Valleys Mam

Musical Chairs - depends who is paying the piper

2009-12-08T17:12:00.000Z

So Oscar has shimmied into the thin blue line, well well. I wonder what job he will get. Oh and what they will offer his wife and daughter, it’s a family business with this guy.Makes me speculate if anyone will defect from any where else and cross the floor, once one starts another could well follow Any one going to have a quick speculate with me
Oh and I am told that Facebook now has a site supporting Mike German, supporting him for what I wonder. Anyone on Facebook care to have a look and let me know, may be there is a comeback planned

Hat Tip To Dylan Jones Evans, Wales Business in Decline

2009-12-05T12:32:00.000Z

Dylan tells us that the data on new business births for Wales. showed that during the period 2004-2008, the average decline in the number of new business births across the UK as a whole was 3.5 per cent.
In contrast, the decline in Wales was 19.4 per cent - the worst performance of any region of the UK, with the next worst result found in the South West of England with a decline of 12.8 per cent.
The data also showed some regions had increased the number of new businesses. For example, the number of new firm starts in Scotland had actually increased over this five year period by 13.7 per cent.
Dylan calls this decline - catastrophic Its worse than that its cataclysmic The rate of new business formation in Wales since 2004 will and is having mega consequences for the economy.
He tells us that in terms of employment, this decline has meant that 6,270 fewer businesses have been created in Wales since 2004, impacting directly upon the number of new jobs within the private sector economy.
Assuming these ‘lost’ businesses only generates, on average £50,000 of sales every year then, the lost turnover to the Welsh economy is around £600 million.In reality it is more as most will turn over more and increase this each year
This if nothing else shows that the business support programme is not working
Stop the spin WAG,DET get some people in who understand enterprise and business support
IWJ you need to get a grip on this ,what the hell has all the money gone to?
Big mistake not supporting new business, not recognising the need for specialised support for certain segments of the business world,employing those relationship managers and tying peoples hands with red tape.
Get the business support out of WAG ,get business development out of WAG and away from local Authorities - There are better models out there that work
Oh and may be bring Enterprise and Business back to where 80% plus of the business activity is.That would help the carbon footprint WAG is always banging on about as well

Can you picture the amounts we have spent -I can't

2009-12-04T16:54:00.000Z

A national Audit Office report says that the total public sector support for Britain's banks runs to £850 billion - with the final cost of the financial rescue unlikely to be known for years.The National Audit Office also said the cost of financial advice to the Treasury since September 2007 is expected to reach £107 million by next April.
Credit Suisse is expected to earn up to £15.4 million in fees for emergency advice to the Government on the banking crisis, according to the NAO report. The investment bank is being paid up to £300,000-a-month to provide financial advice to the Treasury as one of a raft of consultants drafted in amid the crisis.
The NAO report found the Treasury was "justified" in using unprecedented sums of taxpayer cash on bank rescue measures to protect the wider financial system. But it criticised the Treasury for hiring advisers on expensive contracts for up to a year that included undefined success fees.
Credit Suisse and its fellow investment bank Deutsche Bank were brought in on contracts paying £200,000 a month each for a year - as well as a potential further £5.8 million in success fees.Credit Suisse was also hired on another contract to advise on the toxic asset protection scheme, which increased to £300,000 a month from June, with a potential £3 million success fee. Its total fees could reach £15.4 million by next April.
The NAO was highly critical of the lengthy contracts and the failure to include a definition of "success", although it stressed that just under £100 million of adviser costs will be refunded, largely from part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland in return for state support.
The report also reveals little was known about the scale of the problems at Royal Bank of Scotland before it was bailed out with vast sums of taxpayer cash. The NAO discovered the Government believed RBS's capital position was "reasonably strong" just days before RBS was given covert emergency support from the Bank of England.
This funding - which peaked at £36.6 billion for RBS - was only made public for the first time late last month.
The NAO report confirms £131 billion is expected to be the total taxpayer outlay on bank bailouts by the end of this year, including last year's Northern Rock nationalisation. The total public sector support - including borrowing guarantees and liquidity support from the Bank, as well as savings depositor protection - runs to £850 billion.

