Politics

Manifesto Destiny

Published

4 years ago

April 6, 2021

BY the time you read this article, each of the main parties contesting the Welsh Parliamentary election will have published their manifestos.

Virtually nobody will read them.

Instead, the public will be drip-fed press releases by the respective parties. Then the parties will take it in turns to take pot-shots at each other’s proposals.

That predictable back-and-forth means voters will hardly be one jot wiser when they cast their ballots than they were before the manifestos’ publication.

As Labour has been in power in Wales for twenty-two years, there is only its track record to assess.

Predictably, and as with every government anywhere, Labour’s record on actual delivery is mixed.

In the last few months of the last Welsh Parliamentary session, Labour appeared to realise pointing to banning two circuses from Wales was not much of a legislative record.

In response, it took to promising to deliver in the future what it promised in the past.

Labour’s totemic Wellbeing of Future Generations Act is a monumental piece of legislation. It cuts across government policy, but it’s become more of a Christmas tree the Welsh Government has placed ill-matched baubles on since its inception.

The Act’s aims are praiseworthy. Its execution – in practice – is a shambolic mess of box-ticking compliance and aspirational thought in place of solid leadership and rigorous decision-making.

Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner (no, nor me) recently outlined the problems following the Act’s aims.
Sophie Howe said: “Welsh Government must stop introducing new policy, legislation, guidance and reviews that overlook the Act and create new layers of complexity and governance.”

Sophie Howe continued: “There is a lack of clarity over how they interact with each other and a tendency to bypass existing boards that have already been set up.

“For example, to deliver on a wellbeing objective to ‘give every child the best start in life’ a public body would need alignment between Public Services Boards (PSBs), Regional Partnership Boards, Area Planning Boards, Community Safety Partnerships, Regional Skills Partnerships and City/Regional Growth deals.

“The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill potentially adds to an already complex and crowded partnership environment by creating statutory regional Corporate Joint Committees and proposes they will also be subject to the wellbeing duties of the Act.”

It all sounds a bit like having a working group of a sub-committee to advise a committee to inform a management team to consider the conclusions before setting up a working group to report to another committee where a decision might be taken or sent back to another sub-committee to view.

What it is not is democratic decision-making intended to address problems swiftly or with any sense of urgency.

The Act means well, but its aims are lost in a morass of bureaucracy.

The first policy priorities for any incoming Welsh Government must be to stabilise the economy and health service before moving on to longer-term objectives.

Its first administrative priorities must be to unpick bureaucracy-for-the-sake-of-it. Decision-making must be streamlined, so manifesto commitments materialise as policies to be voted on during a Senedd term and not as White Papers produced at its end.

The last Labour Government had lamentable form for doing that.

Promises made in 2016 emerged only as White Papers for consultation just before the end of the Senedd term.

In the ten years since the Welsh Government gained the power to pass Acts of the Assembly as primary legislation, it passed 49 Acts. Its most significant pieces of legislation were passed between 2013 and 2015.

Even accepting the pandemic’s disruption to everyday politics, the legislative return from the last five years of government is sparse.

After 2016, Welsh Government ministers frequently popped up to trumpet one initiative or another. It is no wonder that the Welsh Cabinet apparently consists of the First Minister and a dozen or so deputy Ministers for Announcements.

That is not to doubt the previous Welsh Government’s commitment to put flesh on the bones of their predecessors’ legislation and set about making it work.

Lee Waters, for example, has tirelessly worked on the Active Travel Act. But the Act was passed in 2013, three years before he joined the Welsh Parliament and almost six years before he became a Minister in the Labour Government.

Only now are ‘active travel zones’, which encourage commuters to ditch their cars, coming into play across Wales.

You can tell.

There are consultations taking place about them. Eight years after the primary legislation passed.

As for Labour’s last manifesto:

It didn’t deliver the M4 relief road it promised.
It barely scratched the surface of resolving Wales’ long-term transport infrastructure problems.
It didn’t reach its own child poverty targets.
It hasn’t improved health service.
It failed to introduce either an Agriculture Bill or Clean Air Act.

The education system’s results are improving. The Minister in charge was a Liberal Democrat.

You can’t say that’s all down to a failure of political willpower. It’s an oversupply of hot air: over-promising and underdelivering. For the first three years of the last Senedd term, the Welsh Government spent time firefighting problems hanging over from the previous Welsh Government. Itself.

Less talking about doing and more doing would be a fresh start – indeed, a novel approach – for the next Welsh Government.

It’s a chance for the Senedd to dispel the notion it’s just a talking shop for politicians’ pet peeves and crack on with delivering for Wales.

Education

Pembrokeshire free school transport call to be heard at County Hall

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to allow school pupils from Johnston and Tiers Cross access to free school transport to the nearby Haverfordwest high school is to be heard by councillors next week.

Due to a change in catchment areas the pupils are no longer able to access free transport to Haverfordwest, instead coming under the Milford Haven catchment area.

A petition calling for the reinstatement of the former catchment area to access free transport for pupils to Haverfordwest was recently started in the county.

The e-petition, which ran from September 18-November 1 on the council’s own website, attracted 351 signatures, meeting the threshold for a debate at the relevant Pembrokeshire County Council overview and scrutiny committee, in this case the Schools And Learning Overview And Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 28.

