Valleys Mam

National Audit Office -Not Impressed by the Works Progamme

2012-01-24T22:57:00.001Z

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 24 January 2012

The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced the Work Programme quickly, in just over a year, and this has had benefits, but the speed with which it was launched has also increased risks, according to the National Audit Office. The Department and providers have made assumptions about how many people the Programme will get back into work
but there is a significant risk that they are over-optimistic.

The Programme, which replaces virtually all of the existing ‘welfare to work’ schemes, has a number of innovative design features that address
weaknesses in previous schemes. Providers are paid primarily for the results they achieve in supporting people into employment so what the provider earns is tied to performance. Providers will receive higher rewards for supporting harder to help claimant groups into work and are
paid partly out of the benefit savings they help to generate. There is more potential for competition between providers.

However, assumptions about the feasibility of the Programme might be over-optimistic. The NAO’s analysis suggests that 26 per cent of the largest group of job seekers in the Programme will get jobs, compared to the Department’s estimate of 40 per cent. Some contractors in areas
of high unemployment may struggle to meet nationally set targets. It is possible that one or more contractors will get into serious financial difficulty during the term of the contracts. Today’s report also points out that no alternatives to the Programme were considered as part of the business case, nor was it piloted to test assumptions.

It has so far cost £63 million to terminate existing welfare to work
contracts, including contracts with ten providers that went on to win contracts for the Programme. Two former contractors have not yet agreed settlements.

The IT project to support the Programme was not fully functional when the Programme was launched. A consequence is that the Department will not be able, until March 2012 at the earliest, to carry out automatic checks to confirm that people who find work have stopped claiming benefits. The Department needs to ensure that improvements to the IT system are delivered on schedule. In the meantime, there is an increased risk of fraud and error going undetected.

Fewer clients than expected are being referred onto the Programme as part of the ‘harder-to-help’ category. Some have been found to be ‘fit for work’ and switched into other categories and it is taking the Department longer to process assessments and appeals. As a result, some sub-contractors are frustrated at the speed with which clients have been referred to them.

Here's the link to the Executive Summary and report
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1012/dwp_work_programme.aspx

A Conference too far

2012-01-21T07:20:00.000Z

There seems to be a lot of speculation around why the Tory Conference has been cancelled. I think we should all be grateful, its one less staged boring piece of television to watch.

If political parties want to gather the faithful,massage egos and worship at the feet of leaders,fine, but to impose it on a less than appreciative public is just not on.
Hopefully the other parties will want to save money too
So what do you think the real reason is- lack of interest, security costs, not wanting o give Cheryl G an outing, Andrew RT not cutting it .
Or may be just not wanting to chance the reactions that could come from local elections.

But why leave it so late to cancel and why the lack of clarity around the cancellation,one booked speaker found out from a journalist.

Bad or bad in bed with the Dr

2012-01-20T14:33:00.000Z

New research from Aston University has shown the cost of presenteeism to be £15 billion annually - twice the estimated cost of absenteeism, according to the Economic and Social Research Council.A study of 1,600 people found 30% of workers are now going to work ill as they fear if they report sick they may loose their jobs .
The age group most likely to go into work sick are 16 and 24 – 85% said they went into work sick last year and 48% said they were more likely to go into work sick because of the economic downturn.
The income group most likely to go into work sick because of the recession are those on below £20,000 then £21,000 and £30,000
.Presenteeism as its been named go into work sick, and possibly infect others but don't perform as they should because they are ill.
Women were slightly more likely than men to go into work because of the economic recession, with 33% doing so compared to 27% of men.
Sectors in which employees feel most pressure to go into work are retail then manufacturing then education.
A fifth of respondents also said they were exercising less since the start of the economic downturn. Many now not affording gym membershipMarcus Powell, MD of Nuffield Health, commenting on he research said : “Employees going into work sick costs business dearly - up to £15 billion a year.“Our research shows the economic downturn has made people more likely to go into work sick often because they fear losing their job.
“This is bad for business. At Nuffield Health we work with more than 1,000 corporate clients to help them maintain a healthy workforce.“The corporate world knows that staff well being directly affects their profits.
A report last year by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, also showed that presenteeism worsened stress levels, negatively effect productivity by transfer of illness and the sick being unable to work effectively.
So why don't bosses just send people home - if you are on SSP its very difficult to manage with a cut in wages. If you have full pay , then you don't want to be seen to be a bad employee by being off ill. What a situation to be in.But firms must also ask what impression are they giving to staff to make them feel this way.
Its bad enough being in a recession with out the worry about loosing your job if you really are not well.

Laissez -Faire Localism

2012-01-16T06:52:00.000Z

Says it all really for me. Pass the toxic buck to those at the end of the continuum of where the government care, in the guise of the Big Society The last line of the quote is particularly telling.

Quote from Living With Rats

"Laissez-faire localism doesn’t put communities in the driving seat. It leaves them to clear up the mess after others have driven over them. National and international market failures and the shortcomings of public policy are simply imagined away. Laissez-faire localism pretends localities are not interconnected, and it presents the results of national economic and social policy as purely local issues.

On the intellectual gossamer of laissez-faire localism are strung the hopes and aspirations of our most hard-pressed communities - communities that have borne the brunt of decades of economic change, frequently aided and abetted by central government.

Market failure and public policy failure are inconvenient truths, and the temptation to wish them out of existence must be irresistible. So Mr Shapps blithely passes the buck, even while market failure is happening on a gargantuan scale across the eurozone. It will lead to precisely the blight and deprivation that only a few years back would have had ministers running to announce regeneration strategies."

Thoughts on that Work programme by Mystic Megan

2012-01-14T06:57:00.000Z

A friend of mine in local government was once asked to give his prediction for the year ahead. His answer was ‘365 days’. Anything else risks serious embarrassment since consultants, by and large, are poor at predicting the future (unlike economists who are poor at predicting the future and the past).

The Work Programme will start to enter that difficult territory where the evasion ‘too early to tell if it is working’ starts to wear off. Certainly the structure and pricing of the WP do not seem to have been designed to deal with a prolonged recession.

Mystic Megan predicts that even before the attachment fees end and everyone moves onto outcome payments some providers will feel the strain and look at DWP bailing them out or throw in the towel.

This poses two crucial issues for DWP. First, will it cave in and find a way of subsidising Prime Contractors who threaten to walk away or will it accept the logic of the market place?

Second, how will it re-contract failures (either financial or performance) and will it take performance/track record into account or go the usual way and look at price as the single most important factor? In short, will it move from the current policy of administering a competition for funds to actually having a view about the sort of market place it wants to create and the long-term results it wants? At the moment it is as if a landowner tells the world he wants a garden with lots of bio-diversity and creativity, but once the tenders come in decides that it is OK to just have grass and concrete because it is so much cheaper.

Finally, the WP was set up as a ‘Single Programme’ to simplify matters and stop the proliferation of parallel programmes for similar client groups. Already this has shifted to a ‘Single Framework’ leaving lots of room for, well, parallel programmes funded by ESF or whatever and the slightly strange sight of organisations who weren’t considered good enough for the WP being given other funding in preference to those organisations who were thought to be good enough for the WP. And, of course, it hasn’t dealt with the issue of local authority funds for employability which remain obstinately un-integrated and quite substantial.

In Scotland, for example, the Government estimates that local authority funds for employability are greater than the WP contracts. One consequence of this is the paradox of money available, but no clients because of the mandatory nature of the WP.

Sooty used to solve his problems by sprinkling ‘oofle dust’. Central and local government may need something as effective if they are to make the best use of the common resources in this area that are still delivered in those silos we are always aspiring to break down.

My prediction for 2012 in this field is that we will still see, to adapt Shaw, ‘too many partners divided by a common objective’.

Winners and Losers

2012-01-11T07:21:00.001Z

Montgomeryshire , Islwyn and Cynon Valley will go. Anglesey will join Bangor , Caerphilly is linked with the north of Cardiff. Rhondda, Pontypridd and a Heads of the Valleys seat share Cynon Valley.

Inevitably, some MPs will end competing with colleagues. The Conservatives Guto Bebb and David Jones in north Wales coast colleagues Simon Hart and Stephen Crabb in Pembrokeshire. Labour’s Geraint Davies and Martin Caton, Hywel Francis and Huw Irranca-Davies. Plaid Cymru, it’s Hywel Williams and Elfyn Llwyd who’ll have to sort out a seat.Ad what about that Heads of The Valleys seat

Charity boss faces call to quit over inquiry claims of misusing public funds and nepotism Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/01/07/charity-boss-faces-call-to-quit-over-inquiry-claims-of-misusing-public-funds-and-nepotism

2012-01-08T00:50:00.000Z

Wales on line
The head of Wales’ foremost charity representing ethnic minorities is facing a call for his dismissal following an independent inquiry report that accuses him of misusing public funds and running an organisation mired in nepotism.
Complaints have been made to the Charity Commission and South Wales Police about the alleged conduct of Naz Malik, who has been chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minorities Association (Awema) since 2001.Mr Malik has admitted paying off a personal credit card debt of more than £9,000 with Awema money, but says he regarded the money as an advance on future expenses. He also agrees he should have declared an interest when pay rises for his daughter Tegwen, who is Awema’s operations director and a former Welsh squash international, were reported to the board.
More here - this Charity Chief has a Jag as his company car

Complaints and concerns have been raised for a number of years -why is it only now that action is being taken?

Peter Black has called for the auditor general to get in there.

We are talking serious amounts of money involved here and a culture of nepotism and fear

The article makes very serious reading.

It must also be gut wrenching for those Charities who survive on peanuts and whose CEOs re so ethical.

Funny money

2012-01-05T22:22:00.002Z

The £15m Wales Economic Growth Fund opened on December 12, offering businesses grants from £100,000 for projects that would boost the Welsh economy. Launching the scheme Edwina Hart said: “Any offers will be time limited to ensure grants are taken up and used before the end of 2012, and the closing date for applications is January 31, 2012, so businesses need to move swiftly. But questions have been raised the scheme after it emerged that some small businesses needed to raise as much as £400,000 of their own money over the Christmas period to qualify.

With just a six-weeks including Christmas to find funding, questions are being asked about the scheme. Businesses are being put off when they see the level of match-funding needed. It is only at the bottom of the PDF that the match-funding is flagged up.

A small business in Cardiff needs £400,000 to apply. In Caerphilly, it would still need £100,000. To match you are not going to raise that in the six weeks over Christmas. The fund looks far more suited neither for medium-sized businesses that already have capital nor for small business that it’s aimed at.

Iestyn Davies, head of external affairs (FSB) in Wales, said that although the scheme was very welcome, the FSB had raised concerns about its implementation. We welcome the scheme, but are concerned about the ratio of match-funding that businesses have to have to apply for it and are concerned about the deadline,” he said. “We have expressed those concerns to elected members. “If the money can’t get to where it is needed, they may need to revise the terms of the scheme.”So in a time when there is a recognised need, the money is announced but the red tape is strangling it.

Questions have been asked about the numbers who have applied no answer from WG .Quote –“A Welsh Government spokeswoman declined to say how many applications had been received under the scheme to date. “We are encouraged by the healthy number of applications to date, but details of applications remain commercially confidential at this time,”

What is the point of this fund then? Was it just a PR stunt? Was it badly thought out? Who advised on it? Was Mrs H badly advised .I guess we won’t get any straight answers. It would be so nice if for once we had some transparency.

Meanwhile the businesses still need the support money to survive, expand or just find new markets. Is anything being done to fill the gap.

RCT and Consultant spend -hat tip Valleys Boy

2012-01-02T10:02:00.000Z

Rhondda Cynon Taf council has finally admitted it spent almost £400,000 in 2010-11 on outside legal advice for two council directorates.At the same time, the council revealed that during the same period it employed a staff of 11 fee earning solicitors across the authority costing a total of £430,589.
The figures on outside legal advice and other consultants costs were obtained by former Plaid Cymru AM Chris Franks after a long battle for the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act which involved the Information Commissioner.
Rhondda Cynon Taf council refused to provide information on how much in total the council spent on consultants, including lawyers, saying it would be too costly but Chris Franks appealed to the Information Commissioner.The authority has now provided Chris Franks with details of spending on consultants for its corporate services directorate which includes legal and democratic services, and its chief executives’ division, which includes human resources and planning.
Leanne Wood, who represents South Wales Central, including RCT, said:“Chris has been involved in a long battle for the release of information about consultants’ costs."I don't understand why the council spent this on outside legal advice when they had a team of 11 well-paid lawyers working across the authority’s divisions."
Chris Franks said: “It’s been a real battle to obtain information from RCT, something which started while I was an Assembly Member. My view is that the council fought hard not to release any information because of the amount being spent, particularly on legal advice.
“The public will question why so much was spent on outside legal advice when they employ so many lawyers. Perhaps, they are not employing lawyers with the right skills set to be able to handle the majority of legal matters.
Pauline Jarman, Plaid leader on Rhondda Cynon Taf council, added:“Of course, the figures provided by the authority are probably only the tip of the iceberg because RCT council said that providing any information more than from the corporate services directorate and chief executives’ division would be too costly.

Jobs for life,not anymore.

2012-01-02T07:26:00.000Z

Welsh Labour MPs could be fighting each other for seats, Lib Dem MPs could be wiped out and Plaid MPs be squeezed down to one.

We could see some well known names and talented names go.

The Boundary Commission publishes their proposals this month and the number of constituencies in Wales go down from 40 to 30.Chris Bryant, may have to do battle with either Owen Smith, the MP for Pontypridd, or Huw Irranca-Davies, who represents Ogmore for a seat.

The Westminster Government wants to change the law to remove any penalty on people who do not register to vote. It is estimated that 300,000 people in Wales that has an impact on the size of constituencies According to Kevin Brennan “most of the people who won’t register to vote will be poor people, who would be more likely to vote Labour.” He said removing the penalty for not registering to vote would put Britain on a par with the United States. In 2000, George Bush was elected President because many people in the crucial state of Florida were not on the electoral register.

A senior Welsh Labour source said: “It’s inevitable there will be some big battles but I don’t think there will be a huge amount of blood-letting. It will be difficult for the individuals concerned, but there won’t be much fall-out within the party as a whole".

The Libl Demts could see their only urban seat ,Cardiff Central go it would also be difficult for them to win merged seats of Brecon/ Radnor and Ceredigion. Plaid could also be squeezed., the changes could see them with no MPs.

So who would benefit then ,it's a no brainer ,the Tories but I am sure there would be casualties there too.,

So how do you measure a constituency ;is it numbers of voters or spatiality Should there be more moves to get more people registered to vote. If we have 300,000 not registered, that could make a difference.

The question I guess is do we need so many MPs now we have a devolved government?

Would we need to increase the number of AMs – to do what though and how?

Like most old democracies we have evolved not been logically planned is it time to get this sorted?

However it’s done there are going to be politicians unhappy with the results. Will it really affect us that much; will it save us money, who knows.

But for sure it will cut opportunities for existing and hopeful career politicos.

Chinatown in West Wales - will it work?