And another one bites the dust

2009-12-03T15:31:00.001Z

Andrew Davies has announced he is not going to stand in the next Assembly election. So how many Labour non returners is that, must be 8 may be 9? This I don't see this as a surprise. Andrew D supported Edwina H and was not a fan or close ally of Carwyn J's. He was and is I guess Rhodri's man.
He has also had health problems and said that this wouldn’t be his last job before he retires.
Was he likely to be out of ministerial office any way, probably. He is very experienced being only one of four who have been in the cabinet since Rhodri took over. A quiet man, rather like a banker more than a minister, he is a safe pair of hands and well liked for the most part
I wonder too if he didn’t want to work with Leighton Andrews, who must be in line for a Cabinet post. He worked for Leighton in his Public Affairs Consultancy and apparently so I am told it ended in disharmony. So the announcement creates a bit more manoeuvring space for Carwyn Jones or not as it is likely that Andrew D wouldn’t have been on the list of possibles any way. .
lesley Griffiths name is being touted too I heard today, or Carl Sargent or John Griffiths or may be …………….
At least it’s given us something to speculate about

The whispering has begun

2009-12-02T18:37:00.001Z

Whispered to me -Leighton Andrews wants Education, and Jane Hutt wasnt a Carwyn supporter.
Mmmm will he create a bigger cabinet with smaller portfolios?
Any one esle heard any whispers -what about Edna, Glyn?

Whats in a name?

2009-12-02T08:05:00.000Z

VW has unveiled its new pick-up truck, which is notable for two unconnected reasons. Firstly, it is VW's first own-designed pick-up. Secondly, it is yet another VW with a daft name.
The Sharan was probably the best/worst example, but the Tiguan was not far behind. VW said the Tiguan was chosen by a public vote after it put forward four other names that were even more ridiculous: Namib, Rockton, Samun and Nanuk.
VW may be doing us a favour. Companies spend a fortune paying branding consultants to give names to their products and yet the most successful car company in the world is on a mission to show that you can give a product a name apparently chosen by the temp in the stationary office, and it does not seem to matter one bit.

Cynical Dragon

2009-12-02T07:45:00.000Z

Hope Dave is ok and sorting out what ever is stopping him blogging
Dave if you read the Blogs your quips are missed
Long time no hear
Mam

So who has won then

2009-12-01T17:45:00.000Z

New Leader ..........is Carwyn Jones with over 50% of the vote
29% Edwina Hart
19% Huw lewis

Murdoch at it again trying to control information

2009-11-30T11:54:00.003Z

Rupert Murdoch is on to another make money online revenue model it seems. It was announced over the weekend that Murdoch’s News Corp is in discussions with Microsoft to remove all of its content from Google’s search results and put them exclusively on Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Microsoft has spent millions on Bing in an effort to challenge Google’s dominance of the lucrative Web-search business, but so far they’ve managed to grab only 10 percent of the U.S. market.
Murdoch’s rival publishers must be thinking that Christmas has come early. If search engines have to start paying newspapers in order to feature their results, it could spark a bidding war between Google, Bing, and Yahoo. How much would it be worth to be the only search engine to carry results from The Times or the Guardian .And it’s not just newspapers that stand to gain—Wikipedia might never have to ask for another donation. Then again, can News Corp or any other publisher really take all of its information off Google?
It will be interesting to see how Google responds to Murdoch’s provocation. They are firmly tethered to the “information wants to be free” philosophy; they have played down the importance of newspaper articles in their search results. But if Microsoft gets additional publishers to provide their content exclusively to Bing and they have approached others, I am sure; Web users could start switching search engines in droves. Google may enjoy a degree of customer loyalty, but they will have to play hardball if Microsoft gets serious about all this.

