Politics
Details of Welsh lockdown, starting next Friday, leaked online
THE DETAILS of The Welsh Government’s plans for a short lockdown starting at the end of next week have been leaked online and shared on Andrew RT Davies’ Facebook page. He is the Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the National Assembly for Wales.
He said online today: “So there we have it courtesy of Bubble Wales. The details of Mark Drakeford’s proposed lockdown across Wales are now public and below. Everything to be closed bar essential retail.
“What is the point of Senedd? The Presiding Officer needs to drag these clowns in on Monday.”
The letter, a copy of an original published by Bubble Wales, suggests that the lockdown, which will be similar in nature to the one put in place in March, will be announced on Monday and would last until Sunday, November 8.
That means the lockdown would be in place for 17 days.
However, ministers in the Welsh Government have said repeatedly that they haven’t made a decision on whether to go ahead with it yet and are due to decide this weekend.
The letter says: “[The fire-break lockdown] will take us back to the situation in March when all but essential retail outlets were open – pubs, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers etc – will all be closed.
“It covers the half term break (Friday, October 23- Monday, November 2) but some schools will reopen on November 2.
“Ministers have not yet determined the details on this; it seems that primary schools will reopen, but a decision on secondary schools will be made over the weekend.”
The letter goes on to say: “While the message for public transport will be essential journeys only, the Welsh Government is yet to decide what level of services should run over the three-week lockdown period.
“They fully recognise that changes cannot be made overnight by operators and that ramping up services is a more difficult and complex task than reducing them.”
On Friday (Oct 16) Mr Drakeford spoke about the plan as a possibility, saying: “This would be a short, sharp shock to the virus, which could turn back the clock, slowing down its spread and buy us more time – and vital capacity in the NHS.
“A “fire-break” would also mean a short, sharp shock to all our lives – it would mean shutting down businesses and the economy.
“We would all have to stay at home to once again save lives. But this time it would be for weeks not months.
“We’re considering a two or three-week “fire-break”. The shorter the period, the sharper the measures will have to be.”
ROW OVER WHO WILL PAY
The planned national lockdown for Wales still has many details to finalise before any final announcement of its terms and length.
The major sticking point is money.
During the UK-wide national lockdown from March to July, the Westminster Government picked up the tab for paying Welsh workers’ wages and provided a massive amount of extra funding for business support.
From November 1, the UK government will support eligible businesses by paying two-thirds of each employee’s salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month.
Businesses might also be eligible for grant support of up to £3,000 a month to meet other costs.
Devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will receive a total of £1.3bn in increased funding this year to cover similar measures.
Businesses will only be eligible to claim the grant while they are subject to lockdown restrictions.
Council leaders across Wales have expressed their deep concern to Welsh Government ministers about the lack of any detail of what will be done to provide financial support to businesses, particularly those which are not forced to close by lockdown restrictions but close as a knock-on effect of lockdown.
Local authorities, which channelled most business support during the lockdown which began in March, have still not been told by the Welsh Government what help or how much will be available for businesses in that position, let alone how it will be delivered.
The sour relationship between the Welsh Government and Westminster is not likely to help Mark Drakeford’s administration if it looks for fresh funding help from the Treasury to bail it out of the wider economic consequences of a Wales-wide lockdown.
If the Welsh Government tries to go it alone to soften the blow, it faces making significant cuts elsewhere in its budgets.
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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