Politics

Wales’ First Minister sets out priorities for her government

Published

3 months ago

September 18, 2024

WALES’ new First Minister Eluned Morgan vowed to focus on the issues that matter most to people as she outlined the Welsh Government’s priorities.

Baroness Morgan, who took the reins in August after Vaughan Gething was forced to resign, promised to prioritise health, education and the economy ahead of the next election in 2026.

She said her new-look Welsh Government has spent the summer listening to people in every corner of Wales, helping to shape her plans.

She told the Senedd: “Health and social care, particularly addressing those long waiting times for treatment, are the top priorities.

“There’s also a strong desire for us to make faster progress on improving education standards, and in creating jobs and growing the economy over the next 18 months.”

The first minister stressed that delivery, accountability and improved productivity will be the watchwords of her administration over the next 18 months.

Baroness Morgan, who was health secretary for three years before taking the top job, vowed to cut long NHS waits, including in mental health, and improve access to social care.

She told the chamber: “In Torfaen, young women told me they wanted more support for mental health and women’s health issues, like period pains and endometriosis. 

“The business community and housing developers in our capital city told me they wanted to see a speed up of the planning process.

“In Brecon, I was told school standards need to be raised, and many across Wales told me how they were struggling to pay their rent. One man told me his family was delaying having a second child due to worries over the rising costs….

“In the valleys, people called for better public transport links. In Connah’s Quay nearly every conversation was about the need to fix the roads.

“These conversations and many others like them have helped define this government’s priorities. We are listening. We can’t do everything, so we are setting priorities.”

She recognised concerns about the roll-out of 20 mph as protesters once again gathered on the Senedd steps, accusing ministers of ignoring nearly 500,000 who signed a petition.

Baroness Morgan cautioned that tough decisions lie ahead due to a £22bn “black hole” in the UK’s finances which she claimed was left by the previous Conservative government.

“I know that this won’t be easy,” she warned. “And I know the damage that 14 years of Conservative mismanagement has done to the UK’s public finances.

“As Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS, said: ‘The language of priorities is the religion of socialism.’ That’s what we’re going to do in government.

“Today, we have the best opportunity in more than 14 years to realise our ambitions.”

Wales’ first minister, who was appointed six weeks ago, hailed a new dawn – with a “partnership of power” between two Labour governments at either end of the M4.

In closing, she vowed: “We have listened, we have learned – and we will deliver.”

Andrew RT Davies claimed it was the seventh such statement on priorities in the past year, saying it was the lightest on detail since he was elected more than a decade ago.

The leader of the Conservative opposition warned: “It’s no wonder those charged with delivering this … really don’t know which way to turn.”

Mr Davies criticised the first minister for “taking aim” at NHS chief executives in a BBC Wales interview, saying she appointed six of seven health board bosses.

The Tory pointed out that the Welsh Government has so far missed every target in its 2022 blueprint to reduce waiting lists.

“We’ve heard it all before,” he told the Senedd. “Time and time again, Labour ministers have come to this chamber to say that waiting lists are the priority.

“Well, the proof is in the pudding – waiting lists are going up here in Wales.”

Mr Davies also called for investment in universities and action to tackle “stubbornly high” school absenteeism rates in some of the poorest parts of Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth called the first minister’s statement “very, very thin” and claimed the Welsh Government wasted five weeks before appointing a permanent cabinet,

Plaid Cymru’s leader criticised a “summer of silence” from Wales’ new first minister, describing the listening exercise as a public relations stunt.

He said: “The result of the exercise … surprise, surprise was that health, education and the economy were the top priorities.

“Goodness me, if a party that’s been leading the Welsh Government for 25 years hadn’t realised those were the priorities then we’re in deeper trouble with Labour than I thought.”

Mr ap Iorwerth attacked the first minister’s “unwillingness” to fight Wales’ corner.

He said: “On the Barnett formula, HS2 consequences, on devolving the Crown Estate, justice and policing, Labour’s message to Wales is ‘no, no, no.”

During the meeting on September 17, Mr ap Iorwerth suggested the well of “clear-red water” between Welsh and UK Labour is beginning to run dry.

Responding to the First Minister’s announcement of the Welsh Government’s priorities, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Darren Hughes said: “NHS leaders will welcome the focus on health and the wider determinants of health in the four priority areas outlined for government.

“We know that getting the NHS back on track is a top priority for the public, given it affects so many of us, including our loved ones. Nobody wants to provide timely, quality care and treatment to those who need it most more than NHS leaders and staff, all of whom work tirelessly towards this every day.

“Only by working across sector and government department boundaries as One Welsh Public Service will we be able to truly embrace prevention and tackle demand so the NHS can be there for those who need it most.”