Tory attack on his party -woops

2009-11-30T09:41:00.000Z

A senior Tory councillor has attacked David Cameron's shadow cabinet, claiming "they don't have the experience to 'run a **** up in a brewery".Stephen Greenhalgh, Conservative leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, has really embarresed Cameron with this.
Greenhalgh is head of Cameron's council innovation unit, a body set up to produce a 'bible of best practice' for Tory town hall chiefs.
Mr Greenhalgh was also named 'local hero of the year' in 2008 by the Conservative Home website. In a debate yesterday he claimed Cameron's top team did not have the experience to run the country.
He said : 'My mates are all in the Shadow Cabinet, waiting to get those boxes, and being terribly excited. I went to university-with them - they haven't run a ****-up in a brewery.They're going to get a department of state, in one case running the finances of the nation.'
He was speaking at a debate organised by Public Finance, the publication of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
He also said 'If you're going to fail, fail running Alabama, fail running Texas, fail running the city of Paris - don't just take over the country,'
The Tories refused to comment Greenhalgh issued a statement later where he "clarified" his comments, 'I was trying to make a serious point about our current political system, that I believe does not prepare national politicians of any party adequately for public office,' he said
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231601/Camerons-team-job-says-aide-astonishing-attack.html#ixzz0YKkHxCKJ

Tory golden boy ,not so golden after all

2009-11-29T18:38:00.000Z

Zac Goldsmith, green adviser to David Cameron and prospective Tory MP, for Richmond,has admitted that he claims non-domicile tax status. This enables him to avoid huge sums of tax on his estimated £200m fortune.
This must be embarrassing for the Tory party. He admits to being a “non-dom” so he can legitimately escape paying tax on his inheritance from his late father, Sir James Goldsmith, most of which is held off shore.
The Tories have criticised non-doms for avoiding tax. George Osborne has said he will impose a £25,000 annual levy on their wealth. Lord Ashcroft, the party’s biggest donor, is under pressure to confirm his tax status to comply with promises made when he took a peerage.
Non-domicile status is usually reserved for foreign nationals or people with roots overseas. It allows them to avoid tax on money earned outside Britain, unless they bring the money back into the country.
Goldsmith’s 300-acre ecological farm in Devon and a house in Richmond are both owned by companies based in the Cayman Islands. The farm was bought in 2001 and the house in Richmond was bought in 2007 for £7.75m. A house in Fulham, west London, was bought in 2004 and is owned by an investment company based in Liverpool.
Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “Cameron must sack Zac Goldsmith as a candidate now. He’s not fit to sit in parliament, when he’s claimed non-dom status all his life to keep his offshore hundreds of millions free of income, capital gains or inheritance tax. He must pay the millions he’s dodged to the British taxman.”
This is ironic as Zac has been encouraging Cameron to increase taxes on cars, flights etc as part of his green agenda. Apparently he has said he will relinquish his non dom status once the election is called. Why not now, where is his commitment to the UK and contributing into the tax pot, not good enough is it.