2011-12-29T20:40:00.000Z

Holiday villages are about to see a revival, this one has the aim of attracting wealthy Chinese tourists to Wales

A village in West Wales is looking to develop a luxury £50million holiday village aimed entirely at the market in the Far East.

As earnings increase, more and more Chinese are traveling, 110,000 visited the UK last year, an increase of 23 per cent from the year before - and they spend an estimated £184million.

The purpose-built holiday centre is at Llanfynydd, Carmarthenshire,and is focused on that market.

It will cater for up to 20,000 visitors a year and will have signs in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, Staff will have to train in Chinese customs.

The resort will be built at Pantglas Hall and would include a five-storey hotel and individual houses

The plans, also include a three-storey 220-space car park, ten shops and a swimming pool, are facing fierce opposition from locals who claim the development will have a negative effect on the rural community.

Local Councillors are asking ‘What advantage is it going to bring to Llanfynydd? It’s not for local people, is it? It is for Chinese holidaymakers.’

The scheme is due to be considered by planners in Carmarthenshire in the New Year.

The chalets will be sold privately and will provide a second home for the clientele. The aim is that the complex will open Wales up to the growing Chinese tourist market which at present knows little or nothing about Wales.

The developers plan to bring at least 20,000 Chinese clients each year to Wales.

Most of China lives in poverty but its growing economy has produced an estimated 960,000 millionaires to date.

Twelve days - Revised Policy

2011-12-22T16:43:00.002Z

Effective immediately, the following economizing measures are being implemented in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" subsidiary:

1) The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree, which never produced the cash crop forecasted, will be replaced by a plastic hanging plant, providing considerable savings in maintenance

2) Two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not cost effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could not be condoned. The positions are, therefore, eliminated

3) The three French hens will remain intact. After all, everyone loves the French

4) The four calling birds will be replaced by an automated voice mail system, with a call waiting option. An analysis is underway to determine who the birds have been calling, how often and how long they talked.

5) The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals, as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks, appear to be in order

6) The six geese-a-laying constitutes a luxury which can no longer be afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg per goose per day was an example of the general decline in productivity. Three geese
will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by personnel will assure management that, from now on, every goose it gets will be a good one

7) The seven swans-a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better times. The function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are on order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes, thereby enhancing
their outplacement

8) As you know, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring or a-mulching

9) Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer do the steps

10) Ten Lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of Lords, plus the expense of international air travel, prompted the Compensation Committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work congressmen. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the savings are significant as we expect an oversupply of unemployed congressmen this year

11) Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a cutback on new music, and no uniforms, will produce savings which will drop right to the
bottom line

Overall we can expect a substantial reduction in assorted people, fowl, animals and related expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop ship in one day, service levels will be improved.

Regarding the lawsuit filed by the attorney's association seeking expansion to include the legal profession ("thirteen lawyers-a-suing"), a decision is pending.

Deeper cuts may be necessary in the future to remain competitive. Should that happen, the Board will request management to scrutinize the Snow White Division to see if seven dwarfs is the right number.

From the Penn Report on public sector remuneration

2011-12-22T09:35:00.001Z

In full here

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dsjlg/publications/localgov/111214irp11reporten.pdf
An annual Basic Salary shall be paid to all members as follows:
Local Authority (LA)
National Park authority (NPA)
Welsh fire and rescue authority (FRA)
£13,175
£ 3,550
£ 1,350
Senior Salaries (see note 1)
Where a Council decides to pay a Senior Salary it shall be paid at the following
prescribed annual levels:
Band 1 Leader (LA Group A) £52 (Cardiff, Rhondda CynonTaf, Swansea)
Leader (LA Group B) £47 (Bridgend, Caerpilly,Carmarthenshire,Conwy, Flintshire,Gwynedd, Newort,Neath Port Talbot,Pembrokeshire,Powys, Vale ofGlamorgan,Wrexham)
Leader (LA Group C) £42,300 (Blaenau Gwent, Ceredigion,Denbighshire,Merthyr Tydfil,
Monmouthshire,Torfaen)
Deputy Leader (LA Group A) £37,100 (as above)
Deputy Leader (LA Group B) £33,460 (as above)
Deputy Leader (LA Group C) £29,820 (as above)
Band 2 Other Executive (LA Group A) £31,900 (as above)
Other Executive (LA Group B) £28,780 (as above)
Other Executive (LA Group C) £25,660 (as above)
Band 3 Committee Chairs (LA) £21,910
Group Leader (LA) £21,910 (Leader of larger opposition groups
Chair of NPA £8,875 (Brecon Beacon ,Pembrokeshire,Snowdonia)
Chair of Welsh FRA £10,085 (Mid and West Wales,North Wales,South)
Band 4 Group Leader (LA) £16 (Leader of political groups not less than 10% of all
council members )
Read full report for rationale and detail

Nadolig llawen -happy yule

2011-12-20T08:23:00.000Z

VM is taking a holiday break see you in the new year unless there is an amazing event to blog on

Woman in Charge -will it make a difference ?

2011-12-18T09:53:00.000Z

Johann Lamont has promised to make Labour “Scotland’s party” after her victory in the leadership election. She takes over from Iain Gray. She needs to rebuild the party, who suffered their second successive Holyrood defeat in May.
She said: “Scotland couldn’t hear us but what the people saw looked to them like a tired old political machine which was more about itself than it was about them. And to be fair, they’d been trying to tell us that for some time. “If any one of us ever deluded ourselves into the thought that Scotland was a Labour country, last May must finally have shaken us out of that delusion.“The task now is to make Labour Scotland’s party again.”
A big ask considering how successful and popular the SNP are and how charismatic Alex Salmond is.
Interestingly she also said that the Labour rule book could be torn up, “While I’m leader, nothing will be off limits – there will not be one policy, one rule, one way of working which cannot be changed.“Our one test will be what is in the interests of the people of Scotland – not what is in the interests of ourselves.”
She is the first Scottish Labour leader to take charge of the whole party not just MSPs, after the role was beefed up in the wake of an internal review earlier this year. But she already faces criticism that her victory was only secured because of backing from the trade unions.
The party leader is elected by a college of MSPs, MPs and MEPs, party members and members of Labour-affiliated trade unions. Each group make up a third of the vote. Lamont won two of these sections but Ken Macintosh got more than half of the votes from individual party members.

Another tactic may be she did her acceptance speech in Gaelic ‘She lived all her life in Glasgow, yet both of her parents are Gaels from the Hebridean island of Tiree.

How much of a threat she will be to the SNP os questionable. How effective she can be we will see rebuilding labour in Scotland is a major ask especially as Labour is seen as ineffective in the wider political sphere. A really good Scottish friend tells me that of the Labour leaders in the UK she has the “most about her”.

It will be also be interesting to see how her and Alex Salmond interact .

Now Mrs Hart what are you and Mr Jones going to do ?

2011-12-14T17:50:00.000Z

Total headline GVA in Wales in 2010 was £45.5 billion, up 3.5 per cent on 2009, GVA for the UK (excluding extra-regio) rose by 3.2 per cent.

Headline GVA per head in Wales in 2010 was £15,145, up 3.3 per cent on 2009, whilst GVA per head for the UK (excluding extra-regio) rose by 2.4 per cent.

GVA per head in Wales in 2010 was 74.0 per cent of the UK average, the lowest amongst the devolved countries and English regions.

The NUTS2 estimates for 2009 show headline GVA per head in East Wales and West Wales and the Valleys at 91.4 per cent and 62.8 per cent of the UK average respectively.

The figure of those unemployed now stands at 2.64 million. This is the highest level since 1994. The jobless rate is up to 8.3% from the 7.9% of the previous quarter.

The number of people out of work for longer than a year rose by 19,000 in the latest quarter to 868,000, the worst figure since 1996.

The figures for Wales also show a rise of 8.3% with the figures now having climbed to 130,000 unemployed between August and October an increase of 10,000 on the previous quarter.

Both young people and women have been particularly hard hit. Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 54,000 to 1.027 million, the highest since records began in 1992.

The Office for National Statistics also reported that women's unemployment increased by 45,000 to 1.1 million, the highest figure since 1988.

The figures also show that much of the increase are from jobs that have been cut from the public sector. In the sector 67,000 jobs were lost. Clearly the private sector is not compensating for these losses, the sector added only 5,000 jobs in the same period.

Even those in work are feeling the pinch. Wages continued to rise well below the rate of inflation. Excluding bonuses, average pay rose 1.8% from a year ago, and by just 0.1% from three months ago. But with inflation running at 4.8% many are facing serious cuts to their income.

We have a 9.1 % unemployment rate - so Lib Dems do you think you should have pushed for more money o go into the economy when you were cosying up to Labour

Plaid was on the right track in asking for more to go into economic development

Stop the excuses Mrs H get talking to the UK government and the Welsh MPs get Wales moving , stop the posturing and committees lets see some action

Morrison's announced jobs today - more low paid part time retail jobs and the expansion of yet another toxic super market - that's not what we need Look at what Southern Germany are doing lets get some hope back

Wales deserves better from all parties - cut you holidays and get back to the senydd and do something - most private sector people will have a few days off over Xmas. The public sector are shutting down fot almost two weeks - that wont get us any where

Time we all put out shoulder to the wheel - dont you think !

Cameron good or bad PM?

2011-12-13T10:23:00.002Z

Justin Fisher from Brunel University has posted on the British Politics Group a quite provocative analysis of David Cameron suggesting that he's just not very good at being prime Minister. Given that he always said he was sure he'd be an excellent PM, this is worth considering.

He argues that Cameron fails to recognise the seriousness of issues until too late or mishandles them once he addresses them.

i) he was slow to react to the summer riots in our cities.
ii) ditto with phone hacking allowing Ed Miliband to grab some good publicity by condemning Murdoch.
iii) Liam Fox was allowed to twist in the wind too long before he was sacked- rather as brown dithered over Peter Hain when he should have acted. Blair, by comparison acted promptly and relatively ruthlessly, even sacking his best friend Mandelson
iv)Over the euro crisis he needlessly angered EU partners by lecturing them on how they should act. And when he needed support, it wasn't there.

Worth a read http://www.britishpoliticsgroup.org/index.html

Cameron -what have you done?

2011-12-11T09:02:00.000Z

According to IWJ -Cameron,you’ve put the interests of your backbenchers above the needs of Wales.”

Can you really believe this man our Prime Minister was so tunnelled in what he did-We are now outside the tent maybe with no way back in.

His protecting the financial industries in the City of London has left the UK and Wales isolated. Cameron’’s veto – the first ever by a British leader –has changed the UK’s relationship with the rest of Europe. When will he realise we are linked to Europe that our trade and financial position is in Europe. Now we unable to take part in key negotiations that are vital to Wales’ economic future.

Not heard anything from Carwyn Jones yet -or Andrew RT- or Kirsty come to think about it. Ahh they are on holiday I expect. Wake up AM's time to hear Wales voice in this -loudly.

On the BBC’s Today programme yesterday, George Osborne denied that the decision to veto the treaty had been made for purely political reasons and said that Britain should “gain” from being outside a euro-zone agreement.

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes said there was no possibility of a renegotiation with the EU during this parliament and for the Tories to “pull us further away from Europe”. He said the coalition was “not a euro-sceptic government”. “This is a coalition government committed to being constructive about Europe and committed to only negotiating treaties if there is a proposal to transfer powers from Britain to Europe,” he said. “There is no such proposal, there won’t be such a proposal, there won’t be a negotiation of treaties. They (the Tories) should calm down.” The Lib Dems are clearly worried about the euro-sceptics getting more influence with the Government. to take Britain out of Europe. “That is very clearly against Britain’s national interest and we all have to resist it.”

So Cameron again puts the bankers and the City of London first –what about the rest of us –don’t we count
Nick Clegg is really not happy with his mate and launched an attack on David Cameron for "isolating" the UK in Europe with his veto of changes to the EU treaty. apparently sources close to the DP said he did not feel the failed eurozone crisis negotiations had resulted in a good deal for Britain,

This will add to existing tensions over Europe in the coalition, our correspondent adds.

The prime minister blocked changes to the EU's Lisbon Treaty at an EU summit, arguing that the proposed changes were not in the UK's interest.

It now looks likely that all 26 other members of the European Union will agree to a new "accord" setting out tougher budget rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the current euro-zone crisis.

The Independent on Sunday quotes a source "close to Mr Clegg", as saying: "Nick certainly doesn't think this is a good deal for Britain, for British jobs or British growth.”It leaves us isolated in Europe and that is not in our national interest. Nick's fear is that we become the lonely man of Europe."He could not believe that Cameron hadn't tried to play for more time. That is not how Nick would have played Britain's hand." The paper also quotes a Lib Dem source who says that if the Conservatives "think we can now go back to Europe with a sack full of demands about repatriating powers, they are living in a fantasy world".

'In a bad place' Meanwhile, Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable told the Sunday Telegraph Britain had "finished in a bad place" at the EU summit.

Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary and a long-time Europhile, told BBC Radio Nottingham: "It's a disappointing, very surprising outcome.”There will be a big statement made by the prime minister on Monday where I shall be sitting listening, and I shall be discussing what we are going to do now."

The consensus seems to be that Cameron has made a bad deal for the UK. maybe if we had used the foreign office with its diplomatic skills we would still have some influence over where Europe goes next. Sending the Treasury dogs in hasn’t helped smooth a path. Osborne’s arrogance has really not helped the UK find a way to get the best deal So it’s a mess, a big mess.

Our future lies with Europe not the USA and as it stands we seem to be taking all the hits but with no rewards. Geographically we may be an island economically and socially we cannot carry on being that.

Long Time no hear - an interesting essay from David Miliband - is he back?

2011-12-06T13:16:00.000Z

David Miliband His essay "Questions to be Answered" is in a special edition of the IPPR's journal, to be published on 7 December.

Labour must engage on the high ground – that's our route back to government

David Miliband says his Movement for Change academy will train 10,000 community leaders.

It is now 20 years since the closure of Marxism Today, the house journal for rethinking the British and European left in the 1980s. It is ironic that today the general secretary of the Chinese Communist party is key to global capitalism, and western analysts quote Marx about the economic crisis.

The commitment of Ed Miliband's leadership to open up political and policy debate is a refreshing change from the unwholesome mix of uncertainty and control of the Brown years. The centre-left faces basic existential questions.

Europe is in relative economic decline. The traditional sources of authority in state and market have lost power to insurgent individuals and groups. We are moving from a 200-year period of resource plenty to resource scarcity. And international co-operation is faltering. This is the backdrop for the insecurity, disempowerment and loss of belonging that are such potent forces in European politics.

In domestic policy, the battleground has three dimensions. The Conservative austerity programme has strangled the economy. But Keynesianism is not a soft option. It calls for surpluses in good times (look at Norway or Chile). Also, it is not the same as a growth strategy.

The central economic issue is how to stimulate productive investment when public finances are constrained. I focus on three economic priorities. The need for financial reform, for example, through a British investment bank. The need to promote better workplaces that engage employees, including to tackle the skills deficit. And the need to use public sector power – from spending to regulation – as a coherent driver of the private sector investment equation.

