."
The meat supply chain in Wales 'is robust' and the recent 'rogue incidents' were not indicative of 'wider systemic failures in our food supply chain'.
Investigations into a meat-processing business near Aberystwyth by the Food Standards Agency, the local authority and Dyfed Powys Police were continuing.
Some 2,500 UK tests on all product lines of burgers, meatballs, lasagne and similar foods by the FSA found seven food products positive for the presence of undeclared horse meat at or above a level of 1%.
Welsh Beef, of course, has the European Union's Protected Geographical Indication status indicating the highest possible standards from the field to the consumer.
"I have confidence in the food chain and am determined to address any identified weak points as they arise," he said.
My mother used to always say: "You get what you pay for."
Prices may well start to rise.

'Be honest about what's going on in our hospitals'

2013-02-13T07:00:00Z

'THERE are occasions when a scandal is so shocking that it defies the unthinkable and shakes the faith in a trusted institution. Such a scandal was played out in Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Robert Francis QC, who led the inquiry into the trust, uncovered a 'disaster' in standards of basic care and treatment for some of the most vulnerable and elderly. He blamed failings at every level of the NHS for the premature deaths of up to 1,200 people.
Shameful. Shocking. Lessons must be learned.
While responsibility for the NHS is devolved to the Welsh Government, Stafford is hardly the other side of the world in terms of practice and application.
Mr Francis made 290 recommendations for improvement but put simply: "This is about how people behave when they go to work and their ability to raise concerns and be honest about what's going on in their hospitals."

]]> There is no suggestion here that indefensible lapses on such a scale take place unheeded, and unreported in hospitals in Wales.
But a conversation this week reminded me that sometimes all is not as it should be.
In 2011, former Older People's Commissioner Ruth Marks instigated an investigation by a former Chief Medical Officer for Wales.
Her findings, 'Dignified Care?' warned treatment of some older people in Welsh hospitals was 'shamefully inadequate' and called for 'fundamental change' to ensure elderly patients are always treated with dignity and respect on wards.
Issues such as dirty toilets and washing facilities; blood stained sheets not changed until asked; resentment from staff when questioned or asked to do things differently; lack of privacy; patronising attitudes; inadequate number of staff in charge overnight.
This was from a recent patient in North Wales who added: "Patients or their relatives are constrained from speaking out because they fear retribution from care staff."
The Welsh Government responded the Dignified Care?' report by commissioning spot checks on wards.
One report in 2011 said: "We were concerned that the patient's consultant doctor had documented that the patient was 'not for resuscitation.' However when we spoke to the patient's family, they were not aware of this."
And again: "Whilst visiting the ward we saw...a patient whose condition was deteriorating very quickly. We were very concerned that this had not been reflected in the amount of monitoring that the patient was receiving and there also appeared to be a lack of escalation to the appropriate medical staff."
Plaid Cymru discovered that seven out of 12 'dignity and essential care' inspections carried out by Health Inspectorate Wales since November 2011 revealed concern about the staffing levels.
We need patients, relatives and staff to speak out about their concerns and a culture in the NHS that openly encourages them to do so.

A 100 yard limo ride and 'breakfast' at the Hilton - Updated

2013-02-06T08:08:10Z

WELSH secretary David Jones achieved some notoriety yesterday for a 100 yard ride in a Jaguar.
He later gave me his own explanation here.
The Clwyd West MP, seemingly in a rush to attend Cabinet in Downing Street, summoned the ministerial limousine for what could have been a three minute walk up Whitehall from his office.
The chauffeur, according to reports, waited 90 minutes before driving him back again.
The official explanation from the Welsh Office: "The Secretary of State for Wales, Mr David Jones, did travel by car to Cabinet today as he was reading Cabinet papers and briefing until his arrival at Downing Street."