At Last a Chink of Light

2009-11-29T15:46:00.001Z

Three top businessmen have set up their own not-for-profit business support service because they say the assembly government's service is too bureaucratic. Investment fund manager Paul Ragan, MSS group chief executive Bill Mayne and Cardiff Devils ice hockey owner Matt Burge told the Politics Show today that business support in Wales was being held back by too much red tape. As a result they have started a business support service called Collateral Thinking. This rings so true with everyone I know in business here in Wales.
Paul Ragan, who sold his south Wales-based insurance company last year in a multi-million pound deal, said the present business support environment was "stifling". "Over a number of years we've been frustrated at the lack of support, the bureaucracy and red tape,”
Even if you do manage to find out where you go and how you access this help, be prepared to wait for two, three, four, five, nine months depending on the support you need. I was told the other day by a provider of support through WAG the wait is ridiculous and there is such a backlog people are giving up.
The problem is the system WAG has set up, civil servants do not understand the needs of business or how important fast turnaround is, well how would they. Their salary gets paid whatever they do, quite unlike any one running a business. They don’t create wealth, and the don’t create jobs, just paper work
"If I'm going to bring jobs to Wales it's very reasonable for me to ask for faster processes" Robert Clarke, inventor
Mr. Clarke's company Sportfit is now one of the first companies to receive support from Collateral Thinking.
"Collateral Thinking is born out of our frustration actually of being entrepreneurs in an environment that we don't think is naturally that suitable for business," said Mr. Mayne, Chief Executive of facilities management company MSS Group. "From our personal experience we didn't think there was a lot of support for us as we grew our businesses and in talking to other people that wasn't just us, that was a widespread view."
Cardiff Devils ice hockey owner Matt Burge, who is also founder of communications company Communications Direct, said they had set up the new service to pass on their vast business experience. "My involvement really comes from my ability to build businesses quickly," he said. "We've got a really good track record of being able to grow businesses fast from zero to £30m in just a couple of years."
Paul Ragan, who has an interest in 15 companies including a taxi firm and a manufacturing business, said the new service had been "bombarded" with interest from frustrated companies “What we can achieve in a couple of weeks - in maybe three or four meetings - is something we'd compare to maybe eight or nine months of working with some of these other agencies."
Brian Morgan, Professor of Entrepreneurship at UWIC, was also on the Politics Show said the business support offered by the assembly government was "overly bureaucratic, top-down and lacking in real focus".
"Whether you want a £50m property award or a £2,500 innovation grant you all have to fill in this ream of paperwork and at the end of the day most of the people in the Welsh Assembly Government, and there are a lot of people there in business support, simply seem to be form filling, paper chasing," he said.
"We've had business connect, then we had business eye, then we had business gateway - all of these have come in, taken years to be introduced and now we've had this latest incarnation called Flexible Support for Business, which if you ask anyone out there I wouldn't think many people have heard of it."
Brian Morgan has been critical for a long time about the way Business Support is being run.
WAG, well they wouldn’t appear on the programme would they, their statement - all is right in the world and all people are happy and joyful with the service.
I wish them luck, but more I wish WAG would hive off business support so it’s not hampered by red tape, form filling and inexperienced advisors.

Watch out Labour Taxman about

2009-11-26T12:40:00.000Z

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/broadband/6659390/Broadband-tax-of-6-may-be-trebled-for-homes-with-multiple-lines.html
Another tax this time on phone lines ,supposedly to improve broadband access,read the full story in the Telegraph Its a hidden tax that will cost anyone with more than one phone line
Hat Tip to Angus Dei

David against Goliath wasnt it in reality

2009-11-26T11:45:00.000Z

Five judges presided over the case yesterday and agreed banks could charge fees on unauthorised overdrafts.Lord Walker ruled: ‘I would declare that the bank charges levied on personal current account customers in respect of unauthorised overdrafts (including unpaid item charges and other related charges) constitute part of the price or remuneration for the banking services provided.’
Crisis, the charity for single homeless people, said many people on low incomes were often close to becoming overdrawn.Chief executive Leslie Morphy said: ‘The decision by the Supreme Court may be a victory for bankers, but it is a grievous blow to society’s poor and vulnerable people.‘Speaking to homeless and vulnerably housed people who come through our doors every day I know they survive on extremely low incomes, often sailing close to their overdraft limits.‘It only takes an unforeseen expense or administrative error in benefit payments to send them over and incur a bank charge that can constitute a large proportion of their total income.’
Ms Morphy said Crisis’ research showed many people in the private rented sector were already struggling to manage their finances and pay rent.‘If their benefits are swallowed up by bank charges they will only find this harder,’ she said.
‘That the banks should be permitted to charge these people when they are at their most financially vulnerable can only move them closer to or sliding back into homelessness.’
The case was an appeal from Abbey and seven of the largest banks in the UK, including Barclays and Clydesdale against the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT argued the charges were ‘excessive in relation to the services supplied to the customers’.Lord Walker said: ‘No assessment under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 of the fairness of those terms may relate to their adequacy as against the services supplied.’
This will not only hit homeless or near homeless people. It will hit students , those in work on low incomes,small oneman band business trying to survive in this recession.You can add to the list of those that this will affect.
What amazes me is that in all spheres the banks win, they get our money ,we bail them out , there is no recourse when they hit our money .No looking at if its a one time or a hundredth time.No advice ,to maybe spread direct debits , no quarter given and - no interest of any note on most accounts which are in credit.
Yep they have us ways and who will take them on now.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