Without a serious answer on investment, we will not be able to take on the right – whether their recipe succeeds or fails. Nor will we be able to promote a fair distribution of rewards, to the squeezed middle as well as the poor, to counter the consequences of economic inequality, which is inefficient as well as unfair.

Second, we need to re-engage on social policy – not just the structural questions of inequality, but cultural questions of responsibility, to self, to family, to community. On welfare, housing, immigration and crime, the two debates come together.

The right approach – especially post-riots – is to go head-to-head on who can build a bigger society. Contributory welfare is part of it; so are housing schemes in which local authorities give land to a housing co-op which can then sell and rent to lower- and middle-income people with local links; but so is organisation outside the state, because so many problems, from obesity to mental health, will not be resolved by the state.

Politics used to mediate this space. That is why I have helped create Movement for Change – a leadership academy for community organising, designed to train 10,000 community leaders in the next four years. Having spent 20 years working to make Labour an effective government for the people, we need to recommit to government by the people. The third question therefore concerns reform of the state – national and international. Conservatives after the 1980s and 1990s recognised that they had a problem with "society". Social democrats now have the problem with the state. We need to expose the government's dangerous upheaval of the NHS. But there will be mixed public, private and third-sector provision in areas like childcare and eldercare. If the danger of free schools is unfairness, let us be the people mobilising 100 great headteachers for the most comprehensive, innovative schools the country has seen.

I can see the right going further to demonise politics itself. The pathetic argument that it is right to cut the House of Commons by 50 MPs on cost grounds is just the start. We need to be the political reformers.

One way of thinking on the left prioritises the gap between the compromises of office and the virtues of principle. I think this is profoundly wrong. It leads to the haunting spectre of betrayal that permanently hangs over the party, creates a unique capacity to liquidate rather than defend our own record in government, and spawns an uncertainty in our conversation with the people that they detect and ultimately reject.

More important is the gap between the party and the people, at the level of policy and process. The point of politics is not to compromise values. It is to understand dynamic forces in economy and society, and inch forward changes in the reality of life according to your values. The right-of-centre governments now in power in 24 of 27 EU countries are confused at best and off-beam at worst. Our job is to engage on the high ground. That is the necessary foundation for the journey from opposition to government.

Thanks to the Guardian

English Report - I cannot see it better in Wales

2011-12-06T11:50:00.000Z

Recession and spending cuts have already caused a spike in youth homelessness. Imminent welfare reforms could trigger a 1980's-style explosion in rough sleeping.

The charity Homeless Link published today a survey of charities and local authorities in England, and these are the main findings:

• Nearly half of homelessness services (44%) and councils (48%) have seen an increase in young people seeking help because they are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless
• The number one cause for homelessness among this age group is relationship breakdowns with family and friends, and cases of this have increased
• The majority (62%) of young homeless clients seen by charities were not in education, employment or training, [and] 46% were in financial difficulties
• A quarter of young clients (26%) seen by services had experience of sleeping rough.

A rise in youth homelessness is just one side . The other is how charities and local authorities are coping with the demand. This is what the survey found:

• 48% of homeless agencies reported turning away young single homeless people because their resources were fully stretched;
• Nearly one in five local authorities (17%) feel they are not meeting their legal requirements for homeless young people aged 16-17;
• Half of local authorities report using B&Bs [bed and breakfasts] as emergency accommodation for young people, despite Government guidelines which advise against their use;
• More than 70% of local authorities said they had no shared accommodation private sector provision for young people, despite this being the only option for young people on housing benefit; and
• 53% of homeless agencies have experienced closures or threats of closure to youth services in their area.

I wonder if Shelter Cymru or WG have simiar data - this is a really worrying trend

No More Virgins and the rise of pornography -what !!!!

2011-12-02T14:00:00.000Z

Allowing women drivers in Saudi Arabia would result in ‘no more virgins’ the country’s highest religious council warns . A ‘scientific’ report has alleged that relaxing the ban on women drivers, would also see more Saudis - men and women - turn to homosexuality and pornography.

The ridiculous conclusions come from Muslim scholars at the Majlis al-Ifta’ al-A’ala, Saudi Arabia’s religious council, working with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University.

The report, looked at the possible impact of repealing the ban in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.The report was delivered to all the 150 members of the country’s legislative body.It says allowing women to drive would ‘provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce’.

The authors claimed that within ten years of lifting the ban, there would be ‘no more virgins’ in the Islamic kingdom.They corroborated their point of ‘moral decline’ by saying that in other Muslim countries where women are allowed to drive the decline is already visible.

In the report, Professor Subhi, describes that he experienced the following while sitting in a coffee shop in an Arab state.

“All the women were looking at me," he wrote. "One made a gesture that made it clear she was available... this is what happens when women are allowed to drive,” he concluded.

The shocking report came after Shaima Jastaniya, a 34-year-old Saudi woman, was sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip after being caught driving in Jeddah.

This is just beyond reason - can educated men really believe that - yes apparently.

Now the big boys are being hit

2011-12-02T13:46:00.000Z

Llanwern steelworks will see the loss of 115 jobs as part of its production is being mothballed due to lack of demand for steel. Tata Steel blamed the decision affecting the plant's hot strip mill on "continuing poor UK steel demand" does this mean our steel is too expensive or is this part of a broader decline in steel due to the recession in the construction industry.

The Welsh government said it was "hugely disappointing news" that would be a blow to the local economy and community.Well well that's a keen observation . But what is to be done about it .That's 115 families.

Tata said "the plant was expected to remain mothballed until the UK economy and steel demand justified a restart.In the meantime the market would be supplied with material from Tata Steel's other hot strip mill in south Wales at Port Talbot, where costs are lower," the firm said.

The recession will of course affect Tata's local supply chains.

This is not good news our major industries are now seeing affects, smes and others have been coping with receding markets for most of this year.

The Autumn statement from George O brings no good news for business and nothing coming from WG makes people cheerful either

Was Clarkson funny or just clever ?

2011-12-02T13:31:00.000Z

The BBC has received more than 21,000 complaints over Jeremy Clarkson's remarks that striking public sector workers should be shot.

He was censured with his comments on The One Show and Unison called for him to be sacked. He later apologised, well sort of .

Unison said it welcomed the apology and invited Clarkson to spend a day with a health care worker

Was it funny , have we lost our sense of humour. Clarkson makes a living from this attitude he has, but is it acceptable?

Every time he hits the headlines - he has a DVD or a book or a programme to publicise so may be he is canny!

He has a reputation of being a very difficult and rude man - should the BBC be giving him a platform ?

Hi comments didn't make me laugh, or raise a smile. I find his humour humourless .

Tit bits -maybe not

2011-11-23T12:53:00.000Z

Hat Tip political Scapbook
Government civil servants are have been banned from consuming refreshments at their own lunchtime meetings. An email to people invited to a recent roundtable discussion by a central department said:

“We will be offering sandwiches but, in these difficult times, officials will bring their own.”

We can report that the staff were then prohibited from touching the refreshments provided throughout the session.
Starving civil servants is certainly one way of reducing the headcount in Whitehall.

report from YouGov. Wales didnt have enough respondants to register a preference in this!

2011-11-23T12:44:00.000Z

‘It’s not just Europe we’re wary of working with – it’s abroad’
As the Eurozone crisis shifts our focus to Europe, is Englishness these days a source not just of pride but also insecurity?
Why are most Britons so wary of the European Union? Polls consistently report a three-to-two majority for withdrawal. Why is that? Do we scorn the continentals as inferior to us? Is there a lingering hatred of the Germans? Do we find the French untrustworthy? Is it our island status that makes us want to keep our distance? In a special survey for Prospect, YouGov explored our underlying feelings. Among other things we discovered that people who say they are ‘English’ think differently from those who consider themselves ‘British’.
Our results dispose of two myths. First, we found few signs that we think Britain is best at tackling major social problems. Asked who provides better state schools, just 22% say Britain, while 50% say ‘other major European countries such as France and Germany’. We are also thought to lag far behind our fellow EU states on controlling immigration, ‘creating a strong economy with low unemployment’ and, more narrowly, reducing poverty. On only one issue do the figures, just, go the other way: 39% think we are better as ‘providing sick people with good health care’, while 35% look across the Channel for a better service. On each of these issues, the views of EU-enthusiasts and EU-sceptics are broadly similar, so our hostility to the EU does not spring from any widespread sense that membership damages our social fabric.
Second, forget any lingering influence of the Second World War. By a two-to-one margin we think the Germans these days are friendly rather than unfriendly. Here there is some difference between the pro- and anti-EU camps: just 19% of those who favour EU membership regard the Germans as unfriendly, compared with 39% of those who want us to quit the club. But dispel any thoughts that Hitler still casts a shadow over our attitudes. Far more people think France is unfriendly: 42% among pro-EU voters, 64% among the antis. Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes, Minister famously insisted that France are our permanent enemies, while Germany have been only occasionally hostile. Many Britons seem to agree.
That is not the only sense in which we dislike France far more than Germany. By a margin of three to one (63%-20%) we regard German people as trustworthy. The figures for the French are very different: 46% say they are friendly, while 37% say they are unfriendly. We also asked about two non-EU countries. A big majority of us trust Australians (76%-7%), while the figures for Americans (62%-21%) are similar to those for Germans. By far the biggest difference between those for and against EU membership concerns the French, with just 25% of those in the pro camp regarding the French as untrustworthy, compared with double that number, 49%, among the antis.
So there is something in the view that anti-EU Britons dislike the continentals, but our hostility and suspicion are directed far more at Paris than Berlin.
However, our survey suggests a much bigger factor. Before we asked people how they would vote in a referendum on the EU, we asked a more fundamental question about how Britain should relate to the rest of the world. We offered two options: ‘Many of the world’s problems can be tackled only if Britain joins forces with other countries, and often agrees to compromise in order to secure international agreement’; or: ‘The value of international agreement is often overstated. With very rare exceptions, Britain should do what it thinks right, regardless of what other countries decide.’
Now, it is perfectly possible for someone to prefer the internationalist answer and still want Britain to leave the EU, on the grounds that the EU is over-mighty, and Britain should retain the right to make deals with other countries on a case-by-case basis. However, this view is held by just 12% of those who want Britain to quit the EU. Fully 77% of them think Britain should normally go it alone.
Contrast that with the views of people who want us to remain members of the EU: 63% think we should join forces with other countries and often compromise, while just 27% prefer the go-it-alone option. This question produced by far the biggest difference between those for and against EU membership. It suggests that those against membership are motivated partly by hostility towards the continent, especially France, but more by a disdain for any kind of international co-operation. A strong streak of isolationism runs through the British psyche.
Or should that be English psyche? At the start of our survey we asked people whether they considered themselves mainly as English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, British or European. A mere 2% said they were ‘European’. Most, 63%, said they were ‘English’, while 19% regarded themselves as ‘British’.
When we compared the attitudes of ‘English’ compared with ‘British’ respondents, we found something odd. ‘English’ voters want to leave the EU by a margin of 58-26% – but ‘British’ voters favour remaining members by 46-37%. And while ‘English’ voters overwhelmingly prefer an isolationist foreign policy, ‘British’ voters divide fairly evenly between going it alone and doing compromise deals to tackle world problems. (The views of ‘Scottish’ voters are closer to ‘British’ than ‘English’; we had too few ‘Welsh’ respondents to be sure of their stance.)
All told, our poll suggests that our views on EU membership are shaped to a significant extent by how we in these islands think of ourselves. What distinguishes people who call themselves ‘English’ is a passion for keeping other countries at arm’s length.
Whisper it softly, but is Englishness these days a source not just of pride but also insecurity?
This commentary appears in the December issue of Prospect magazine

Something to ponder

2011-11-22T18:12:00.002Z

The optimist says the glass is half full.
The pessimist says the glass is half empty.
The project manager says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
The realist says the glass contains half the required amount of liquid for it to overflow.
And the cynic... wonders who drank the other half.
The school teacher says it's not about whether the glass is half empty or half full, it's whether there is something in the glass at all.
Anyway... Attitude is not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it's about who is paying for the next round.
The professional trainer does not care if the glass is half full or half empty, he just knows that starting the discussion will give him ten minutes to figure out why his powerpoint presentation is not working.
The ground-down mother of a persistently demanding five-year-old says sweetheart it's whatever you want it to be, just please let mummy have five minutes peace and quiet.
The consultant says let's examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for a daily rate of...
The inquisitive troublemaker wants to know what's in the glass anyhow... and wants the rest of it.
The homebuilder sees the dirty glass, washes and dries it, then puts it away in a custom oak and etched glass cabinet that he built himself using only hand tools.
The worrier frets that the remaining half will evaporate by next morning.
The fanatic thinks the glass is completely full, even though it isn't.
The entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
The computer specialist says that next year the glass capacity will double, be half the price, but cost you 50% more for me to give you the answer.
The first engineer says the glass is over-designed for the quantity of water.
The second engineer says (when the half is tainted) he's glad he put the other half in a redundant glass. (Based on a Dilbert cartoon by Scott Adams)
The computer programmer says the glass is full-empty.
The Buddhist says don't worry, remember the glass is already broken.
The logician says that where the glass is in process of being filled then it is half full; where it is in the process of being emptied then it is half empty; and where its status in terms of being filled or emptied is unknown then the glass is one in which a boundary between liquid and gas lies exactly midway between the inside bottom and the upper rim, assuming that the glass has parallel sides and rests on a level surface, and where it does not then the liquid/gas boundary lies exactly midway between the upper and lower equal halves of the available total volume of said glass.
The scientist says a guess based on a visual cue is inaccurate, so mark the glass at the bottom of the meniscus of the content, pour the content into a bigger glass; fill the empty glass with fresh content up to the mark; add the original content back in; if the combined content overflows the lip, the glass was more than half full; if it doesn't reach the top, the glass was more than half empty; if it neither overflows nor fails to reach the top then it was either half-full or half-empty. Now what was the question again?
The Dutchman would suggest to both pay for the glass and share the content. Then tells you he will have the bottom half.
The personal coach knows that the glass goes from full to empty depending on the circumstances, and reminds the drinker that he can always fill the glass when he wishes.
The grammarian says that while the terms half-full and half-empty are colloquially acceptable the glass can technically be neither since both full and empty are absolute states and therefore are incapable of being halved or modified in any way.
The auditor first checks whether the empty half is material and then designs the audit procedures to obtain sufficient evidence to conclude that the glass is indeed empty.
The waiter will hurry to replace the glass with a full one. For him there are no doubts: the glass was empty when he took it away; it is full in the bill that he brings you.
The magician will show you the glass with the full half at the top.
The physician says that the glass is not empty at all - it is half-filled with water and half-filled with air - hence, fully filled on the whole!

A government that is in office but not in power.

2011-11-19T15:35:00.000Z

Is that down to the leaders- and is this UK or Welsh government or both

Comments on Cameron have been legion this week and most not complimentary from voters and his own backbenchers

A good set... "Breezy, smooth, imperious, confidence, command, sleek, superior, genial, unflappable, cool, relaxed, calm. These (many would say) are kingly qualities: the attributes of a natural leader."
A bad set... "Vague, waffly, dismissive, windy, inactive, unclear, “don’t know what he stands for”, equivocal, bland, blank-seeming: some of these are potentially weakness words, others more suggestive of genuine bafflement as to a leader’s intentions."

