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Cameron makes case for EU in at conference

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Lamb exports could be affected by Brexit: David Cameron

Lamb exports could be affected by Brexit: David Cameron

PRIME MINISTER David Cameron used his Welsh Conservative conference speech – in the year of an Assembly Election – to push for continued EU membership.

This may have seemed an interesting choice, given the party’s internal split on the issue, and more so because Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies is a confirmed ‘outer’.

Mr Davies did not mention the EU referendum in his speech, and nor did fellow sceptics like David Davies. However, Mr Cameron devoted more air time to the issue than to May’s election.

Mr Cameron is rumoured to be less-than-pleased with Mr Davies’ public announcement that he would be campaigning to leave the EU, and the leader of the party in Wales was referred to once, briefly, in a list below Junior Wales Minister Alun Cairns.

In a lengthy part of his speech (around 1,200 words) the Prime Minister explained how ‘Brexit’ would have a devastating impact on the people of Wales, especially the ones who own farms.

Mr Cameron, who earlier posed for a number of pictures with a lamb, pointed out that 97% of lamb exports went to the EU, but these exports ‘could be slapped with a 40% trade tariff.’

“Let’s just take one example – agriculture,” he said.

“Welsh farmers and food producers rely on the single market.

“It gives them access to 500 million consumers, to whom they can sell their goods on an open, unrestricted basis.

“No tariffs, no barriers, no bogus health and safety rules designed to keep our products out.

“If we left this single market and relied on WTO rules, as some suggest, the extra costs of exporting British beef would be £240m a year.

“An extra £90m would be added to the cost of British lamb exports.

“And just think what that would mean for Wales, where almost 50,000 jobs rely on agriculture, and where the EU accounts for over 90 per cent of Welsh agriculture exports.

“98 per cent of dairy products go to the EU – but outside the single market they could attract a new 36% tariff.

“92% of beef exports go to the EU – and tariffs there could be between 58 and 70 per cent.

“Welsh lamb, such an important export and a source of national pride, would be hit badly.

“97% of lamb exports go to the EU, but lamb could be slapped with a 40 per cent tariff.

“Now of course relying on WTO rules is just one option that people advocate.

“We could go for a Canadian-style free trade deal instead.

“Now let’s note that for a moment that seven years on from the start of talks on a Canadian Free Trade deal, that deal is still not in place.

“Think about the seven years of uncertainty for business, not knowing what the arrangement would be for trading with Europe.

“Seven years of uncertainty for our farmers, not knowing whether those markets would be open.

“Seven years of uncertainty for businesses wanting to invest in Britain to provide jobs and investment and livelihoods not knowing what our relationship would be with Europe.

“Those seven years of uncertainty – they cannot be justified. They cannot be in our national interest and we should reject that idea out of hand.

“But in that scenario, there would also be quotas and restrictions.

“A free trade deal would mean limits on how many tonnes of meat we could export, and very high extra costs and restrictions for goods over that limit.

“Those asking us to leave seem to think that those countries we would have just left will give us some sort of sweetheart deal.

“But why would French farmers not want a slice of the market share of Welsh sheep farmers or beef farmers?

“Why wouldn’t the Italians want to give a greater advantage to their cheesemakers?

Why wouldn’t the Spanish use the negotiation to help their pig farmers?

“Now, the leavers say we should trade more with the rest of the world.

“Of course we should – and we will. But no-one should be naive about how easy this is.”

Mr Cameron referred to leaving the EU as ‘a leap in the dark’ a phrase commonly derided by those who believe in ‘Project Fear’.

He suggested that Wales had an ‘open, dynamic, confident, successful’ future as part of the EU, and suggested that leaving could have a negative impact:

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Welsh agriculture, Welsh farmers and Welsh jobs could suffer enormously if we left the single market it’s just a fact,” he said.

“And I do think we’re entitled to a few facts from the other side – from those who want us to leave.

“They’re asking us to trust that leaving would somehow be worth the profound economic shock, and the years of uncertainty that would follow.

“They say we’d have more control.

“How exactly?”

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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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New bus services announced by Pembrokeshire County Council

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A NUMBER of changes to local bus services will be introduced in the coming weeks as a result of a shake up to bus funding. 

From April 2024, the funding which has been provided directly to bus operators by the Welsh Government to keep services going in the wake of the Covid pandemic will cease. 

Additional funding will instead be provided to Local Authorities to support their local bus network.

In total, Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government will provide over £3million in support for bus services in Pembrokeshire during the coming year.

As part of this process, all Pembrokeshire’s local bus services have been re-tendered. 

A public consultation, receiving over 300 responses, helped to inform decisions about which services should be prioritised. 

Councillor Rhys Sinnett, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services said: “I am delighted to be able to report that we are able to maintain the whole of Pembrokeshire’s current local bus network in the coming year.

“We have also secured key improvements such as reinstating an hourly service on the 349 route between Haverfordwest and Tenby via Pembroke Dock, and the popular Strumble Shuttle and Puffin Shuttle coastal bus services during the summer.”

The changes will also see two key services, the 302 Haverfordwest to Milford Haven and 349 Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock, brought under Council oversight for the first time. 

This will give the Council greater oversight of service operations and fares.  Pembrokeshire residents will also benefit from a new fare structure on all First Cymru services, due to be introduced from 1 April 2024. 