2009-11-26T11:29:00.000Z

Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimised, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars.Noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love.
On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.The UN invited governments, international organisations and NGOs to organise activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on this day as an international observance. Women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence, and the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). After the assasination of these 3 women, a revolution started from the village which then made Rafeal Trujillo turn over his power and resign by giving it to his brother.
There is more information about the history of this day, and UN publications relating to violence against women, at the UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Library
Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over another person. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear their victims down and keep them under their thumb. Abusers may threaten , hurt , or hurt those around their victims.
Domestic violence and abuse do not discriminate. It happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It occurs within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and financial levels. And while women are more commonly victimised, men are also abused—especially verbally and emotionally.
Abuse in times of finacial restraint often increases. No one deserves to be abused or to live in fear.I know the offical day was yesterday , but this is just one form of growing abuse that we should be concerned about in our society.Its happening to old people , children, babies ,people who look and speak differenly.Time to call a halt

So First Minister

2009-11-24T15:39:00.000Z

Who the hell is running Wales - the one Wales Coalition or Peter Hain and the Labour Policy makers?
This is all about a statement issued this morning
JOINT STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO ALL WALES CONVENTION REPORT
GARRY OWEN, Chair Welsh Labour
RHODRI MORGAN AM, First Minister
PETER HAIN MP, Secretary of State for Wales
1. We welcome the detailed report by the All Wales Convention and reaffirm Welsh Labour’s commitment to primary legislative powers for the Welsh Assembly (under Part 4 of the 2006 Act), and to campaign for these in a successful referendum.
2. Because a ‘No’ vote in a referendum could set back devolution for several decades, triggering the referendum process needs to be based on a firm prospect that public opinion is ready to respond positively in the referendum.
3. Our internal policy process has already begun: Welsh Labour’s Welsh Joint Policy Committee has met, prioritised the need to campaign for a General Election victory, and agreed to start considering the All Wales Convention report in detail as a prelude to stepping-up wider Party consultation with AMs and MPs, councillors, trade unionists and members as soon as the General Election is over.
This would appear to rule out a referendum, contrary to a signed agreement with Plaid. Ignoring the recent commission and may be worst of all forgetting that they are a government ,not just a political party.
Rhodri Morgan ummmed and ahhhed and as usual said nothing when asked directly by Helen Mary ,Nick Bourne and Kirsty Williams if he was ruling out a coalition until after ,may be even well after a general election.
Surely Plaid won’t stand for this
We wait to see if they have the conviction to stand by their policy