On Carwyn

cannot give a straight answer on the NHS crisis in Wales. Shame.
Will not address the key issues for Wales
Not fit to be the first minister of Wales
His "I know it's a problem but I'm not going to do anything" attitude is frustrating!
Uninspiring leader of the Welsh Assembly Government - while I don't agree with what Cameron's Government is doing, the Welsh First Minister has to do more than whinge about Wales not getting a fair deal
Labours most senior elected politician. God help them.
needs to learn to be his own man and concentrate on Welsh affairs and not kow-tow to Westminster.

Now what about these comments -on Alex Salmond
- A man of vision. A true hero of Scotland.
- Probably the best Politician the UK has.
- Trounced the opposition and made Scotland a Tory-free zone
- Sure and steady leader of our country
- A regular politician then!
- Like what he is doing. Always very positive
- Says what he think people will accept not what he thinks
- towering above his rivals
A leader that inspires is real bonus I cant see one in Westminster -and what about Wales do any stand out in any party ?

How can you underspend £50m

2011-11-17T08:34:00.000Z

Comment from my last post
"Edwina has a new grant offer that will save the day and employ thousands. Nothing to do with the fact that she has a £50m underspend.... a business minister with an underspend in a recession - shambles."
How on earth did this happen , when did they identify this underspend. Is it from when the coalition was in place and then its Ieuan Wyn Jones watch - but where were the rest of the Cabinet allowing this .
Where was the finance minister questioning why the money wasn't spent.
£50m spent at the front end of this recession would have saved and protected an awful lot of jobs ,could have top loaded some local authority schemes that had run of money , but still had demand.
How much red tape is going to tie the money up now I wonder and how flexible and wait for lateral thinking can the Department be about its use?

Europe

2011-11-14T07:48:00.001Z

So Italy has a new prime minister ,Greece a new government there are major concerns over the Euro Zone. The news is full of the doom and gloom headlines , what does make me wonder in all of this is what part is the European parliament playing?

What is the wider parliament doing -if any thing?

How may countries are there in there 25 ish ,they cost an arm and a leg to be kept there.We hear what certain countries think and feel but not most of them -what are they collectively doing to support ,help bale out the troubled ones.how much in recession or not are the newer entrants?

We have MEPs I haven't heard or seen them speak .What are they actually doing -both here and in Brussels .Since they all have a Wales wide remit they seem to have morphed into the ether.

Who holds them accountable -who do they answer to?

Do they have offices we can visit,do they do constituency work as their constituency is Wales how do they sort that.

I haven't seen Dragons Eye or the Sharp End grill them.

This is a European Crisis maybe time they broke their silence

weekend thought

2011-11-12T22:03:00.000Z

Big Greek Rip Off

2011-11-09T13:45:00.000Z

Even on a stiflingly hot summer's day, the Athens underground is a pleasure. It is air-conditioned, with plasma screens to entertain passengers relaxing in cool, cavernous departure halls - and the trains even run on time.There is another bonus for users of this state-of-the-art rapid transport system: it is, in effect, free for the five million people of the Greek capital.
With no barriers to prevent free entry or exit to this impressive tube network, the good citizens of Athens are instead asked to 'validate' their tickets at honesty machines before boarding. Few bother.
The Euro is at risk of collapse because of the Greek financial crisis.This is not surprising: fiddling on a Herculean scale — from the owner of the smallest shop to the most powerful figures in business and politics — has become as much a part of Greek life as ouzo and olives.
Indeed, as well as not paying for their metro tickets, the people of Greece barely paid a penny of the underground’s £1.5 billion cost — a ‘sweetener’ from Brussels (and, therefore, the UK taxpayer) to help the country put on an impressive 2004 Olympics free of the city’s notorious traffic jams.
The transport perks are not confined to the customers. Incredibly, the average salary on Greece’s railways is £60,000, which includes cleaners and track workers - treble the earnings of the average private sector employee here.
The overground rail network is as big a racket as the EU-funded underground. While its annual income is only £80 million from ticket sales, the wage bill is more than £500m a year — prompting one Greek politician to famously remark that it would be cheaper to put all the commuters into private taxis.
‘We have a railroad company which is bankrupt beyond comprehension,’ says Stefans Manos, a former Greek finance minister. ‘And yet, there isn’t a single private company in Greece with that kind of average pay.’
Significantly, since entering Europe the wage bill of the Greek public sector has doubled in a decade. At the same time, perks and fiddles reminiscent of Britain in the union-controlled 1970s have flourished.
Ridiculously, Greek pastry chefs, radio announcers, hairdressers and masseurs in steam baths are among more than 600 professions allowed to retire at 50 (with a state pension of 95 per cent of their last working year’s earnings) — on account of the ‘arduous and perilous’ nature of their work.
This week, it was reported that every family in Britain could face a £14,000 bill to pay for Greece’s self-inflicted financial crisis. Such fears were denied yesterday after Brussels voted a massive new £100bn rescue package which, it insisted, would not need a contribution from Britain.
Even if this is true — and many British MPs have their doubts — we will still have to stump up £1billion to the bailout through the International Monetary Fund.
In return for this loan, European leaders want the Greeks’ free-spending ways to end immediately if the country is to be prevented from ‘infecting’ the world’s financial system. Naturally, the Greek people are not happy about this.
In Constitution Square this week, opposite the parliament, thousands gathered to campaign against government cuts designed to save the country from bankruptcy.After running battles with riot police, who used tear gas to disperse protesters, thousands are still camped out in the square ahead of a vote by Greek politicians next week on whether to accept Europe-imposed austerity measures.
Take a short trip on the metro to the city’s cooler northern suburbs, and you will find an enclave of staggering opulence.Here, in the suburb of Kifissia, amid clean, tree-lined streets full of designer boutiques and car showrooms selling luxury marques such as Porsche and Ferrari, live some of the richest men and women in the world.
With its streets paved with marble, and dotted with charming parks and cafes, this suburb is home to shipping tycoons such as Spiros Latsis, a billionaire and friend of Prince Charles, as well as countless other wealthy industrialists and politicians.
One of the reasons they are so rich is that rather than paying millions in tax to the Greek state, as they rightfully should, many of these residents are living entirely tax-free. Along street after street of opulent mansions and villas, surrounded by high walls and with their own pools, most of the millionaires living here are, officially, virtually paupers.How so? Simple: they are allowed to state their own earnings for tax purposes, figures which are rarely challenged. And rich Greeks take full advantage.
Astonishingly, only 5,000 people in a country of 12 million admit to earning more than £90,000 a year — a salary that would not be enough to buy a garden shed in Kifissia.
Yet studies have shown that more than 60,000 Greek homes each have investments worth more than £1m, let alone unknown quantities in overseas banks, prompting one economist to describe Greece as a ‘poor country full of rich people’.
The riots are threatening to destabilise the Euro.Manipulating a corrupt tax system, many of the residents simply say that they earn below the basic tax threshold of around £10,000 a year, even though they own boats, second homes on Greek islands and properties overseas.
And, should the taxman rumble this common ruse, it can be dealt with using a ‘fakelaki’ — an envelope stuffed with cash.. There is even a semi-official rate for bribes: passing a false tax return requires a payment of up to 10,000 euros (the average Greek family is reckoned to pay out £2,000 a year in fakelaki.)
Even more incredibly, Greek shipping magnates — the king of kings among the wealthy of Kifissia — are automatically exempt from tax, supposedly on account of the great benefits they bring the country.
Yet the shipyards are empty; once employing 15,000, they now have less than 500 to service the once-mighty Greek shipping lines which, like the rest of the country, are in terminal decline.
With Greek President George Papandreou calling for a crackdown on these tax dodgers — who are believed to cost the economy as much as £40bn a year — he is now resorting to bizarre means to identify the cheats. After issuing warnings last year, government officials say he is set to deploy helicopter snoopers, along with scrutiny of Google Earth satellite pictures, to show who has a swimming pool in the northern suburbs — an indicator, officials say, of the owner’s wealth.
Officially, just over 300 Kifissia residents admitted to having a pool. The true figure is believed to be 20,000. There is even a boom in sales of tarpaulins to cover pools and make them invisible to the aerial tax inspectors.
‘The most popular and effective measure used by owners is to camouflage their pool with a khaki military mesh to make it look like natural undergrowth,’ says Vasilis Logothetis, director of a major swimming pool construction company. ‘That way, neither helicopters nor Google Earth can spot them.’
But faced with the threat of a crackdown, money is now pouring out of the country into overseas tax havens such as Liechtenstein, the Bahamas and Cyprus.Parliament: It could be all over for Greece, which is effectively bust from relying on EU cash from richer northern European countries‘Other popular alternatives include setting up offshore companies in Cyprus or the British Virgin Islands, or the purchase of real estate abroad,’ says one doctor, who declares an income of less than £90,000 yet earns five times that amount.There has also been a boom in London property purchases by Athens-based Greeks in an attempt to hide their true worth from their domestic tax authorities.
‘These anti-tax evasion measures by the government force us to resort to even more detailed tax evasion ploys,’ admits Petros Iliopoulos, a civil engineer.Hotlines have been set up offering rewards for people who inform on tax dodgers. Last month, to show the government is serious, it named and shamed 68 high-earning doctors found guilty of tax evasion.‘We will spare no effort to collect what is due to the state,’ said Evangelos Venizelos, the new Greek finance minister of the socialist ruling party. ‘We promise to draft and apply a new and honest tax system, one that has been needed for decades, so that taxes are duly paid by those who should pay.’ Yet, already, it is too late. Greece is effectively bust — relying on EU cash from richer northern European countries, but this has been the case ever since the country finally joined the euro in 2001.
Two years earlier, the country was barred from entering because it did not meet the financial criteria.
No matter: the Greeks simply cooked the books. Two years later, having falsely claimed to have met standards relating to manufacturing and industrial production and low inflation, the Greeks were allowed in.
Funds poured into the country from across Europe and the Greeks started spending like there was no tomorrow.
Money flowed into all areas of public life. As a result, for example, the Greek school system is now an over-staffed shambles, employing four times more teachers per pupil than Finland, the country with the highest-rated education system in Europe. ‘But we still have to pay for tutors for our two children,’ says Helena, an Athens mother. ‘The teachers are hopeless — they seem to spend their time off sick.’
Although Brussels has now agreed to provide the next stage of its debt payment programme to safeguard the count ry’s immediate economic future, the Greek media still carries ominous warnings that the military may be forced to step in should the country’s foray into Europe end in ignominy, bankruptcy and rising violence.
For now, the crisis has simply been delayed. With European taxpayers facing the prospect of saving Greece from bankruptcy for the second year in a row, some say even the £100bn on offer will pay off only the interest on the country’s debts — meaning it will be broke again within two years.Meanwhile, there are doom-laden warnings that the collapse of the Greek economy could be the catalyst for another global recession.
Perhaps if the Greeks themselves had shown more willingness to tighten their belts and pay taxes due to the state, voters across Europe might not now be feeling such anger towards them.
But having strolled the streets of Kifissia, and watched the Greek hordes stream past the honesty boxes on the underground, it does not take a degree in European economics to know when somebody is taking advantage — at our expense

Grass is Greener -maybe

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000Z

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and got out to
investigate.He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?"
"We don't have any money for food," the poor man replied. "We have to eat grass.""Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you," the lawyer said."But sir, I have a wife and two children with me.

They are over there, under that tree.""Bring them along," the lawyer replied.Turning to the other poor man he stated,

"You may come with us, also."
The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said,

"But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!""Bring them all as well," the lawyer answered.They all entered the car, which was no easy task,

even for a car as large as the limousine was.
Once under way, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, "Sir, you are too kind." "Thank you for taking all of us with you.The lawyer replied, "Glad to do it."
"You'll really love my place.""The grass is almost a foot high"

Who is actually managing the NHS in Wales?

2011-11-08T07:34:00.000Z

The NHS in Wales is spending £700,000 a year paying managers whose posts were scrapped during a shake-up of the health service in 2009.

BBC Radio Cymru obtained the figures and they show about 120 people who lost their posts were redeployed, some on the same salaries they had before.

And that's just managers , how many other posts are still duplicated we don't know.

One of the biggest causes of concern when I speak to friends who work in the Health Service is the quality and competency of senior managers and how they ended up in those jobs.

May be the new health minister should make that her priority to sort out.

Good competent management can be key not just to ensuring patients get the care they should , but also ensuring that care and the services that support it are cost effective too.

Figures from all seven local health boards in Wales show that at least 52 managers on pay protection are earning over £40,000 a year, 40 are earning over £50,000 and 24 over £80,000.

The total cost of pay protection to the NHS in Wales is around £700,000 a year.

Pay protection had been negotiated by the Unions as part of the TUPE arrangements when the NHS was reorganised.

This is just part of the anomalies that prevail in public sector. If a job is no longer there surely then that's a redundancy ,well it is in the private voluntary and community sectors. So why not in the public sector, why should people be paid a salary for a job they they are no longer doing, taking money for responsibility they no longer have.

Budget Smudge it!!

2011-11-05T10:22:00.000Z

Budget time in the Bay and understandably its a twitchy time for the various big hitters -Education and Health in particular.
Health is like a football knocked about , inflated and deflated according to where you are a player. I really don't understand why they cut the NHS side and pay millions, yes millions to private suppliers . If you look at the sort of budgets that go with people in for example various levels of secure care in mental health - most of which goes to private companies and agencies. why aren't these facilities being run by the health service and the money kept in the system?
We really do need some major changes but not to services and main stream staff but to the ways the budgets are run ,organised and managed.
Education -What are we trying to get to here ? Why have we moved from being a country that was known for the high standards we set to the sad one we now seem to be, according to statistics. Where is it all going wrong ? Why are our schools in so much need of repair. Why are our Universities like factories and such competitors. Surely it should be consensus and partnership working for the best ends for our students.
Economy - is loosing out all ways ,why are we cutting when we so need to boost Wales in terms of employment , trade , business etc.
Underneath these big bears sit the Local Authorities organisations and projects whose existence and missions depend on their cut of the overarching budgets.
At the moment we are in limbo,waiting, to see how the cake is being cut. Because of Labours precarious position they will need cross party or another parties support to get the budget agreed and passed.Will that depend on whats needed ,or what the opposition wants in respect of pet projects and vote winners.
I just find all this an unacceptable way to run a country, We would not run our business or homes in this way. Who decided this was the process , why should spend depend on who has the loudest voice , or who will cause the most delays , its crazy
The budget by now should be set, government departments ,organisations and people need to know where they are.

What does it take to change this

New analysis by GMB, compiled by The Office of National Statistics, published 25th of October.