]]> Labour shadow Owen Smith dubbed his rival as 'Jones the Jag'.
"Taxpayers in Clwyd West, however, or the 5,500 people getting their tax credits cut might not all be so forgiving about his 100 yard joyride," he chided.
Whatever Mr Jones was keen to swat up on in his official car, it wasn't apparently the contentious Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, receiving its second reading in the Commons later.
Gay marriage was not discussed at the morning's regular weekly Cabinet meeting, which focused on health, the EU, banking reform and the Government's legislative agenda for the coming year, an official spokesman said.
All Wales' eight Conservative MPs, including Mr Jones, were expected to exercise their 'free vote' in opposition to the proposals, among a predicted 100 or more Tory MPs. Mr Jones was refusing interviews on the issue, on which he said he was voting as a constituency MP, not as a cabinet minister.
David Cameron would get the Bill through the stage though by virtue of Labour and Liberal Democrat votes.
After seeking to appease many of his back benchers by promising an In/Out vote on EU membership, Mr Cameron has succeeded in antagonising many with legislation outwith the Conservative manifesto at the general election.
Meanwhile, Clwyd West's Conservative AM Darren Millar was absent from chairing the Assembly's Public Accounts committee yesterday.
He had flown to the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event being staged at the Washington Hilton in the United States.
The breakfast is attended by around 3,500 people, including the President, and guests from over 100 countries. It is hosted by members of the United States Congress and organised by The Fellowship Foundation, a conservative Christian organisation more widely known as 'The Family'.
It is designed to be a forum for the 'political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships'.
Mr Millar accepted an invitation but sought permission to travel to the event from the Conservative group leader Andrew RT Davies, who ended up chairing the committee instead, and cancelling his regular party Press briefing in Cardiff Bay. A Conservative source stressed: "The cost is all coming out of his (Mr Millar's) own pocket."
When Mr Millar attended cross party faith group talks in South Africa in 2011, he fell breaking his ankle on a trip to Robben Island , extending the visit with a spell in hospital.

Targets alone insufficient to secure Welsh language future

2013-01-29T17:53:35Z

THE latest extraction of figures from the 2011 Census will today shed more light on the threat to the Welsh language.
A more detailed break down from the Office of National Statistics - as reported here - will reveal ward by ward where the language has suffered a further decline in its heartlands.
The last Census in 2001, while displaying overall optimism in a slight growth of Welsh speakers, also showed a substantial fall in the number of communities where more than 70% of the population speak Welsh.
They went down from 92 in 1991, to 54 in 2001.

]]> We already know that in 2011, there were 20,000 fewer Welsh speakers in Wales and falls in all the counties in the North and West, the traditional heartlands of Welsh.
The Welsh Government's language strategy set a target by 2011 for 'the decline in the number of communities where Welsh is spoken by over 70% of the population is arrested'. It also targeted an increase in the number of speakers by 5% to over a quarter of the population, which was missed.
So what is there to be done?
Part of the problem, it would seem, is that too many Welsh speakers themselves, especially the young who have learned it in school, choose not to use it.
Campaigners protest that those who want to 'live their lives in Welsh' aren't offered enough opportunity in an English dominated society.
There can be no question that there is a will to create a bilingual country but, the efforts so far made to preserve Welsh over generations are failing.
Plaid Cymru complained that more than a month after the Census figures were released, the Welsh Government is yet to make a statement on the matter.
Ceredigion AM Elin Jones said: "The Party of Wales is deeply concerned about these figures and for that reason we are launching a consultation on the way ahead for Welsh language policy.
"The Welsh Government could be taking immediate action to support the language. For example, it could work to implement the Welsh language measure's standards, and ensure that Welsh business is favoured in public sector procurement. The census results should have alarmed the Welsh Government and shaken them into action, but disappointingly more than six weeks later, we are still waiting for a response."
The campaign group is due to meet First Minister Carwyn Jones next week to ask what he plans to do.
Society sustainable communities spokesperson Toni Schiavone, said: "Welsh language communities and their growth are absolutely vital to the language generally.
"We don't agree with those who argue that geographic communities where the language is the main language aren't important.
"The international evidence is completely clear in that respect."
Those who care about the language will await these figures today with a mixture of hope and some trepidation.