Sorry Edwina , still more needs to be done

2009-11-24T08:43:00.000Z

Children are being let down by inadequate mental health services with some young patients treated on adult wards, a report says today. Unlike other places in the UK, Wales does not have specialist mental health services in the community for the under fives. Teams of specialists in parts of the country struggle to meet children's needs. The location, environment and opening times of services are often not family friendly. Young patients who miss appointments are discharged and could be at risk because of a lack of routine follow-up. Professionals in different organisations do not share information on individual cases in some places, undermining child protection arrangements. The availability of day care and eating disorder services is "particularly patchy and bears little relationship to the local need for such services”. They also found a lack of specific services led to the "widespread" practice of placing young mental health patients on inappropriate wards
It is the first time the four watchdogs - HIW, the Wales Audit Office, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales and education body Estyn - have worked together on a service review. They have called for the Assembly Government to prepare an action plan to address their concerns within six months.
The youngest case reported was an 11-year-old, with stays varying from two days to seven months. Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) deputy chief executive Mandy Collins said: "It's far more widespread than we anticipated when we started this review.”These children are vulnerable and they are being paced on acute adult wards where you have, at times, an acute complex case mix."She said child protection procedures were in place, but added: "We really do feel that's not enough."There's a lack of specific services for children and adolescents and the only option then is to admit them on to adult wards or paediatric wards. Neither is right."
The report welcomes recent improvements - including funding for parent and family intervention, more counselling in schools and introducing primary mental health workers - but says the way services are planned and provided prevents further progress. But those at the sharp end say this is just not enough when you consider how far back the service start point was, there is still a huge amount of improvement needed to ensure that these vulnerable young people have the care they need. Edwina Hart has come out robustly as usual saying this report is out of date and there have been great steps forwards
Listening this am to the radio, health care professionals say the report is accurate and small steps have been taken, but there are many larger and more decisive steps still to be taken
Children’s Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler, said an overhaul of mental health provision for children was “well overdue”.He said: “I welcome this latest report that draws yet more attention to the issues that my office has continued to raise about CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) in Wales.“It’s extremely frustrating to look back at every annual report since the establishment of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales in 2001 and see CAMHS highlighted as a key issue.“The time for change is well overdue, and I will be monitoring these recommendations. This is a clear infringement of the rights of these vulnerable children and young people, and I am looking for immediate action. These recommendations must be implemented quickly and effectively.”
So this report is underlining very forcibly the need for action sooner rather than later
Let’s hope that this Cinderella service gets the attention and visibility it needs to ensure that these very vulnerable youngsters have the best we can provide for them.

CRB Checks why just for some

2009-11-24T08:20:00.000Z

I am amazed at the sort of checks that many people have to have to work with various groups in our communities - and that is as it should be to ensure that no unsavoury characters get near vulnerable people
Why then aren’t our elected members subject to the same sort of rigour
Many of them have close contact and power over many organisations in the form of a yea or nay over grant funding and even how and where they can operate.
I think Local Councillors in particular should have some sort of check on their past track records, their preferences, any organisations etc that they have either a preference for or a down on.
The same with AMs MEPs and MPs, having seen some of the results of the expenses fallout and the way so called public servants have reacted, we need to weed out those unethical or dubious characters that give the majority of good people a bad name.
These people often have fiscal power and personal power. We have no idea about most of their backgrounds
I don’t want to know the ins and outs of their personal lives, but I do want to make sure that there is nothing that we should be concerned about.

A Domesic Violence Register ,good move or not

2009-11-22T21:06:00.000Z

Police chiefs in England and Wales have called for a domestic violence register of 25,000 serial offenders to be made available to the public.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said the government should also consider letting women know about old allegations against new boyfriends.
The aim is cut the incidence of abuse.
Acpo's proposals come as part of a Home Office review of how to best deal with abuse and violence against women and girls. The full strategy is expected to be published soon.
Police chiefs estimate there are some 25,000 offenders responsible for two or more acts of domestic violence across England and Wales.The review concluded that these attackers were not being adequately tracked and should be placed on a register. Apparently most of the information is available internally to the police at present.
Police chiefs ruled out a national register of all domestic violence offenders.The review also recommends two new injunctions, including domestic violence protection orders which would bar an abuser from a home for 14 days.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of domesic violence charity Refuge, said Acpo seemed to be missing the point by failing to ensure women were protected as soon as abuse became apparent. "If the police were trained to respond appropriately the very first time a man beats a woman, it would stop him from becoming a serial offender and women would feel more confident about going to the police for help. "As it stands, almost three-quarters of abused women do not report the abuse they suffer to the police at all - and many feel they have been badly let down by the system."
Mr Moore rejected the idea that police forces were unwilling to do the hard work of getting early convictions - but acknowledged that only a tiny proportion of all abusers ended up in court.
I guess many will see this as a contentious issue. Three women die each week at the hands of a violent partner.
Yes men get abused too and if there is a register I think it should be gender neutral.
Would this register stop abuse, probably not; what is needed is abusers to be treated and serial abusers to be dealt with efficently.
Only a small percentage of women report or go to court over abusive partners. That abuse could be physical, mental or emmotional.
I am glad that acop is taking this seriously, their report has a raft of proposals to address the issues ,I wonder if these have been informed by the women them selves ,if not how effective can they be.