2011-11-01T17:27:00.000Z

A new analysis by GMB public services union of official data for employment in local councils in England and Wales (compiled by The Office of National Statistics) shows that between the first quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011 the drop in the number of women employed by all councils in England and Wales accounts for 66.4% of the total drop in employment in councils. (85.710 female job losses out of 129.051 total council jobs)
And there are 19 councils where the drop in the number of women employed accounts for 100% of the total drop; North Warwickshire, Lichfield, Powys, Stroud, Canterbury, East Hampshire, Spelthorne, Wealden, Oxford, Pendle, Allerdale, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harlow, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, High Peak, Cotswold, West Somerset, Tonbridge and Malling and South Ribble.
Detailed figures for councils in all regions of England and Wales can be found here.http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/latest_news/women_council_job_losses.aspx
Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public services said, “The drop in the number of women employed in local government and state schools accounts for more than two-thirds of the drop in numbers employed by councils in England and Wales since the general election. This is a direct result of the government's cuts in public spending. This was entirely predictable because the public sector employs more women than men."

The drop in the number of women employed in the public sector means a serious loss of income from employment to women across the UK. Many households depend on having income from two wage earners to pay the mortgage and the household bills. The impact will be even worse in the quarter of households with children that are headed by lone parents, 90 per cent of whom are women.
The Tories and Lib Dem’s big gamble that private sector growth would create enough jobs to compensate for their cuts in public sector jobs has not come off as the rise in unemployment to 2.57 million shows.
In the middle of the worst international recession for 80 years it is the Government itself that is creating unemployment with 250,000 public sector posts already gone and still more cuts to come. These posts could have been available to the 2.57 million workers now facing the despair of mass unemployment.
Government policy is hurting but it’s not working.We know that the Tories are the uncaring party of mass unemployment but Marie Antoinette impression from the Lib Dems has got to stop. An emergency budget for investment in jobs is overdue.
The priority is for investment to create jobs and boost confidence rather than cuts in the tax rate for the super-rich.
Investment in housing, school repair, energy and transport are all badly needed and will create jobs and growth in all sectors of the economy.
Barriers to recruitment of women such as ensuring affordable childcare and access to flexible working need to be tackled. Specific measures are also needed to ensure that unemployed women receive the support they need to get them back into work.
The squandering of human talent through unemployment is a crime that will haunt future generations.”

The negative language needs to be changed - a message to ministers

2011-10-29T08:54:00.000+01:00

Community Links have released a discussion paper about the impact of the language often used to describe benefit claimants and jobseekers.
The paper is based on the findings from a series workshops. During the workshops, participants were shown quotes from senior politicians and were asked if they recognised the sentiment and how it made them feel.
The paper argues that condemning people on benefits has fast become a necessary part of achieving credibility for senior politicians of all parties.
As many have pointed out, much of the rhetoric is over-simplified and often factually inaccurate, but it also serves to undermine the aim Ministers purportedly hold dear; that of getting people back to work.
Remember IDS remarks about Merthyr .The impact of words like scroungers, deadbeats,cheats lazy , idle is doing real damage to people who through no fault of their own find themselves in situations they never wanted to be. That is unfair.
It may resound well with Mail and Sun readers, but it is far from the truth for the vast majority of people who are on benefit.
Read the paper in full here
http://www.community-links.org/uploads/editor/Speech%20marks%20final%20%5bRM%5d.pdf

We pay for cakes for civil servants !

2011-10-27T19:37:00.000+01:00

Sweet-toothed officials at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) spent £172.70 at The Cake Store in July and £54.30 at Krispy Kreme on March 30. The following day, the agency used the card to spend £247.75 at Dominos and £157.88 at Marks & Spencer.

So who is the landlord then - BBC Wales asks Welsh Government

2011-10-25T19:07:00.000+01:00

The assembly's rent for the Ty Hywel building in Cardiff Bay will rise nearly 30% next year from £1.7m.
It is paid to Crick Properties Ltd, registered in Douglas, Isle of Man, but assembly authorities cannot say who the ultimate owner of the building is.Senior AM Darren Millar is worried about the "very muddy" arrangements.
The Welsh assembly will pay £2.3m in rent to a mystery landlord for the building housing the offices of its 60 members, BBC Wales has found out.
But they dont know who owns their building - not on It could be an embarresment !

Carers of British Children - new guidelines

2011-10-25T18:02:00.001+01:00

Following the judgement in the case of Zambrano in the European Court of Justice in 2011, the UKBA will be amending the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 before the end of 2011 to issue documentation to carers of British children, giving them the right to live in the    UK. The judgement creates a right toreside and work for the sole carer of a dependent British citizen when that carer has no other right of residence in the UK    and removing the carer from the UK would   mean the British citizen would have to
leave the European Union. Until the regulations are changed, carers in this position are advised to apply to the UKBA using an EEA2 application and provide evidence of:
 the British Citizenship of the child;
 the relationship between the applicant and the British citizen; and
 the dependency between the applicant and the British citizen.
Further details of what evidence will be   accepted by the UKBA have not been provided, however evidence of the   relationship and the dependency between the applicant and the British citizen can
include a letter from social services departments.
It is understood that further guidance is forthcoming. Applicants will be issued with a certificate of application and this will grant them a   right to work and access public funds. If an applicant faces difficulties accessing public   funds, they can seek independent legal advice

British Bill of Rights Consultation

2011-10-25T17:52:00.000+01:00

The Government has set up an independent Commission on a Bill of Rights to investigate the creation of a

British Bill of Rights to incorporate the European Convention of Human Rights into UK law. For further information on the Commission, see: http://tinyurl.com/658wefv

Poverty - too poor to bury our dead

2011-10-22T09:54:00.000+01:00

Money poor families cannot afford to bury loved ones, and often taxpayers have to foot the bill, .Research by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that councils across England and Wales funded almost 3,000 funerals last year, mostly because families could not afford burial costs.
Under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, when someone dies outside of a hospital and there is no next of kin or anyone else to foot the bill, the funeral arrangements and costs fall on councils.
The report said 52% of councils reported increases in numbers of families claiming not to have enough money to pay for funerals.
Councils spent £2,110,000 on funerals, with the average cost per funeral being £950. Most of the councils involved in the study blamed the Government's "outdated" and "confusing" funeral payments service for letting families down.
Councillor David Rogers, chairman of the LGA's community well being board, said the Government's complex 25-page form stopped families from claiming grants. He said the process was slow and often failed families burdened with having to pay costs up-front.
"The last thing a grieving relative needs is extra stress over whether they're going to be able to pay for and organise the funeral of their loved one," Mr Rogers said.
"There is a specific grant available to alleviate that situation, but it's so outdated, complex and confusing that it often prevents people getting the support they're entitled to."
Mr Rogers said the funeral payment covered burial or cremation costs but only provided up to £700 for other expenses, including funeral director costs.
This has not been updated since 2003.It comes to something when we cannot afford to bury our dead.

HatTip Entrepreneur magazine Steve Jobs 7 rules of success

2011-10-22T09:29:00.000+01:00

Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be overestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile.
1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.
2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.
3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to?
5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?
6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.
7. Sell dreams, not products. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you'll win them over.
There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.

Summary of labour market statistics

2011-10-18T11:05:00.000+01:00

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to August 2011 was 70.4 per cent, down 0.3 percentage points on the quarter. The number of people in employment aged 16 and over fell by 178,000 on the quarter and by 47,000 on the year to reach 29.10 million. This is the largest quarterly fall in the number of people in employment since the three months to July 2009. The number of people working part-time fell by 175,000 over the quarter to reach 7.78 million. This is the largest quarterly fall in the number of part-time workers since comparable records began in 1992. The number of full-time workers fell by 2,000 on the quarter to reach 21.32 million. The number of people aged from 16 to 24 in employment fell by 78,000 on the quarter to reach 3.67 million. The number of people aged 65 and over in employment fell by 74,000 on the quarter to reach 822,000.

The unemployment rate for the three months to August 2011 was 8.1 per cent of the economically active population, up 0.4 on the quarter. The last time the unemployment rate was higher was in the three months to July 1996. The total number of unemployed people increased by 114,000 over the quarter (the largest quarterly increase since the three months to July 2009) to reach 2.57 million. The number of unemployed people has not been higher since the three months to October 1994. The unemployment rate for people aged from 16 to 24 increased by 1.6 percentage points over the quarter to reach 21.3 per cent of the economically active population for that age group. The number of unemployed people aged from 16 to 24 increased by 74,000 over the quarter to reach 991,000; this figure includes 269,000 people in full-time education who were looking for part-time work. The unemployment level and rate for people aged from 16 to 24 are the highest since comparable records began in 1992.
The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to August 2011 was 23.3 per cent, virtually unchanged on the quarter. The number of economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64 rose by 26,000 over the quarter to reach 9.35 million.
There were 1.60 million people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in September 2011. This is up 17,500 on August, but the number of people claiming JSA for up to six months fell by 9,100 between August and September to reach 995,700.
In the three months to August 2011, 150,000 people had become redundant in the three months before the Labour Force Survey interviews, up 6,000 over the quarter.
The whole economy earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) fell by 0.1 percentage point between the three months to July 2011 and the three months to August to reach 2.8 per cent. The whole economy earnings annual growth rate for regular pay (excluding bonuses) fell by 0.3 percentage points to reach 1.8 per cent in the three months to August.

Now where is plan B

Since 2007, Blog Action Day has focused bloggers around the world to blog about one important global topic on the same day. Past topics have included water, climate change and poverty. This year, Blog Action Day will be held on October 16, which coincides with World Food Day, so naturally our 2011 theme is FOOD

2011-10-16T08:24:00.000+01:00

Fhttp://www.blogactionday.org/irst and last, the purpose of Blog Action Day is to create a discussion. We ask bloggers to take a single day out of their schedule and focus it on an important issue.

By doing so on the same day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. Our hope is that out of this discussion naturally flow ideas, advice, plans, and action.

In 2007 with the theme of the environment, we saw bloggers running environmental experiments, detailing innovative ideas on creating sustainable practices, and focusing their audience’s attention on organizations and companies promoting green agendas.

In 2008 we covered the theme of poverty, and similarly focused the blogging community’s energies around discussing the wide breadth of the issue from many perspectives and identifying innovative and unexpected solutions.

In 2009 the conversation around climate change brought our voices around the globe to discuss an issue that threatens us all and mobilized tens of thousands of people to get more involved in the movement for a more sustainable future.

Last year, with the theme of Water, we saw 5,600 bloggers from 143 countries, reaching more than 40 million readers with discussions a broad range of water issues, from river conservation, to the ethics of bottled water, to the increasing privatisation of water access, to the water crisis in Africa, all eager to shed light on this often-overlooked topic.

http://blogactionday.org/
So what does Wales have to say about food

We are getting poorer.This isnt new - its been happening for years .

2011-10-13T21:50:00.000+01:00

West Wales and the southern valleys have become relatively poorer, despite receiving billions in EU funding, according to figures seen by the BBC.

It is one of a handful of places to get poorer after two rounds of funding.

More than £6bn has been invested from European money and match funds from UK, Welsh and local governments.

The European Commission said figures were disappointing, but did not reflect how funds were distributed. The Welsh government has been asked to respond.

The figures were obtained by BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye

People like Dylan Jones -Evans have constantly been flagging this for as long as I can remember. Our GDP/GVA has never picked up Why - the projects that the structural funds have financed have never cut it. They have been cash flow , but not profit making in both a money sense and in a job creation sense.

The areas of Wales that didn't have the "savior " grants did better -why - they had to succeed there was no cushion and certainly no room for the short term and over egged support jobs -so called technical assistance.

May be the brave thing to do is not to go for a third round , may be we should just let real enterprise happen and see what becomes of our GVA then.

Wanna Job?

2011-10-12T15:28:00.000+01:00

http://politicalscrapbook.net/virals/liam-fox-business-card/

Be the envy of Westminster with your own

Liam Fox business card follow the link above

Guido has one

Women and buying power

2011-10-11T14:49:00.000+01:00

Female employment continues to rise and wages for women are higher than ever, creating a significant impact on purchasing behavior and female spending. Euromonitor International published its latest strategy briefing: Female Breadwinners – How the Rise in Working Women is Influencing Spending Patterns and takes an inside look at demographic segmentation, the growing buying power of the female worker and opportunities in marketing to women.

Some professional women are earning more than ever before, and in some cases are becoming the sole or principle earner in the family.According to the report, women currently represent 40% of the global economically active population, reaching 1.25 billion in 2010.
Most importantly, Euromonitor’s analysis suggests that: with more female money makers, marketers need to consider new ways to target this consumer group.
From Gina Westbrook, Euromonitor International’s editorial director: “Women are more easily reached via viral campaigns, and are more interested than men in causal marketing and fair trade issues,” “Their natural desire for interaction and propensity to “spread the word”, along with the advent of web- and GPS-enabled phones, will make viral marketing and fun mobile phone apps more effective ways to reach female consumers in the future.”
The higher number of women in employment increases demand for clothing, cosmetics and fragrances, accessories and other products that women generally desire.
Additionally, more working women are living alone, and are becoming increasingly dominant in categories not historically marketed to them, including cars, technology, financial services and home improvement.“Loyalty schemes, vouchers and rewards are also effective ways to reach women, and can be made compatible with social media sites, while the 2-D barcode (QR code), already common in Japan, will come into more widespread use in Europe and North America,” says Gina Westbrook.
It would be interesting to see if this pattern is replicated any where in Wales and how much notice is being given to a more female targeting by marketeers. The same is true of the way women handle business support , but has been continually ignored by the male dominated business support strategists.

Hat Tip Change of Personnel

2011-10-08T07:04:00.002+01:00

In Dublin Castle this weekend there is a large gathering of the Irish Diaspora, but this is not for a trip down memory lane or to enjoy the craic of the Irish capital, the ex pats are in Dublin for the second Global Irish Economic Forum hosted by the Irish Government.
It’s aim is looking at ways in which the Irish Diaspora, or those with an connection to Ireland can contribute to Ireland’s economic recovery by exploring new ideas for generating wealth, as well as securing foreign investment and job creation.
Full story is over on COPs Blog - its worth a read
Its seems no one is commenting on what a good idea this is and really why Wales isnt following suit.
With all its woes and worries on its economy ,Ireland has still achieved the same GDP growth has us at around 1%. Says a lot
Its more than sad for Wales and this is where we miss out.We do not think like a country We do not put the trappings of being a country in place , we act like a province Is it any wonder we are so far behind in everything.And when we do have a national brand what do we do we rubbish it.Let's step up to the mark and assume we can be on the national and international stage and not just in rugby.

One in One Out -the Older Peoples Commissioner is leaving - want a job £its £92K

2011-10-07T17:54:00.000+01:00

Accounts for this year show a spend as follows
The Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure shows net expenditure after interest for 2010/11of £1.845 million (2009/10 £1.440million). Reserves at the year-end were £696k. The Commission has a plan to use these reserves effectively to support non recurrent programmes of work in 2011/12 and in future years.
So a job with plenty of resources ,staff nice offices and a whacking great salary
I wonder why the present Commissioner is leaving - may be she is retiring I bet there's a great pension package
If you want to apply its on the NAfW web site under public appointments.

New Commissioner -Meri Huws

2011-10-07T17:43:00.000+01:00

Meri Huws has been named as the first ever Welsh Language Commissioner. Ms Huws, who is currently chair of the Welsh Language Board, said:"I am delighted to have been appointed to this hugely important role. I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. "I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive."

