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Coronavirus: Teaching unions call for school term’s delay

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THE NATIONAL Association of Headteachers Cymru (NAHT Cymru) has issued legal proceedings against the Welsh Government which seeks to delay the start of the new school term.
The Association’s Director, Laura Doel, says the Welsh Government must act cautiously in light of the hazard presented by a new mutation of coronavirus which causes worse symptoms in young people than the main strain.
Laura Doel said: “We want to see children in school. It is the best place for their education and their wider wellbeing.
“We understand that the Welsh Government is seeking to strike a balance between minimising the risk of transfer of COVID-19 and providing face to face education for all children. However, the latest data shows that in large parts of Wales, control of infection has been lost and the lack of understanding regarding the new strain has now created an intolerable risk to many school communities.
“It is simply unacceptable for schools to remain open when there is such a question mark over the impact the new variant will have and we will not sit back and let this happen without calling the Welsh Government to account, for the sake of the whole school community.”
Ms Doel continued: “We believe that it is wrong to keep people in harm’s way whilst the implications of the new variant of the virus are still being discovered. The currently available information contains no solid scientific evidence regarding the impact of the new variant on schools. In particular, there is nothing that outlines the risks to pupils and teachers of maintaining in-person tuition.
“With this in mind, we had begun legal proceedings against the government to force them to disclose the scientific information they are withholding.
“We have asked the Welsh Government to share the evidence justifying the distinctions drawn between primary and secondary schools, the geographical distinctions between Wales and England and the evidence that is being used to underpin the decision that schools’ plans do not need to change despite the emergence of the new variant of Covid in the UK.”

The NAHT says the Welsh Government should:

• Move all schools to home learning for a brief and determined period for most children.
• During this time, proper support to make the home learning experience as good as it can be. That includes technology and learning resources but also the flexibility for school leaders to respond to their circumstances.
• The government should then establish a properly organised, resourced and funded lateral flow testing regime for schools in place of the proposal which would see school staff leading the testing effort, instead of the botched DIY system currently being imposed.
• Work should be undertaken with school leaders and Public Health Wales to establish and agree on new Covid-related safety measures in schools during the temporary restriction.
• Urgently review its approach to special schools to protect all staff and pupils in those communities.
• Immediately prioritise vaccinations in education
• Then agree on an orderly return
The NASUWT has also called on the Minister of Education, Kirsty Williams MS, to move all education provision to remote education in light of the approaching new Covid strain.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “The NASUWT is completely committed to ensuring that children can return to school as quickly as possible.
“However, it is now abundantly clear that the pandemic is seriously impacting on the ability of all schools to continue to operate normally.
“There is genuine concern that schools are not able to reopen fully and safely at this time.
“The NASUWT remains of the view that schools and other settings should only remain open to all pupils where it is safe for them to do so.
“The NASUWT will not hesitate to take appropriate action in order to protect members whose safety is put at risk as a result of the failure of employers or the Welsh Government to ensure safe working conditions in schools.”
Neil Butler, NASUWT National Official for Wales, said: “The whole of Wales is in Tier 4 and yet there are schools in Wales planning to open this week to full face-to-face teaching.
“There are chaos and confusion in the education service in Wales as the buck has effectively been passed to Local Authorities and some Authorities have passed it down to individual schools.
“The Education Minister has made teachers in Wales the promise that the safety of education workers would be a priority.
“We are now faced with a strain of Covid-19 that is 70% more virulent and 30%+ of new cases in Wales are of the new strain.
“We need to hear from the Education Minister that face-to-face teaching is suspended until schools can review their risk assessments to be able to cope with the new strain.
“During that time teachers can finally get the time to develop distance learning resources that are so desperately needed.”

Mark Drakeford said experts would be “looking at all the evidence again early next week”.

He added: “We reached an agreement with our local education colleagues that in Wales we will have a phased and flexible return to school.”

Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Business

Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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News

Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

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NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

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