When does new stop being new ?

2009-11-22T20:44:00.000Z

Whats new and innovative about co-op, Mutualism, credit unions ,abhoring poverty ,intellectual property
Just asking like

So who has the X factor then

2009-11-20T12:56:00.001Z

A poll of AMs from all parties identified Edwina Hart as the Assembly’s top performer, just ahead of Rhodri Morgan.She gained 25% of the poll, while Rhodri Morgan attracted the support of 22% of AMs.
Carwyn Jones and Huw Lewis tied with Conservative David Melding on 5%.
Only half of the AMs were polled , wonder who they were?The survey says nine Labour AMs, nine Conservatives, seven from Plaid Cymru and five Liberal Democrats.
Elin Jones came in third place with 12%
Edwina's supporters are delighted of course ,Carwyn, well Jones Bridgend was less impressed, saying: “This is all a bit of fun but fairly meaningless, given that two thirds of those AMs who responded are from parties other than Labour.”
The only Liberal Democrat mentioned was Jenny Randerson, who was last year was beaten by Kirsty Williams in the race to lead the party in the Assembly. She won a 2% rating.
Tory leader Nick Bourne and his Plaid counterpart Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones were each considered the most impressive AM by 4% of participants.
So what about Kirsty Williams then if there were five Lib Dems voting.

All Anorak Hoods up - its here

2009-11-18T08:42:00.000Z

http://allwalesconvention.org/getinformed/thereport/thereport/;jsessionid=Lgp1LDybghQ1TTlC286hnJ6ymSd1pHndMt1MvsDhP8GTJs5NxmkH!-962850729?lang=en
You can download and digest it all or just the good bits
Or if you wait it will be dissected and regurgitated by lots of bloggers, commentators, spokes people, politicians etc.
Be prepared
Think I will offer a prize for who ever can sum it up in one sentence

This needs to be noted and responded to

2009-11-18T08:31:00.000Z

This is something that is going to affect all of us, either with elderly relations, those moving into that category or ourselves at some point. The system as it stands is unclear, but I would like to see a system that ensures quality care accorded to those who need it. People’s latter years should not be fraught with worries about debt and where and how they will spend their last days
Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas has launched the Green Paper on 'Paying for Care in Wales'. The Green Paper sets out proposals for reforming the current system of paying for care and support for disabled and older people who need it.
At the launch Gwenda Thomas said:” It is widely acknowledged that the current system of paying for care is complicated, unfair, and unsustainable in the long term. That is why, last year, I initiated a national debate in Wales about how we should pay for care and support in the future. That consultation asked important questions of principle. This Green Paper takes that debate a stage further, and sets out specific options for reform.
The main options for reform were set out by the UK Government in the summer. In drawing up our own Green Paper we have considered these options in the light of our earlier consultation and in the context of the distinctive approach we have taken to social services in Wales"'
The paying for care options favoured by the UK Government are based on the principle that the new way to pay for care should be a partnership between the individual and government. Everyone who qualifies for care and support would have a proportion of their costs paid for by the government, but would have to fund the rest themselves.
There are various ways in which individuals could prepare to meet their contributions. For example, they could take out insurance in case they needed care in the future. Alternatively, individuals over retirement age could be required to make a one-off payment of before or after retirement or upon death.
Mrs Thomas added: "This is a vitally important issue for all of us in Wales and it is essential that we get as wide a debate as possible going on in our homes and communities. I would encourage everybody to read and respond to this Green Paper, so that our discussions with the UK Government are as informed as possible."
A 15 week consultation period starts today, during which Welsh stakeholders and the general public will be encouraged to give their views on the various options for reform.
Further information can be found on www.payingforcareinwales.net Hard copies may be obtained from the Paying for Care Team, Welsh Assembly Government, Fourth Floor, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ, or by telephone 029 2082 5681