The Minister for Education, Skills and Welsh Language, Leighton Andrews, said:"I look forward to working with Ms Huws in the future. She can now have an early input into the important work that lies ahead and help us plan for the establishment of her office, for which preparations are already being made through discussions between the Welsh Government and the Welsh Language Board."
Her job - she will play a pivotal role in the development of a new regulatory system, based on standards, to ensure the delivery of Welsh language services to the public. The Commissioner will also advise the Welsh Government and others on language policy and will be able to conduct inquiries into a wide range of matters relating to the Welsh language.
So who is she - Born in Carmarthen, Meri Huws was educated at Ysgol Uwchradd Abergwaun in Fishguard, before reading Law and Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and studying at Oxford University.After returning to Wales, she worked as a Social Worker in the Sgubor Goch area of Caernarfon and during this period was also Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) from 1981 to 1983.From Caernarfon, Meri Huws went to lecture at Coleg Normal in 1984, the University of Newport from 1989 to 1997 before moving to the Academic Office in Dublin City University until 1999. She then worked as Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Bangor University before being appointed as Pro vice Chancellor at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.She has been Chair of the Welsh Language Board since 2004 and was a member of the Board between 1993 a 1997. Since August 2009, Meri Huws has held the post of Pro-Vice Chancellor [Innovation, Community and Skills] at the University of Trinity St David.

Economic Progress - First get a Minister for the Economy

2011-10-05T08:20:00.000+01:00

So a budget for jobs and economic growth - first action cut the budget !
This is now getting beyond a joke .If you want growth its simple, you have to invest. You have to decrease the public sector and increase the private sector. Why well to create jobs that are sustainable through growth backed by real wealth creation then that's the only way .
Cries of ahhh but we need health ,we need education, we need we need we need!
Yes we need the services but why are we stuck in just one way of delivering these?
Strip these down to what we actually need not what tangles webs have grown up around them over years of creating posts we don't need.
We are over burdened by management that does serve a functional purpose We have jobs that have fancy titles that don't really take the services any where Oh and new initiatives that have never "washed their faces "
Radical means just that, but no one is prepared to be radical.Who knows if we actually go back to basics delivery and quality may improve as more resource would be focused to the delivery end.
There are also peripheral services around statutory that can and should be offered to social enterprises and small local providers ,why not instead of process may be we should use the words efficient, quality ,competent.
There is a role for public ,private and community in service provision -we need a radical overhaul and more than that we need ministers not afraid to take that ton. We have a few it seems, but not in business and economic development.
We cannot afford to cut budgets that support business and the economy ,the Finance minister needs to be challenged on that and the whole cabinet needs to get behind the economy in the way they are getting behind anti-poverty.
If the government cannot see the connection between the two aspects then we are in far more trouble that we think

Donations to the Tory Party - Explains alot.

2011-10-02T09:58:00.000+01:00

The City's influence over Conservatives is shown in the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's report which mapped, for the first time, donations to the Tories from business to the year ending 30 June.

More than half of the donations since the general election have come from individuals and businesses working in finance.
Hedge funds, financiers and private equity firms contributed more than a quarter of all the Tories' private donations which were equal to £1m a month The figures show a significant increase in party funds coming from the financial sector,
Peter Hain said the figures underlined the Tories remain indebted to the few who do well out of the financial and political system. The Lib Dems used the research to step up their campaign for changes to party funding.
Using analysis from the Electoral Commission and Companies House databases, the researchers found City donations in the 12 months to July accounted for 51.4% of the £12.2m of funds received by Central Office. Hedge funds, financiers and private equity firms contributed £3.3m – 27% – 50 City donors paid more than £50,000. All donors contributing this amount or more become members of the Leader's Group and qualify for a face-to-face meeting with the prime minister.
The largest contributor across all the business sectors studied was hedge funds which donated £1.38m (11.4%). Three of the City's biggest name hedge fund bosses – Michael Farmer, Lord Stanley Fink and Andrew Law – together contributed £636,300. Fink is the party treasurer.
The top financier donor was David Rowland, who contributed £1.1m. he was forced to resign as party treasurer before he even took up the job because of links to tax havens. He now controls Banque Havilland – which used to be the crashed Icelandic Kaupthing bank business.
Another significant donor was manufacturing and defence. This sector contributed £913,411 (7.5%).
A company controlled by Michael Spencer, another former Conservative treasurer, donated £163,350. He is campaigning against the EU's attempts to introduce a transaction tax on financial trades and threatened on Friday to shift some of his company's operations from London "extremely rapidly" if the tax was introduced.
Peter Cruddas, the multimillionaire currency trader gave £123,600, his business, CMC Markets UK, donated £100,000. He is co-treasurer of the Conservative party
The figures show the insurance sector has donated £189,400 as the government discusses radical plans to slash the legal aid budget – a measure which critics claim will benefit insurers.
Construction companies have donated more than £220,000 amid a lobbying campaign to relax planning rules covering the green belt.
Whats a major concern is the Tory reliance on City interests at a time when the government is attempting to put banking reform on the back burner.
How much influence do major donors have , or expect.Or is it titles and gongs they thirst after?
The Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said: "Big financiers are still the Tories' big backers with hedge fund gamblers and private equity asset strippers leading the way. Labour is being bankrolled by the union bosses. The coalition must act now to clean up party funding."
Some headline donors from the report
David Rowland, property developer: £1,160,936. The former tax exile was set to become party treasurer last year but resigned shortly before he was due to start.
Michael Bishop, former BMI head: £335,000
May Makhzoumi, fibreglass pipe manufacturing and supply business: £308,000.
The biggest individual female donor.
JCB Research, industrial equipment company: £300,000 JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford was nominated for a peerage by David Cameron last year, but withdrew his nomination.
David Whelan, owner JJB Sports £100,000
John Frieda, hairdresser: £50,000; Sold his hair care products business to a Japanese corporation for £290m in 2002.
Jeremy Isaacs, private equity firm co-owner: £50,000;Left as head of Lehman Brothers' European and Asian operations days before bank went bankrupt in 2008. Later co-founded private-equity group vehicle JRJ group.
Hans Rausing, ex-packaging tycoon: £49,000 Co-inherited Sweden's Tetra Pak group, the world's largest packaging production company, then sold out to brother Gad in 1995 for an estimated $7bn. Wife Marit also donated £49,000 last year.
Julian Fellowes, writer and actor: £40,000; . Was made a Conservative peer in January.
Annabel's, private members restaurant & nightclub: £20,000
Mike Batt, composer: £20,000
Bell Pottinger, PR group: £11,900 ; rrepresents the government in Bahrain.

"Profoundly disappointed" says Minister

2011-09-29T06:50:00.002+01:00

Carl Sargeant wants neighbouring councils to share more senior staff but has no power to insist that they do so. Conwy is going ahead with appointing a new CEO despite being asked to consider sharing one with one of its neighbours.

Mr Sargeant has made his views on looking at some practical ways of cost cutting "very clear".

Carl Sargeant wants reform and he wants it now and has warned he will push it through.He said the staffing structure across Wales' 22 local councils was outdated,and needed reform.He also warned council leaders he was expecting "much more progress" and threatened he may take action to force the pace.

Earlier this month, a plan for a major change in the way local authorities would be organised was produced in which he set out regional groupings for operating council services.

In a letter sent to a council taxpayer, Mr Sargeant's office said he was not happy with the decision, but the law gave him no powers to do anything about it.

The Welsh Government has denied it is planning to merge councils "by the back door" with its six regions It wants six new regional groups to run services such as education and social care, rather than the 22 local authorities.

The six proposed regions are North Wales, Mid and West Wales, Swansea Bay, Cwm Taf, Cardiff and Vale and Gwent.Although councils will not be merged, ministers will insist they look to deliver services jointly within these six areas.

But it looks like the Minister and WLGA are on a collision course on this one "

The new boundaries are designed to match Local Health Board borders and police areas, to make it easier for services to be integrated with them.

Peter Black said he was in favour of cutting the number of councils, but accused the government of reorganisation "by the back door"He said: "This is a blueprint for reorganisation. I'm OK about having that debate, but let's have that debate, not ease our way there surreptitiously.

"Let's actually have a debate about what we want to do with local government. It seems to me that at the moment, the government and the ministers are floundering around without really knowing what they're doing - let's have a proper debate about whether we're going to reorganise or not instead of trying to do it by the back door."

The Welsh Government wants to introduce a new law in the autumn which will be aimed at forcing councils who are reluctant to share services to do so.

This minister is not one to be messed with he has his ideas and seems determined to have his way. But then so do many council leaders -watch this space.

and now for something completely different

2011-09-28T08:03:00.000+01:00

Scotland has reviewed its civil service -didnt labour say they were going to do that too?

2011-09-28T07:55:00.000+01:00

The report was written by Sir John Elvidge, who is the former permanent secretary to the Scottish government.
Here is the link to download the report

eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance

Fewer than one voter in four sees Ed Miliband as a credible future prime minister

2011-09-26T22:41:00.000+01:00

Labour has fallen behind the Conservatives in an opinion poll published on the eve of Ed Miliband's high-profile speech to the party's annual conference in Liverpool.

The ComRes survey for The Independent found that fewer than one voter in four sees Ed Miliband as a credible future prime minister.

It is the first time since October 2010 that a ComRes poll has put Tories in the lead and one of only a handful of surveys this year to find Labour in second place.

Some 37% of the 1,000 voters questioned said they backed Tories - down one point since the most recent poll by the same company eight days ago - against 36% for Labour (down two) and 12% for the Liberal Democrats (up one).

Just 24% agreed that Ed was a credible PM-in-waiting, 57% said he was not.

Only 27% said Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls would make a better Chancellor than George Osborne, 43% who said he would not.

Following Ed Balls's admission in his speech to conference that Labour had made "mistakes" during its time in power, the poll found that 40% of voters would be more likely to support the party if it apologised for its failings in office, against 52% who would not.

Almost half of those questioned (48%) thought the unions enjoy too much influence over Labour, but 37% said they do not.

The poll was carried out between Friday and Sunday, I am sure Labour strategists will be hoping that the dip in supports will be reversed by the "bounce" which parties generally benefit from after their conference.

May be time that the two Ed's did some good PR work I wonder what Labour grass roots think

Price of Bread - whats the story here

2011-09-21T08:47:00.002+01:00

Celiac.com 09/14/2011 - There is a bit of a dust-up over the cost of gluten-free bread to UK taxpayers. It seems that either UK's National Health Service (NHS) is being gouged, or that the conservative party had released inaccurate statistics about the cost of gluten-free bread to UK taxpayers.

In the UK, those diagnosed with celiac disease are given a doctor's prescription that allows them to purchase gluten-free bread from stores or pharmacies at cost that is partly subsidized by the taxpayer.

The dust-up began when press reports stated that each loaf of gluten-free bread cost the NHS in Wales £32 (over $40), once the costs of diagnosis and prescription were factored in.

This prompted a reply by major gluten-free bread-maker Genius foods noting that Genius supplies the bread to the NHS at the exact same rate as it supplies to stores, and saying that Genius was frustrated by additional charges levied on gluten-free bread that it supplies to the NHS in Wales.

Genius also said: “Some pharmacies, however, choose to order through a wholesaler, and in these instances the wholesaler can opt to apply an additional administration charge for taking and placing these orders."

Genius added that: “This handling fee appears to be charged directly to the NHS. Genius Foods does not profit in any way from these charges.”

However, the UK government insists that talk of £32 loaves is incorrect, and claims that the £32 figure came after the nation’s Conservative party read statistics as referring to cost per loaf, rather than prescription.

Welsh health minister Lesley Griffiths said, "The actual cost for the single loaf of gluten-free bread in question is around £2.82, not the £32 claimed."

Its hitting women again

2011-09-20T20:38:00.000+01:00

If the Coalition wants to win back women voters, they must ditch the disastrous domestic violence provisions in their Legal Aid Bill.
The way the changes are currently framed will mean most victims of violence will be denied legal aid and forced to represent themselves against their abuser in the family courts.
To get legal aid a domestic violence sufferer must have obtained one of four kinds of civil injunctions or a criminal conviction against the perpetrator. Alternatively, she will qualify if she is being safeguarded by a multi-agency risk assessment conference (a MARAC) or there must has been the establishment of domestic violence as fact in the family courts. MARACs are used for a few exceptionally serious cases. Findings of fact will be a diminishing category since it is for family courts that legal aid will now routinely be refused.
As most people now know, domestic violence is grossly under-reported. Most sufferers are too afraid to complain. Few obtain one of the four kinds of civil injunction required by the proposed legal aid rules and few undertake let alone sustain criminal proceedings.
It is those who are most afraid who will be denied legal aid to seek help in the family courts.
Even a victim who has made a report will have difficulty under the new law. Although Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly says his rules will test the merits of a case, they are, an arbitrary exclusion from eligibility. An overwhelming allegation of domestic violence, supported by impeccable witness evidence, will not, under this law, qualify for legal aid.
The victim may go to her doctor repeatedly battered and bruised. A & E may be used to seeing her with boot-marks on her face.
Djanogly is : "Not persuaded that the medical professionals would be best placed to assess whether domestic violence has occurred. Although they may witness injuries, it may be difficult for them to determine how they occurred "
What if they are certain that her injuries come from domestic violence? She still wouldn't get legal aid .
Nor is there any point in evidence from a neighbour, who may have heard blows, sheltered her or even run in and rescued her from violence. That police who may have attended, saw him punch her, saw her injured and arrested him, all that is insufficient.
If she asks for an injunction, judges often tell a perpetrator that he can save the costs of a hearing by undertaking not to hurt her in future. The Court registers the undertaking; it is contempt of court if he breaks it. But it will not help her to get legal aid.Should she get admission to a refuge, though the staff will be experienced in assessing complaints, it will not get her legal aid.
"To include admission to a refuge in the criteria would be to rely on self-reporting." says Djanogly
A victim may have eye witnesses, police and medical evidence, records from refuges and perpetrator programmes, undertakings not to assault and photographs of injuries but she will not get legal aid.
Police, CPS and the courts determine whether a criminal case proceeds. All she can do to be eligible for legal aid is to apply for a civil injunction. How would a victim proceed if she was courageous enough to do that?
She would use legal aid. According to this a person who cannot get legal aid for family proceedings by self-reporting, can get legal aid for an injunction by self-reporting. Her word is good enough to bring proceedings that first time round and once she has the order she will qualify for legal aid a second time, for the family court.
It is hardly a saving on the departmental budget to require people to go to court to prove that their complaint is good enough to be funded to go to court again.Its crazy.
Legal aid must be given where there is evidence of domestic violence. This law breaks Kenneth Clarke's earlier promise to the contrary. It is sexist from the all-male MoJ,-Djanogly comment - "The criteria for family legal aid must be not to give support to abused women but,"designed...to minimise the risk of false allegations" of domestic violence.
So many of the acts of this government are hitting women unfairly and undermining women in very vulnerable situations.

