Politics
SpAds under attack
WELSH Labour Special Advisers are once again under fire – this time for breaching the Special Adviser Code of Conduct by briefing on party political matters.
Labour SpAd – Huw Price – has been caught red-handed breaching the code of conduct, describing himself as a “Welsh Labour Spokesperson” and issuing overtly party political lines using his taxpayer funded Welsh Government email address.
Mark Reckless AM has called for the Code of Conduct to be applied and for disciplinary action to be taken.
Lee Canning of the Taxpayers Alliance warned that a private sector employee “would be disciplined and probably dismissed for such actions”.
Special Advisers are allowed to represent Ministers’ views on government policy to the media – but the Code of Conduct is explicit in its ruling that “briefing on purely party political matters must be handled by the Party machine.”
The Code of Conduct continues, stressing that “All contacts with the media should be authorised by the First Minister or his media advisor, and should be conducted with propriety and consideration for the reputation of the Government as a whole at all times.”
The request sought all emails between Welsh Government special advisers and email addresses ending with bbc.co.uk or mediawales.co.uk – and the correspondence can be read in full online – It includes an email in which Huw Price issues a party political quote criticising the Welsh Conservative local government launch – describing himself as a “Welsh Labour Spokesperson”.
He also appears to make implicit reference to Mark Reckless’ recent defection from UKIP to the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group in an exchange with a journalist, and in the quote itself – which is clearly party political in nature. A contention to which force is added by the response his remarks got from a Western Mail reporter.
- He describes the Welsh Conservative manifesto as “a checklist of reckless failure”;
- Claims that Wales’ only Conservative council has “failed” local people;
- Claims that a Conservative council “took a knife to front line services”;
- Calls on voters to vote for a “fair deal with Welsh Labour, or reckless failure with a Tory Party”.
In another email the Special Adviser shares a speech by Labour MP Keir Starmer which he says, is “broadly setting out Labour’s position”.
Commenting on the emails, Mark Reckless said: “At a time when the conduct of Labour Special Advisers is very much in the spotlight, this shows that they have been recklessly breaching the Code of Conduct since as far back as May.
“SpAds are there to support the conduct of government and are given dispensation to act in a more political manner than other civil servants, but the code of conduct explicitly forbids them from acting in an overtly party political manner.
“These emails are from a very tight time period and shine a light on the flagrant manner in which Labour advisers disregard this rule.
“This is a clear breach of Special Adviser employment terms and should have been handled by a Labour Party employee – not by a taxpayer funded civil servant.
“I expect the Code of Conduct to be applied and for disciplinary action to be taken.”
Lee Canning of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said: “The Welsh Labour Government should be promoting the best use of taxpayer funds, yet it appears that their abuse of the public purse is getting ever worse.
“For a Special Adviser to be using publicly funded facilities for party political activity is as close to personal use as it gets. In the private sector an employee would be disciplined and probably dismissed for such actions.
“It is time for politicians of all parties to understand that the money they spend is taxpayers’ money and not government money.”
The Welsh Government has been asked to comment on the allegations made by Mr Reckless and Mr Canning.
News
Too many children in Wales living in poverty – Lib Dems want action
THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats renewed their demands for the implementation of child poverty targets.
According to a report from the Bevan foundation, 29% of children living in Wales are currently experiencing poverty (an estimated 190,000 children).
The same report highlighted that the largest percentage of children living in poverty are from working households or in couple households.
The Welsh Lib Dems are now renewing calls for the Welsh Government to create a set of targets for reducing child poverty, which the party argues will allow for more accountability.
The party has previously called for the implementation of targets, citing recommendations from the Calling Time on Child Poverty Report published in November last year.
Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “The latest statistics on childhood poverty in Wales paints a very distressing image of families across the country struggling to make ends meet.
Over the course of the last six years, the proportion of children in poverty has skyrocketed. Fuelled by worsening economic conditions and a complete lack of action from both governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.
We cannot act complacent about these figures nor accept the clear lack of progress in fighting child poverty, behind each statistic is a child that the state has failed.
It remains painfully clear that the Welsh Government is failing to make any meaningful progress in this fight, which is why they must follow through with the implementation of clear set targets that will allow for further accountability.
We as a party have continuously called for the creation of these targets and we will not be silenced. For the sake of future generations we urge the Welsh Government to listen.”
Education
Conservative calls for academies and free schools rejected by Senedd
THE SENEDD has rejected calls to introduce free schools and academies after a report found major challenges in Wales’ education system.