This will use Tap On Tap Off to allow passengers to pay the cheapest fare depending on the number of journeys they make or distance travelled, and will cap the maximum adult fare at £3 single and £5.40 return. 

More information about these fares can be found on the First Cymru website

A number of additional service changes and improvements are being considered for introduction during the course of the coming year in response to feedback received from the public consultation.  

The following bus service changes have been confirmed:

From 23 March 2024:

  • The Celtic Coaster (403) on the St Davids peninsular will restart for the 2024 season on Saturday 23 March and will run until Sunday 29 September. This is an hourly service, increasing to half-hourly during the whitsun half term and school summer holidays. There will be no service departing Caerfai Road at 13.00 and 13.30.
  • The 351 (Tenby to Pendine via Amroth) will return to its summer timetable.

From 1 April 2024

  • An hourly service will return on the 349 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock) service (April to September only).
  • The 356 (Milford Haven to Monkton) service will no longer call at Waterston and Hazelbeach due to operational issues caused by the narrow lanes in this area. The Fflecsi service will still be available.
  • A Saturday service, between 07:30 and 18:30, will be reintroduced in the Fflecsi Mid Pembrokeshire zone (formerly known as Bwcabus). This zone covers the area between Letterston, Crymych, Clunderwen and Wiston.  Passengers can also travel from this zone to Fishguard and Haverfordwest. 
  • The 302 (Haverfordwest to Milford Haven) and 349 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock) services operated by First Cymru will come under Pembrokeshire County Council control, giving the Council greater oversight of service operations and fares.
  • The 322 (Haverfordwest to Carmarthen) and 381 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Narberth) services will be run by First Cymru. The 322 timetable will remain the same. The 381 timetable will remain the same from Haverfordwest to Tenby but journeys from Tenby to Haverfordwest will depart slightly earlier (37 past the hour instead of 45).
  • The X22 and X61 services which provided journeys at the start and end of the day between Pembroke Dock and Kilgetty, and Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest will be withdrawn.
  • The 410 (Fishguard Town) and T11 (Haverfordwest to Fishguard via St Davids) services will be operated on a commercial (T11 part commercial) basis by Richards Bros. An improved connection with the ferry at Fishguard Harbour will be provided at 12.30.

From 19 May 2024

  • The Tenby Coaster service between Tenby and Saundersfoot will return for the summer season.

From 25 May 2024

  • The 400 Puffin Shuttle and 404 Strumble Shuttle services will return to the coast between Marloes and St Davids, and St Davids and Fishguard. These services will operate 7 days a week until 29 September 2024.  The Fflecsi service is also available in this area throughout the year.
  • The 387/388 Coastal Cruiser service around the Angle Peninsula will also return to its summer timetable, operating 7 days a week until 29th September 2024.

Further information about all Pembrokeshire bus services can be found on the Council’s website.

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Surrogacy: Carmarthenshire solicitor calls for legal reform

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ON the anniversary of the Law Commission’s call for surrogacy law to be overhauled, JCP Solicitors’ Angela Killa, Director in the Family team, is calling on prospective surrogates and parents to better understand the legal rules around this complicated path to parenthood.

Proposing a new regulatory route for surrogacy arrangements in the UK, the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Government puts forward a change to the law so that intended parents would become parents of the child from birth in certain circumstances. Currently, intended parents must wait months to obtain a parental order ¾ which causes stress and anxiety, not to mention administrative difficulties when registering the child.

A Surrogacy Register would also be created under the new proposals, allowing surrogate children to trace their birth origins later in life. Overall, the recommendations laid out in the report would improve regulation of domestic surrogacy to dissuade UK residents from going abroad, as international surrogacy agreements can bring greater risk of exploitation of women and children in some countries.

A year on from the reform suggestions, surrogacy rates continue to rise in the UK – surging by 350% over the past 12 years. Now, legal experts say it is more relevant than ever to understand the full implications of entering a surrogacy agreement.

Angela Killa, Director in the Family team at JCP Solicitors, explains: “In the UK, a surrogate (and her husband or male civil partner, if relevant) are considered the mother (and father) of a child at birth. Intended parents must apply for a Parental Order, which is heard before the Court ¾ making it highly advisable for those involved in surrogacy cases to appoint a Solicitor.

“We often see immense stresses from both the parents and the surrogate, as the current law means that the parental order can take months to obtain which can be incredibly anxiety-inducing.

“For example, intended parents may worry that the surrogate will change her mind or will not give her consent freely, whereas surrogates may also worry that the intended parents may change their mind(s) or make unreasonable demands during pregnancy.

“This feels particularly difficult given the fact that many intended parents are likely to have dealt with a lot of trauma before considering surrogacy: many have faced fertility struggles and may even have dealt with the devastation of failed pregnancies or baby loss. For LGBTQ+ couples, there may have been additional challenges faced due to discrimination or prejudice. Therefore, empathy and consideration is of paramount importance when discussing this issue.”

The government published an interim response to the report in November 2023, with Maria Caulfield MP stating: “While we appreciate the importance of this work, parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment.” Despite this response, legal experts working in surrogacy encourage the Government to take action and fully consider the proposed amendments. 

Angela explains: “The reforms laid out in the Surrogacy Reform Act by the Law Commission may help to ease the stress and pressure for all involved. The Government are encouraged to provide a full response as soon as possible so progress can be made in this important area of law”.

Angela Killa is a member of Resolution, a family law organisation advocating for a constructive approach to family issues.

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