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Crabb attacks cancer drugs policy

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Out of excuses: Welsh Secretary attacks Welsh Labour Government

PEMBROKESHIRE MP, and Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb, has criticised the Welsh Labour Government for not introducing a Cancer Drugs Fund in Wales, after the UK Labour Party committed to introduce similar funding in England should they win the General Election in May. The UK Government introduced the existing Cancer Drugs Fund in England in 2010. Commenting, Mr Crabb said: “The Welsh Labour Government are all out of excuses for not implementing a Cancer Drugs Fund in Wales.

The CDF has had a truly positive impact on the lives of 66,000 cancer sufferers in England. “That’s why the UK Labour Party have signed up to it and it’s why 97,000 people signed a petition calling for one in Wales, including many people from Pembrokeshire. It is now time for Welsh Labour representatives in our County to call on their colleagues in the Assembly to bring this policy to Wales.

“The Welsh Government received an additional £123m in the Autumn Statement last week. This is enough to pay for a Welsh Cancer Drugs Fund several times over and so there is no excuse for denying people in Pembrokeshire and across Wales these life-saving drugs that are available across the border in England.”

The Herald contacted the Welsh Labour Assembly and received this exclusive response, as a spokesperson said: “We have no plans to introduce a cancer drugs fund in Wales. Even England is now reconsidering if some drugs currently available through its cancer drugs fund should be removed from the list due to rising costs. “A cancer drugs fund undermines the established system for the assessment of medicines for use in the NHS in Wales.

The fund’s own chairman has admitted that it has provided funding for cancer drugs which have ‘no impact on survival’ and ‘uncertainty as to whether quality of life is improved or not’. The spokesperson claimed that the Welsh Labour Assembly spends more per head on cancer than in England and a report in the highly-respected British Journal of Cancer shows Wales has a faster uptake of the drugs most recently launched and recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and that satisfaction rates with cancer services in Wales are extremely high and survival rates are rising faster than in other parts of the UK.

The spokesperson added: “We believe patients should receive costeffective and evidence-based treatment and care to meet their clinical needs. To do that, the NHS is guided by recommendations from NICE and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, which make decisions based on evidence, input from clinicians, health professionals and patients.”

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Tomos

    December 30, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    It’s really scary, the Senedd is full of imbeciles , the Welsh NHS full of over paid senior managers who employ loads of spin doctors to protect their gravy train and to trample on whistle blowers – They think they can fool us with free parking and free prescriptions – I guess the logic is that there are more ppl wanting free parking @ hospitals than there are ppl dying because the budget (which is bigger than Englands budget per patient) is being spent on fripperies rather than the important stuff

  2. ieuan

    December 31, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    If we were funded fairly from Westminster we could do it, I agree we have idiots in charge everywhere, however it has recently been admitted we have been short changed by Westminster for a long long time, time for Mr Crabb to do something about the funding, actual action not just giving it jaw!

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Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

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THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon, marking the start of physical deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, bringing tower sections and other heavy components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, is due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.

The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock. Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s arrival of the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are expected to begin next week, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.

Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

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Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

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A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.

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Local Government

Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works

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Council pollution officers say they have no enforcement powers over Welsh Water infrastructure

SEWAGE contamination on the Commons in Pembroke has prompted an urgent response from pollution officers, after a leak was reported by a member of the public on Tuesday.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team confirmed they were alerted yesterday afternoon to sewage surrounding a manhole cover on the site. The Herald understands that officers immediately notified Welsh Water (DCWW) network technicians to investigate the incident “as a matter of urgency”.

County councillor Jonathan Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the authority had been clear that it holds no enforcement powers over Welsh Water assets.

“Whilst we work constructively with Welsh Water, we have no authority to intervene on their apparatus or to carry out enforcement action against them for such pollution incidents,” the Pollution Control Team said in a statement shared with the councillor.

Urgent works underway

Council officers visited the site on Wednesday morning alongside contractors and Welsh Water technicians to assess clean-up options. According to the team, works will include cleaning the contaminated ground in and around the manhole cover and fencing off the affected area “until safe”.

Cllr Grimes said officers would return to the scene on Thursday to check on progress and ensure the area is properly secured.

Residents who notice any further issues have been urged to contact the Pollution Control Team directly.

Further updates are expected later this week.

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