RIP: Phillip Hill, Charles Breslin, David Powell, and Garry Jenkins

2011-09-17T09:17:00.001+01:00

Another internal candidate gets top job -Salary 130K

2011-09-15T18:17:00.000+01:00

From Wales on Line
AN internal candidate has landed the key business civil service role in the Welsh Government.James Price has been appointed director general for the Department for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science.
He previously headed the department in an interim capacity, after the former director general Gareth Hall was moved to a new energy role in North Wales last year.
It is understood Mr Price has struck up a positive working relationship with the minister for the department Edwina Hart. The position has a salary of £130,000 – without any performance-related bonus.
Commenting on the appointment, Permanent Secretary Dame Gill Morgan said: “I want to congratulate James on his appointment following a very tough and rigorous open competition.
“I was joined on the selection panel by the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Sir Bruce Robinson, who has a strong track record in economic development, a senior representative from Welsh business, one of our non-executive directors, our Director General for People, Places and Corporate Services and a civil service commissioner.
“The Director General for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science is a critical part of our senior team with a very important role in supporting the minister and Cabinet in developing the economy of Wales at a challenging time. “ I wanted the most rigorous selection process possible to ensure we got the best person for the job and I’m delighted to welcome James.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-news/2011/09/14/price-appointed-to-top-welsh-government-post-91466-29416060/#ixzz1Y2fX1SaZ

- whats his background ,what are his skills to do this job ,who were the other candidates well he gets on with Edwina , big plus for him Where can we find out more - his CV for instance After all we are paying him.

So whats the Ministers excuse this time -No show Edwina - its not good enough

2011-09-15T07:03:00.001+01:00

Well she refused to go to London to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee so now MPs from the Welsh Affairs Select Committee are coming to the Bay to speak to AMs about the problems with the decline of inward investment here.
The select committee has heard from witnesses, including former WDA chair Sir Roger Jones.His comment " more than 100 million a year spent on attracting inward investment has produced “next to nothing”, and "the civil service was incapable of attracting businesses". that to me should have raised alarm bells with the minister.
Mrs Hart was also quizzed about the matter by opposition AMs in the Senedd during her first question time as business minister.her reply she said she looked at all invitations carefully and was “happily” supplying written evidence to the committee on broadband because it was a matter she believed needed to be dealt with jointly “across the UK”. “The economy is my responsibility here in Wales and I think I am capable of doing my job on that,” she added. No show.
Broadband is that the priority !
A the time the Committee offered to hold a meeting at the Senedd on September 15, so plenty of advance warning
All the parties will give evidence , naturally you assume that the Labour minister with responsibility for business and the economy would be one , but no its a back bencher that's doing the business for Labour
Whats the big deal - why wont this Minister give evidence for Wales - the MPs are offering help and we could do with all the help we can get on the economy.

All other Governments are back where's ours?

2011-09-12T09:11:00.000+01:00

Wales -
In Plenary

The Welsh Assembly is in recess and will return on Monday September 19.
So where are our Ministers today?
Who is in charge ?

For information reports published today you may find interesting

2011-09-12T09:09:00.000+01:00

The final report of Sir John Vickers' Independent Commission on Banking is published. http://bit.ly/oBm0XL
Make Justice Work publishes its final report in the Community or Custody inquiry into the relative effectiveness of different types of sentences.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies publishes a report warning of the impact of spending cuts and tax rises on household incomes, suggesting that the effects will last a decade.
Open Europe publishes a report entitled 'The Case for European Localism', to be launched at the inaugural meeting of a new group of eurosceptic Conservative MPs.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes report on the treatment of disabled people in society, which warns that harassment and abuse is "commonplace".
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers publishes a report which finds that older carers do not receive enough support from the NHS.
The GMB publishes a study on alcohol pricing which blames rising rents for the closure of local pubs. http://bit.ly/odtKrL
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills publishes the building price and cost indices quarterly update.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes the agricultural market reports.
The Office for National Statistics publishes information on time-use surveys and the measurement of national well-being.

Archbishop Rowan to quit

2011-09-10T23:33:00.000+01:00

So Archbishop Rowan Williams is ready to quit to pursue a life in academia or so he has told various friends .If that's true it would be such a shame .He is an amazing man, intelligent , dedicated , not afraid to speak his mind and he really does care about people.

So why leave the job at 61 when he can carry on until he is 70. I guess the pressure must be intense in such a high profile role and he has been there 10 years. I wonder if may be this family man would also like to spend more time with them.

He spent much of his earlier career as an academic, at Cambridge and Oxford successively.

Williams speaks or reads 11 languages: English, Welsh, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Biblical Hebrew, Syriac, Latin and both Ancient (koine) and Modern Greek. He learnt Russian in order to be able to read the works of Dostoevsky in the original.

If you look at his career path its so impressive Its not beyond thought that he would seek to go back to being a scholar.

If the whispers are true there will a lot of ducking and diving by possibles to succeed him.

Apparently Bishops have privately been arguing for him to stand down, with the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, telling clergy he should give someone else a chance after nearly ten years in the post.

Lambeth Palace wouldn't confirm or deny whether the rumours.A spokesman would only say: "We would never comment on this matter."

Anonymous said...comment on previous post

2011-09-09T13:21:00.002+01:00

Anonymous said...

It is generally acknowledged by the media industry in Wales that this was an excellent report by Richard Turner. s4c has also already praised the report according to insiders after receiving it in May.

Insiders also suggest that the authority was given a presentation of the findings in in early summer and accepted the report.

It is alleged that the complaint sent two months later in July is from the acting chief executive who also sits on the University council.

Did he put pressure on the University to change the conclusions of the report? That should be the focus of any press enquiry.

So far, there is no evidence to suggest this YET but is there a smoking gun waiting to be found through a Freedom of Information request? I hope the Western Mail and the BBC are on the case.

Leaked report -who has been suspended then !!!

2011-09-07T19:09:00.001+01:00

Breaking news a "damning"report written by Richie Turner at the Global Academy (UW) had been leaked It had been commissioned by S4C..Apparently a member of staff at GA has been suspended over leaking it.
Ummm are they sure because this was published on the 9 of August on Alun Cairns Face Book and he made several comments on it
"The Western Mail recently reported Richie Turner’s investigation which offered damning judgements on how S4C is being run. The report from the Global Academy of the University of Wales was commissioned by the channel. Mr Cairns claims that the contents merely confirms what he has been saying for some time, raising questions of why Ms Jones had been sacked, the questionable way the Acting Chief Executive and later the Acting Chairman came to be appointed and how they have gone about running and managing the channel over the last 12 months. "
Its now the 7th of September - whats going on?

Where do commentators stand, do we need to know?

2011-09-07T07:16:00.000+01:00

Listening to Peter Stead on Radio Wales this morning made me wonder where he actually stands on Wales and devolution , why should that be of any consequence to anyone- well he seems to pop up all over the place-radio IWA papers , mainstream press etc.
His take was that we didn't win devolution we were granted it basically, and these were his words because we were "whingers " that the UK wanted to get rid of.
And now all we have gained is some cultural identity apart from that we are a basket case.
The conversation was rooted in the education debate ,where he looked at the decline due to Wales lack of resources to invest in its education.
Why then am I interested in what this man has to say.
Basically he is regarded as a voice to be listened to. But I don't agree with him that didn't win devolution - it was hard fought for it over many years and Wales is the better for it . We are a nation and we need to in charge of our own destiny and make our own way .Yes we will make mistakes but that's the way to learn.
economically we are not a basket case , we need to be more astute and get our economy on the straight path towards more jobs and more wealth creation , but we are doing it from a low point we have inherited because of lack of investment before devolution.
Strange the impressions one get from media Stead is an interesting commentator but where he comes from politically and socially is now really unclear to me and as with any commentator I think its essential to know.

Are are Universities underselling themselves ?

2011-09-03T18:16:00.000+01:00

Universities yield benefits way beyond the individual financial returns to students and human capital gains for the economy. Just three social outcomes – greater political interest, higher interpersonal trust and better health – contribute a benefit of £1.31 billion to UK society over and above the economic benefits.
University performance is often evaluated according to a limited set of indicators, namely financial returns to individuals and impact on economic growth. Such narrow valuations ignore the role universities play in building a stronger and more tolerant society – both directly through public outreach and indirectly through the student university experience. Where attention has been paid to the broader outcomes the lack of quantitative evidence has led to an assumption that their value to society is marginal.
NEF have produced a report which aims to challenge this assumption. Using principles based on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, it finds monetary values for three UK-wide societal outcomes: greater political interest, higher interpersonal trust and better health, alongside a number of community outcomes derived from community outreach activities at two universities, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the University of Warwick (UW).
The research has attempted to quantify public value in a way previously not thought possible, however, it does not give a full account of all the broader benefits produced. For example, it does not quantify the vital contribution of scientific research on issues such as combating climate change and diseases such as cancer. Instead, it is an initial attempt to evoke discussion about the broader public contributions from the diverse ways in which everyone profits from the university sector in the UK.

1. Societal benefits from individual social outcomes: The public value generated from just three society-wide outcomes – greater political interest, higher interpersonal trust and better health – amount to £212 million from the 1.9 million current undergraduate students and a total of £1.31 billion for all 11.8 million graduates in the UK.
2. Facilitating social mobility: At MMU the principal public benefit is created by having higher than average levels of students from low-income households. Through this one activity MMU contributes £147.2 million to society a year.
3. Public outreach and access to cultural resources: Just one reading programme organised by Warwick Volunteers works with over 100 primary school students and helps improve reading fluency, the enjoyment of reading and aspirations to the value of £290,000 for pupils and the local community.
International students involved in volunteering at the UW add cultural learning benefits for the local community. We estimate these cultural and community cohesion benefits to be almost £48,000.
Aggregating the value of student volunteering for just mentoring alone reveals a contribution to the local community of £954,000. Crucially, the experience of volunteering at university has a sustained effect. The likelihood of these individuals volunteering again in the future is at least twice that for those who do not volunteer in early adulthood.
Finally, Warwick Arts Centre, based on campus, stages high calibre cultural performances for the public. The locality of the Centre increases the variety of live theatre, music and dance performance available to those in the community and enhances the reputation of the local area. We estimate that the cultural benefits sum to £27.7 million.
The above valuations are for just two universities and an isolated number of community engagement programmes. Thus, it is fair to assume that the university sector as a whole is delivering benefits through facilitating social mobility, community engagement and cultural enrichment to the value of billions of pounds every year.
NEF's findings demonstrate the significant contribution universities can make in strengthening the glue that holds society together, providing cultural facilities and raising the aspirations of children and young people. As such, higher education impacts on wider policy than just education This needs to be recognised.
It would be interesting to look at this in relation to Welsh Universities . Maybe the Universities them selves should publicise the wider impact they have.

Another Blow for Child Poverty

2011-09-01T14:18:00.000+01:00

The 2009 Welfare Act changed the rules on benefit for lone parents. A huge number were moved to Jobseeker’s Allowance where they have to be available for employment and actively seek work. This is down to the policymakers not understanding the nature and consequences of Domestic Violence. Its not just about the practicalities that kick in - like finding a new home, sorting out new schools coping with all the trauma the abuse has caused. Often these women, and it is mostly women, have physical problems, mental problems and confidence levels that are at ground level. They simply may not be able to look for paid work or go for a job or interview at short notice. Domestic violence accounts for between 16 and 25 per cent of all violent crime; in any one year, there are 13 million separate incidents of physical violence or threats of violence against women from partners or former partners.

JCP advisers have discretionary powers to defer these rules for domestic emergencies, but the House of Lords was concerned that advisers might not realise the full traumatic results of domestic abuse .The 2009 Act was amended to introduce an automatic 13-week deferral period, in addition to discretionary powers. Adding the discretionary and non-discretionary periods together, people facing particularly hardship will be able to claim JSA for up to 24 weeks before they have to be available for employment.

But to qualify for the deferral period, a claimant will have to provide written evidence that they are victims of domestic violence.

One characteristic of domestic violence is that it takes place at home, leaves no evidence and victims often do not report it. Victims are even more unlikely to be able to provide evidence of intimidation and psychological abuse.

A supplement to the 1996 British Crime Survey looked specifically at the extent of domestic violence. The BCS is based on face-to-face interviews; the supplement was based on a self-completed questionnaire – thus giving a more robust indication of those deterred from reporting their experiences. In 1995, there were 6.6 million incidents of domestic physical assault, more than six times as many as the 987,000 reported in the 1995 British Crime Survey.

Adding to the concerns is 23 of the 127 specialist domestic violence courts established since 2005 are to be closed. These courts were established to make it easier for victims to give evidence. Their closure will make it harder for victims to provide evidence in support of their claim for deferral.

Cuts in the Voluntary sector will also make it harder again to get help, Specialists like Women’s Aid. who could maybe help are being hit by cuts In March, a survey by Women’s Aid found 60% of its refuge services and 72% of its outreach services had no funding agreed from April 1st.

This is where not joining up the dots and looking at policy on the round causes more problems that it solves.

Do Cameron and Clegg really want to hit these already bruised and battered families even more?

This abuse is a blight on society and predictions are it will increase as redundancies and loss of earnings kick in. Do we really expect some of the most vulnerable people in our society to get out there leave traumatised children and get jobs?

Oh and what jobs?

Welsh Index of Multiple Deprevation

2011-08-31T21:07:00.000+01:00

The updated Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation is published today. It may be of interest to your area of work. The announcement is from Statistics for Wales (@StatisticsWales on Twitter). The following hastags are being used on Twitter: #WIMD2011 #deprivation #statistics.

Please also see http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/wimd/?lang=en

Welsh Government | Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation

wales.gov.uk

Deprivation is a wider concept than poverty. Poverty means a lack of money. Deprivation refers to wider problems caused by a lack of resources and opportunities. Therefore, WIMD is constructed from eight different types of deprivation.

These are:

income
housing
employment
access to services
education
health
community safety
physical environment.

Wales is divided into 1,896 Lower-Layer Super Output Areas (LSOA) each having about 1,500 people. Deprivation ranks have been worked out for each of these areas: the most deprived LSOA is ranked 1, and the least deprived 1,896. One area has a higher deprivation rank than another if the proportion of people living there who are classed as deprived is higher. An area itself is not deprived: it is the circumstances and lifestyles of the people living there that affect its deprivation rank. And it is important to remember that not everyone living in a deprived area is deprived—and that not all deprived people live in deprived areas.
WIMD is suited to uses where the interest is in areas with high concentrations of deprivation. It is used to:

give an overall deprivation rank for each of the 1,896 LSOAs in Wales
give ranks for the separate deprivation domains for each of the LSOAs
compare the deprivation ranks for two or more of the LSOAs
compare two or more local authorities (or other groups of LSOAs) by looking at the proportion of the LSOAs in the local authority in the most deprived (say) ten per cent in all of Wales.

The index cannot be used to:

monitor change over time
say how much more deprived one area is than another
aggregate to different geographies by taking an average of the ranks of the LSOAs which make up that geography

To laugh or be ridiculed that is the question?