Mr Hain ,he says NO

2009-11-16T16:05:00.000Z

There is bad blood after Peter Hain stood fast and vetoed Edinburgh as the seat of the permanent secretariat of the British and Irish council. Hain was representing the UK Government at the meeting. Why I wonder!
Hain claimed there had to be a total consensus on the decision and simply refused to agree to it. In the first round of voting, Edinburgh received 5 votes, the Isle of Man 2 and Cardiff 1. A second vote was held when Edinburgh had 6 votes, the Isle of Man 1 and Cardiff 1. At this point the Isle of Man withdrew and a third vote was held. Edinburgh received 6 votes and Cardiff 2 as Mr Hain, who had previously voted for the Isle of Man, switched to Cardiff. The Welsh Assembly delegate said he was happy to accept the result but Mr Hain refused.
The UK government was then accused of being spiteful towards the SNP and of anti-Scottish discrimination - "...Downing Street has responded angrily by accusing the SNP of a breach of protocol in going public on the matter."
Scottish government officials are furious and are accusing Gordon Brown of ordering Mr Hain to veto any move which would give Scotland more international standing.
Who was there?
Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister
Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland First Minister
Brian Cowen, Irish Taoiseach
Eamon O Cuiv, Northern Ireland Minister for Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
Martin McGuinness, Deputy Northern Ireland First Minister
Rhodri Morgan, Welsh First Minister
Peter Hain, British government
Plus heads of administration from the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.
So why would Hain not agree to an obvious consensus. Apparently Alex Salmond is raising the matter in the Scottish Parliament this week.
Handbags at dawn eh

The Mail says - the fat lady aint sung Yet !!

2009-11-14T14:05:00.001Z

Far from damaging Brown over that letter, the Sun has actually rallied support for him. Personally I was appalled at the way the rag of a paper acted. Rolling out the mother didn’t help either. It was interesting that GB also had support and praise from the soldiers returning from the front last week. The backlash against the Sun and then wining in Glasgow have given Mr B a lifeline.
Peter Osborne in the Mail to day takes a sideways look at the position of the two main parties and does some interesting comparisons.
He notes that Gordon Brown, despite his continuing unpopularity, is in a far stronger position than John Major was in the winter of 1996.For almost all of 1996, Blair's Labour Party enjoyed a poll rating of well over 50 per cent, while its advantage over the Tories was consistently in double figures. By contrast, Cameron's Tories have a rating of approximately 40 per cent over the past year and a lead over Labour of just over 10 per cent.
Governments tend to improve their popularity in the polls during the run-ups to general elections, so Cameron’s lead, say Osborne, is likely to drop away slightly in the coming months.
A more fundamental problem faced by David Cameron is the fact that the electoral system is skewed against the Tories. Constituency boundaries are biased against them and this inbuilt unfairness meant that in the last general election it took 45,000 votes to elect a Tory MP but only 27,600 votes to elect a Labour one. There have been adjustments but the dis advantage is still huge.
According to John Maloney of Exeter University, the Tories must secure a 10 per cent lead over Labour to win an overall majority of just one seat at the next election. David Cameron faces a very high mountain to climb. Conservative strategists are keenly aware of this problem, as is Cameron himself.
An internal Tory Party document sets out the scale of the problem, 'The Conservatives have never won a General Election from a starting point as weak as they face now.'
The paper calculates that to win a majority, the Conservatives must hold every seat they won in 2005, plus an additional 117 constituencies. To put that in perspective, Margaret Thatcher notched up an additional 63 seats in 1979 for the Tories, while Edward Heath made 69 gains in 1970.The Tory briefing note sums up the problem as follows: 'To become Prime Minister, David Cameron must surpass the electoral achievements of both Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.'
Even a simple overall majority would not be enough for DC to govern effectively. He needs a working majority of at least 30 seats (which means a majority of 15 per cent over Labour on Election Day).
So is everything still to play for, I wonder if anyone has done the maths in Wales on this?