Tom Giffard led a Conservative debate on educational attainment, warning that Wales is consistently at the bottom of UK-wide league tables.
The party’s new shadow education secretary pointed to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report on education in Wales which found low outcomes and high levels of inequality.
Mr Giffard told the Senedd the IFS report highlights the pitfalls of the Welsh Government putting all its eggs in the basket of a skills-based approach.
Criticising a failure to measure skills inequalities and pupil progress, he stressed that Wales’ lower performance is due to policy and approach rather than funding or the pandemic.
He said: “It seems the Welsh Government relies on Pisa results to tell the story but then, when those same results are all too disappointing, they are dismissed in equal measure.”
Mr Giffard, who previously worked in a primary school, said declines in Pisa results can be observed in almost every country that has adopted a skills-based approach.
Raising concerns about disappointing Pisa results, the South Wales West MS pointed out that Wales saw the lowest scores in the UK for every subject.
Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, warned that Wales’ schools are understaffed and facing difficult decisions due to budgets being at breaking point.
She criticised implementation of the Welsh Government’s additional learning needs (ALN) reforms, saying schools cannot realise the aims without the budget to bring them to life.
Ms Fychan said Plaid Cymru agreed with much of the Tory motion but her party would not support calls for free schools and academies.
Sam Rowlands described the IFS report as damning, warning that the Welsh Government’s education reforms have been disastrous and have widened inequality.
The Tory MS claimed the reforms are systematically holding back disadvantaged children, saying: “The most remarkable fact is that the performance of disadvantaged children in England is either above or similar to the average for all children in Wales.”
Mr Rowlands added: “The poorest in England’s schools are doing the same or better than the Welsh average, thanks to ambition, the academies and free schools.”
Samuel Kurtz, a fellow Tory, said free schools and academies have driven up standards in England as he argued a Wales roll-out provides an opportunity to improve outcomes.
James Evans, the Conservative MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, highlighted the party’s pledge to get 5,000 more teachers into Wales’ classrooms.
Buffy Williams, the newly elected chair of the Senedd’s education committee, said Wales is undergoing a profound transformation propelled by ALN and curriculum reforms.
The Labour MS for Rhondda stressed the importance of listening to teachers and allowing ample time for the reforms to take root in classrooms across Wales.
Altaf Hussain recounted a conversation he had this week with a headteacher at one of the largest schools in his South Wales West region.
The Conservative said: “The major improvements they have been delivering to attainment and addressing behavioural issues are all at risk because of cuts to funding.
“Vital work undertaken to improve the lives of young people with additional needs could be halted because they cannot afford to continue employing the support workers.”
Lynne Neagle recognised the scale and seriousness of work still ahead to improve Wales’ education system, stressing: “I am not, in any way, complacent about that task.”
Wales’ newly appointed education secretary, who takes over from Jeremy Miles, said sustained improvement in attainment will be among her top priorities.
She told the chamber: “My early focus has been to listen closely to schools and where it is clear that schools seek more scaffolding.”
Ms Neagle said the Welsh Government will work with trade unions and employers to reduce workload and eliminate unnecessary red tape.
The Conservative motion was voted down, 14-35, following the debate on April 24. The motion as amended by the Welsh Government was agreed, 26-23.
Climate
£1m turbine application to be decided by all councillors at County Hall
A TWICE-BACKED £1m scheme for a “20-storey-high” wind turbine at a Pembrokeshire mansion will have to be decided by all councillors.
Mr and Mrs Glen Peters of Western Solar Ltd are seeking permission for a single turbine on land near the Grade II-listed Rhosygilwen Mansion, which includes an arts and functions building known as Neuaddydderwen.
Members of the April meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee were recommended to refuse the scheme, despite backing it at their March meeting.
This backing meant the application returned to the April meeting for ratification after a ‘cooling off’ period; the application having been deferred at the January meeting pending a site visit.
It was initially recommended for refusal in January for several reasons, including potential harm to the setting of the Grade-II-listed house and grounds, and fears of threats to the safe operation of West Wales Airport at Aberporth in neighbouring Ceredigion, some 9.5 kilometres away.
The last concern was later withdrawn.
In papers ahead of the April meeting, officers, again recommending refusal, have said the scheme “would not protect or enhance the setting [of Rhosygilwen] but rather would result in significant harm to this interest of acknowledged importance”.
They have also warned any backing of the scheme against policy recommendations could set a precedent for similar developments.
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