Community

Pembrokeshire town 4G phone mast plans withdrawn

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a replacement 20-metre-high 4G phone mast tower in north Pembrokeshire, which the local town council says would have “an unacceptable adverse impact” on the national park’s beauty have been withdrawn.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Cellnex, through agent Telent, sought permission to replace an existing 10m high mast with a new 20m 4G tower with three Vodafone antennae and nine mast head amplifiers, and associated works, on land at Dwr-y-Felin Farm, Fford Bedd Morris, Newport.

The application for a 4G mobile base station for the mobile network operator(s) (MNOs) Vodafone Ltd in conjunction with Cornerstone. The application site is owned / operated by Cellnex UK, a radio site infrastructure provider.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “The proposed antenna height of 20m is essential to provide new 4G coverage and replacement 2G and 3G service provision to the surrounding area. 4G radio signals are more sensitive to physical obstructions than older technologies.

“This is because the higher the frequency band the greater the reduction in signal strength, increasing the likelihood of dropped calls and reduced data rates for internet browsing,” adding: “Generally, the higher the signal frequency the more it will be impacted by clutter. It is for this reason that there is the height of 20m is required.”

It went on to say it “should be noted that a radio base station within this location has already been considered acceptable and has become an established feature within the area and the proposed upgrade albeit different in design to support the latest equipment will not be of substantial or detrimental harm to the national park, conservation area or heritage assets”.

Newport Town Council had objected to the application, saying: “The proposed development (if approved in its current form) will have an unacceptable adverse impact on the qualities and special landscape and seascape character of the National Park and also on the special qualities of natural beauty and tranquillity.”

The application has now been withdrawn.

Charity

Flats for veterans to be built at VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to build flats for armed forces veterans on a former Pembrokeshire school yard/playing field next to veterans’ charity the VC Gallery has been approved by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council, veterans’ charity The VC Gallery sought permission for eight flats in two blocks of two-storey buildings, including wheelchair accessible flats, for Armed Forces veterans on land to the east of the former St Marys Catholic School site, Britannia Road, Pembroke Dock.

The former school, which closed in 2019, is currently used as the VC Gallery, itself an expansion of veterans’ charity the VC Gallery’s home in Haverfordwest, set up by Barry John MBE.

Documentation, through agent Pembroke Design Limited included a supporting statement by Barry John MBE, which it says “explains the issues that veterans face after leaving the services, the need for dedicated housing provision, the support that VC Gallery’s staff and volunteers provide and the gaps in current provision which the proposed development will help address”.

It added: “Although the development will provide and encourage independent living for its tenants, essential physical and mental support will be provided by the staff and volunteers in the VC Gallery as required, in accordance with individual veterans’ needs. Many will need a high level of support and the close proximity of the flats to the facilities and people on hand in the adjacent VC Gallery is therefore critical to the proposal’s purpose.”

Mr John’s statement said: “We want to create a unique offer to Armed Forces veterans in Pembrokeshire by offering up not just quality accommodation in a gated and safe environment but to also have a bespoke peer mentoring service.”

He added: “Working alongside our stakeholders The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the OVA (Office of Veterans Affairs) we have secured a grant to draw up plans and to look at how the secured land at the VC Gallery Pembroke Dock can be turned into a bespoke housing solution for Armed Forces Veterans.

“We have Service level agreements with the local authority for specifically supporting tenancy in veterans which will also extend to giving vital counselling services. Our work with the health board and provision for peer mentorship also gives us great grounding for effective help on a practical level for the veterans’ village but we will need a more designated package around the housing we provide to include both mental health and also maintenance (something we don’t have at present).”

His statement finished: “We think the need is great, we have the land, we have the skills for care and the ambition to help. It would be a project above all social housing enterprises, and we want to make a go of it.”

Politics

Call to stop councillors being employed by MPs and MSs

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to stop senior Pembrokeshire county councillors being employed by MPs or Senedd members is to come under greater scrutiny at a special council committee.

In a Notice of Motion submitted to the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy said: “While it is acceptable for Cabinet members to hold other employments, no serving county councillor should hold a Cabinet position within Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) while simultaneously being employed by a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Senedd (MS).

“Cabinet members hold executive responsibilities, and such dual roles risk potential conflicts of interest, particularly if Cabinet decisions conflict with the policies of their employer, often a political party. This concern is heightened in a council where most members are Independents.”

Cllr Murphy’s notice of motion was heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council where it was agreed the matter be referred to a future constitutional review committee.

In the registration of interests for the eight members of Leader Cllr Jon Harvey’s Cabinet, only Cllr Joshua Beynon, deputy leader of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies, lists a politician as an employer, in his case newly-elected Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell.

Responding to the notice of motion, Cllr Beynon has previously said: “This motion, which appears to target my unique position as a Cabinet Member for Finance and part-time parliamentary employee, raises serious questions about its fairness, legality, and intent.

“At its core, this is a politically motivated motion that seeks to undermine the principles of fairness and freedom. It attempts to dictate lawful employment choices of councillors, disregarding the importance of balancing public service with individual rights. Such an approach risks creating a chilling effect, discouraging capable individuals from serving in public office in the future.”