The petition, started by Kirsty Coaker, reads: “We call on Pembrokeshire County Council to change Johnston and Tiers Cross School Catchment back to Haverfordwest.

“Children of Johnston and Tiers Cross are now ineligible for free school transport to Haverfordwest High due to the areas no longer being in ‘catchment’.

“Both Johnston and Tiers Cross are Haverfordwest postal codes and are classed as Haverfordwest, yet the school catchment is Milford Haven.

“Please help our children access suitable transport to and from secondary school.”

The e-petition will now be considered at the November 28 meeting.

Climate

Pembrokeshire group plans for larger community wind turbine

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A NORTH Pembrokeshire group which has raised more than £76,000 from its community wind turbine for local projects is hoping to expand with a bigger turbine.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Abergwaun Community Turbine Ltd, through agent Machynlleth-based Dulas Ltd is hoping to get permission for a larger turbine to replace the existing Abergwaun Community Turbine.

The proposed turbine, in a pasture field at Trebover Farm, to the south of Fishguard, would be 67m tall, the existing 2015 one being 45 metres.

In supporting statements, parent company Transition Bro Gwaun said: “The Community Climate Fund (CCF) is the mechanism by which Transition Bro Gwaun (TBG) is fulfilling our ambition of funding projects in Fishguard, Goodwick and across North Pembrokeshire, using income from the community wind turbine.

“The core themes for grants are climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhancement of biodiversity and improvements to community resilience through promotion of community engagement and resource sharing.”

In 2015, TBG raised its 50 per cent share of capital funding for the project by means of loans from 28 local individuals and four community groups, contributing a total of £286,500, the other 50 per cent contributed by landowners Parc-y-Morfa Farms Ltd.

The statement added: “Profit generated by sale of electricity from the turbine is split 50:50 between TBG and Parcy-Morfa Farms Ltd through the jointly owned trading arm, Abergwaun Community Turbine. By the end of 2022, all loans had been repaid, allowing the launch of TBG’s Community Climate Fund. This year we have awarded our third round of grants bringing the total amount granted to £76,036.”

In 2022, £15,274 was awarded to seven projects, including Fishguard Sports AFC to install solar panels on their clubhouse as part of their Tregroes Park development, Ysgol Bro Gwaun for their Increasing Biodiversity and Bees project, and Nevern Valley Veg / Llysiau Cwm Nyfer to install a solar powered vegetable irrigation scheme.

In 2023, £39,85 was made available for seven projects, including Sea Trust Wales to part fund the installation of solar panels on the Ocean Lab roof and to produce a display on solar technology, Letterston Memorial Hall to part fund the installation of an air source heat pump heating system, and Fishguard and Goodwick Rugby Club to install solar panels on their clubhouse.

2024 awards of £20,917 were made to six projects, including Theatr Gwaun to insulate their loft to reduce heating loss, Parc Cerrig Growers for developing a rainwater harvesting system with a pond to irrigate their allotments, Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture for an electric cargo bike for delivering organic vegetables in the Fishguard and St Davids areas, and Nevern Valley Veg to develop wildlife ponds and rainwater harvesting for food production.

The supporting documentation concludes: “The repowering of the existing turbine at Trebover would require a limited increase in turbine size which would result in a very limited change in landscape and visual effects in comparison to the existing Trebover turbine.”

The application will be considered by planners at a later date.

Business

Call to end ‘fad’ of ‘school dogs’ in Pembrokeshire

Published

3 days ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to end the ‘fad’ of permanent ‘school dogs’ in Pembrokeshire for their benefit and the befit of the schools, instead using visiting ‘therapy dogs’ is to be heard next week.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Schools And Learning Overview And Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 28 will consider a public submission by Robert Thomas – who works with therapy dogs – on the subject of school dogs.

The submission reads: “My definition of a school dog is one that spends long periods in the school and is managed and owned by school employees not outside assessed and insured visiting therapy dogs who stay for an hour with a competent handler.

“The welfare of many dogs in schools in Pembrokeshire has been compromised over the last few years and we are concerned that the rise in the popularity of school-owned or teacher-owned dogs is an animal welfare issue.

“I can think of several school dogs in Pembrokeshire where it has gone wrong for the animal.”

He cites examples of ‘school dogs’ the county, where he says they have had to be removed, with the animals being unsettled, barking and even nipping on occasions, showing “a lack of understanding of animal welfare”.

His submission adds: “We have done some work with the Animal Welfare team at the Welsh Government around licensing this field, a consultation was completed in March 2023, currently awaiting the outcome.

“It has become a fad across the country and many dogs spend all day in schools supported by staff members who have another job to do. It feels like PCC does not have a policy overarching animal welfare policy in schools to protect dogs from being seen as staff members and there purely for human benefit, not the dogs.

“Dogs need to rest and sleep during the day and not in school. The visiting therapy dog model works best as the impact is greatest and the welfare of the dog is managed externally. If the dog is there all the time that can diminish the impact, and the novelty can wear off for the pupils.

“In my experience schools should concentrate on teaching and leave the therapy dog introduction to those that have the expertise in animal welfare.”

The submission will be considered by committee members at the November 28 meeting.