2011-08-29T18:21:00.001+01:00

Why should Cymraegophobia be treated any less seriously than homophobia, Question posed by Syniadau in his post the Insouciant Pantomime Dame to Chris Bryant MP.
Mr Bryant attacks Jonathan Edwards for having a go at some one insulting the Welsh , where as recently he played up over remarks made to him as a gay man , by George Osborne.
Yes we can all have a laugh at ourselves , but some remarks go a bit deeper. I notice that Carol Vordeman and Peter Black have chimed in now ,again either not Welsh or not living in Wales -I think maybe they should measure what they say on this.
Why should we have to grin and bear it when we get insulted .If its part of a comedy routine and its in the right context I can have a good giggle with the rest But you know sometimes I am glad people stand up and make a noise.

Pontio -here it is -why has the CEO gone ?

2011-08-26T07:59:00.000+01:00

Pontio, will include a theatre with a capacity of between 450-550 seats, cinema space, a studio theatre, and an outdoor amphitheatre, all accompanied by exciting new social facilities including bars, dining and park areas in a 'family-friendly' environment.
The Centre's public performance spaces will become a major focus for Welsh culture, and will be designed to provide innovative and inspirational platforms for engaging new talent.
In addition, the ground-breaking development will establish a world-class centre for innovation in science, technology and the creative industries and will create an internationally significant Centre for learning and the performing arts. The new building will bring together arts and sciences and forge closer links with the Bangor community.
The Pontio Project will also include a dynamic Innovation Hub, cutting-edge teaching and learning facilities and a new home for the University's Students' Union.
University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Fergus Lowe is leading the project:
"Backed by £15m of Welsh Assembly Government funding, the Centre will have an incredibly positive impact on the wider community in Bangor: Approximately 450 jobs will be created or safeguarded during the construction phase, and an additional 450 once the building is opened in 2012.
"It will play host to a wide variety of performances from spectacular theatre productions, film, circus, dance, rock and pop concerts to opera and much more.
"This is the project that will put Bangor on the map and will help to regenerate the city's urban heart. It will provide a Centre of such remarkable innovation and artistic excellence that it is sure to draw the attention of people from near and far, as well as providing new impetus to the growth of the north Wales economy," he said.
The Innovation Hub will help to equip young people with high level science and engineering skills. It will focus on quality skills that will generate new technologies for businesses in areas as diverse as digital technologies, environmental goods and services, bioscience, advanced software and visualisation amongst many others. It will also showcase and help to develop a range of world-class research on pressing socio-economic issues, particularly in the areas of health and protection of the environment.
Throughout the Centre, new teaching and social learning spaces will be created to provide high quality modern educational environments that will benefit students, promote community engagement, and help business. Along with teaching and innovation spaces, the Centre will have state-of-the-art digital showcase facilities to enable the display of work using the latest in digital technology.
Professor Lowe continued:
"This is a once in a generation chance for Bangor. We will create an internationally significant Centre for learning and the performing arts that will be a potent symbol of innovation and collaboration for the whole community."
For more information about the centre visit the Pontio website www.pontio.co.uk. The plans will be showcased at the Visitor Centre on Bangor High Street on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of June.

Edwina Hart intends to set out her policy agenda this autumn following engagement with business leaders; We cannot wait that long

2011-08-23T17:19:00.002+01:00

Flagged up to Mrs Hart and her team

2011-08-23T10:32:00.000+01:00

By 2008-09 Wales was securing just over 6 per cent of all new jobs created by foreign inward investment projects in the UK, well below the earlier peak of 15 per cent. This figure fell to 4 per cent during 2009-10, and we now trail our main traditional competitor regions.
Action need PDQ.
Read the whole article over on the IWA Blog Click on Wales

SMF Press Release - they were the original ones behind the Work programme

2011-08-22T14:17:00.000+01:00

Government's flagship back to work programme at risk of financial collapse, says think tank
At least 90% of organisations involved in delivering the Government's flagship back to work scheme, the Work Programme, risk having their contracts terminated because of unreachable performance targets set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Social Market Foundation, the think tank originally behind the idea for the Work Programme and responsible for the analysis, said that without an urgent rethink of the performance criteria this could lead to the failure of the entire scheme with potentially dire consequences for the 2.4 million long term unemployed it is designed to help.
The SMF's analysis uses new data on performance levels of welfare to work providers under Labour's back to work programme, the Flexible New Deal (FND), to forecast the likely performance of organisations delivering the Work Programme. Looking at the Government's stated minimum performance levels for getting adult jobseekers - the main target group - into work, the analysis finds that:

The Work Programme will get around one in four adult Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) clients into work, significantly below the rate needed to meet the DWP's expectations for minimum performance;
Providers will fail to meet the minimum performance expected of them by the DWP by around 30,000 jobs over three years;
Providers will also undershoot what the Government anticipates would have happened if no welfare to work scheme existed at all, suggesting that the Government's analysis of this 'policy-off' scenario is over-optimistic;
Based on FND performance levels, over 90% of Work Programme providers will be at risk of having their contracts terminated by DWP even by year three of the scheme;
This under-performance means that funding per jobseeker will be significantly less than anticipated, threatening the financial viability of providers.

"The future of this vital employment scheme hangs in the balance," said Ian Mulheirn, Director of the SMF. "The programme aims to get some of the hardest to reach people off benefits and into work, but past performance shows that providers will be unable to meet the criteria required of them by the DWP.
"The Government has warned that it will terminate the contracts of providers who cannot deliver these minimum levels, but has set these minimum levels almost impossibly high. This threatens to create huge instability in the programme."
The report comes as monthly figures released last week showed a sharp increase in the numbers of people out of work to 2.49 million and a rise of almost 110,000 in Jobseeker's Allowance claimants since bids for the Work Programme were invited.
"The Work Programme is built on shifting sands," continued Ian Mulheirn. "As if the performance targets weren't already too tough, the deteriorating state of the labour market is making the outlook for the scheme even more precarious."
As well as highlighting concerns about providers' capacity to meet the minimum performance expectations, the analysis also raises serious questions over the financial viability of the scheme. It finds that the maximum amount of money the DWP is offering providers for a successful outcome (an adult jobseeker into work for six months or more) is at least 25 per cent less than under the FND if the minimum expectations are met. With funding per jobseeker heavily dependent on performance, and providers unlikely to achieve these levels, the SMF anticipates that the maximum level of funding will fall still further putting huge pressure on providers.
Ian Mulheirn continued: "Since the vast majority of providers will be unable to achieve the expectations on which financial calculations have been based, it appears that the Work Programme is at real risk of financial collapse. It is time for a radical and urgent rethink of the criteria involved to prevent this laudable policy being derailed by poor implementation."

Wales World Cup squad

2011-08-22T14:02:00.000+01:00

WALES SQUAD – 2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP
CAPTAIN
Sam WARBURTON (CARDIFF BLUES, CAPTAIN – Cap No 1,070)
DoB: 05.10.88. 1.88m / 6’2″. 16st 4lbs / 103kgs
International record: 17 caps (W 8, L 9; 5 pts – 1T)
FORWARDS
Huw BENNETT (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,017)
DoB: 11.06.83. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 16st 8lbs / 105kgs
International record: 42 caps (W 20, L 21, D 1)
Ryan BEVINGTON (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,081)
DoB: 9.12.88. 6’0″/1.82m. 17st 2lb/109kgs
International record: 4 caps (W 2, L 2)
Lloyd BURNS (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS – Cap No 1,085)
DoB: 09.12.84. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 17st 0lbs / 108kgs
International record: 3 caps (W 1, L 2)
Luke CHARTERIS (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS – Cap No 1,030)
DoB: 09.03.83. 6’9″ / 2.06m. 19st 10lbs / 125kgs
International record: 25 caps (W 12, L 13)
Bradley DAVIES (CARDIFF BLUES – Cap No 1,065)
DoB: 09.01.87. 6’6″ / 1.98m. 19st 1lbs / 121kgs
International record: 24 caps (W 10, L 13, D 1)
Toby FALETAU (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS – Cap No 1,082)
DoB: 12.11.90. 1.88m / 6’2″. 17st 5lbs / 110kgs
International record: 3 caps (W 1, L 2)
Paul JAMES (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,021)
DoB: 13.05.82. 6’1″ / 1.86m. 18st 2lbs / 115kgs
International record: 26 caps (W 10, L 15, D 1)
Gethin JENKINS (CARDIFF BLUES – Cap No 1,006)
DoB: 17.11.80. 6’2″ / 1.88m. 18st 9lbs / 118kgs
International record: 76 caps (W 33, L 41, D 2; 15 pts – 3T)
Adam JONES (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,018)
DoB: 08.03.81. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 18st 12lb / 120kgs
International record: 70 caps (W 32, L 35, D 3; 10 pts – 2T)
Alun Wyn JONES (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,046)
DoB: 19.09.85. 6’5″ / 1.96m. 18st 10lbs / 119kgs
International record: 52 caps (W 21, L 31; 30 pts – 6T)
Ryan JONES (OSPREYS – Cap No 1,029)
DoB: 13.03.81. 6’5″ / 1.96m. 17st 5lbs / 110kgs
International record: 53 caps (W 26, L 25, D 2; 5 pts – 1T)
Dan LYDIATE (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS – Cap No 1,071)
DoB: 18.12.87. 1.93m / 6’4″. 17st 10lbs / 112kgs
International record: 14 caps (W 6, L 7, D 1)
Craig MITCHELL (EXETER CHIEFS – Cap No 1,068)
DoB: 03.05.86. 6’1″ / 1.85m. 17st 2lbs / 109kgs
International record: 10 caps (W 7, L 3)
Ken OWENS (SCARLETS – Uncapped)
DoB: 03.01.87. 6’1″ / 1.86m. 17st 8lbs / 112kgs
International record: Uncapped
Andy POWELL (SALE SHARKS – Cap No 1,061)
DoB: 23.08.81. 6’4″ / 1.94m. 18st 0lbs / 114kgs
International record: 18 caps (W 9, L 9; 5 pts – 1T)
BACKS
Aled BREW (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS – Cap No 1,051)
DoB: 09.08.86. 6.0″ / 1.83m. 15st 2lbs / 96kgs
International record: 7 caps (W 2, L 4, D 1; 5 pts – 1T)
Lee BYRNE (ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE – Cap No 1,041)
DoB: 01.06.80. 6’3″ / 1.91m. 14st 12lb / 94kgs
International record: 44 caps (W 18, L 24, D 2; 45 pts – 9T)
Jonathan DAVIES (SCARLETS – Cap No 1,066)
DoB: 05.04.88. 6’1″ / 1.86m. 16st 3lb / 103kgs
International record: 14 caps (W 7, L 7; 10 pts – 2T)
Leigh HALFPENNY (CARDIFF BLUES – Cap No 1,060)
DoB: 22.12.88. 5’10″ / 1.77m. 13st 2lbs / 83kgs
International record: 20 caps (W 8, L 12; 62 pts – 7T, 9PG)
James HOOK (PERPIGNAN – Cap No 1,047)
DoB: 27.06.85. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 14st 12lbs / 94kgs
International record: 54 caps (W 23, L 29, D 2; 303 pts – 12T, 39C, 51PG, 4DG)
Stephen JONES (SCARLETS – Cap No 966)
DoB: 08.12.77. 6’1″ / 1.86m. 14st 7lbs / 92kgs
International record: 100 caps (W 40, L 56, D 3; 889 pts – 7T, 142C, 184PG, 6DG)
Tavis KNOYLE (SCARLETS – Cap No 1,076)
DoB: 02.06.90. 6’1″ / 1.85m. 14st 5lbs / 91kgs
International record: 5 caps (W 2, L 3)
George NORTH (SCARLETS – Cap No 1,078)
DoB: 13.04.92. 6’4″ / 1.92m. 16st 5lbs / 104kgs
International record: 8 caps (W 2, L 5, D 1; 30 pts – 6T)
Mike PHILLIPS (BAYONNE – Cap No 1,022)
DoB: 29.08.82. 6’3″ / 1.91m. 15st 10lb / 101kgs
International record: 54 caps (W 25, L 27, D 2; 30 pts – 6T)
Rhys PRIESTLAND (SCARLETS – Cap No 1,080)
DoB: 07.01.87 1.82m / 6’0″. 13st 9lbs / 87kgs
International record: 4 caps (W 2, L 2; 10 pts – 2C, 2PG)
Jamie ROBERTS (CARDIFF BLUES – Cap No 1,057)
DoB: 08.11.86. 6’4″ / 1.93m. 17st 5lbs / 110kgs
International record: 32 caps (W 15, L 17; 10 pts – 2T)
Lloyd WILLIAMS (CARDIFF BLUES – Cap No 1,087)
DoB: 30.11.89. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 13st 9lbs / 87kgs
International record: 1 cap (W 1)
Scott WILLIAMS (SCARLETS – Cap No 1,084)
DoB: 10.10.90. 6’0″ / 1.83m. 15st 3lbs / 97kgs
International record: International record: 4 caps (W 2, L 2)
Shane WILLIAMS (OSPREYS – Cap No 976)
DoB: 26.02.77. 5’7″ / 1.71m. 12st 1lb / 77kgs
International record: 81 caps (W 39, L 40, D 2; 270 pts – 54T)

Where are all the commentators gone -long time passing

2011-08-21T10:12:00.000+01:00

Now I know all the various instruments of Government are so called in recess ,AMs seem to melt into nothing ,MPs well in Wales we don't see or hear much of most of them any way - with a few exceptions. What about those ghostly figures the Regional AMs - I wonder how many we could name is asked off the cuff . May be even naming the constituency AMs and MPs would be difficult.
Local Government continues with the various people employed nipping off for the usual two weeks from the desk.
But politics and the mechanism of government has to go on , or does it . The civil service plods away I guess.
So when Carwyn Jones is on holiday - who is in charge of Wales then?
When there was the Coalition with Plaid ,Ieuan Wyn was second in command I have no idea who it is now, it cannot be Jane Hutt can it L Leighton Andrews ,don't think so Edwina Hart , nah she is busy moving her deck chairs around.
I do think it would be nice to have a run down on what these 60 people who we have elected and who we pay , are doing over the summer. Its not an extended holiday. Are they doing constituency work - visits do they ever venture to the Senedd ? may be a weekly events diary should be posted up on their web sites.
What about the political correspondents what are they up to?
Betsan Powis seems to disappear totally , so who is doing politics over at the Beeb ,surely the Political Editor cannot be away for six weeks.
I read blogs and tweets so many are around and commenting - Adrian masters ,Vaughn Roderick has his Sunday morning show, excellent stuff. Although he has handed his spot over to a few guest presenters , he tweets regularly ,not sure about his blog as its in Welsh and so not accessible to us mere mortal who don't do fluent Welsh . Tom Bodden is writing
Gareth Hughes has turned to being a betting guru on weeks ends.Matt Withers does his column , David Williamson cant remember seeing much from him . David Cornock concentrates on Westminster .
Scant coverage on TV .
I am sure many are delighted that they don't hear any thing from the political scene , but do you know there are also many who would love to know who is taking care of Wales

Reduce Public Spending - yeh

2011-08-15T17:54:00.000+01:00

Despite the Government’s drive to reduce public spending, the public sector remains the largest single marketplace in the UK.

With a total spend so far from January 2011 of £146,003,754,510.17

So who has spent what?

Central Government	£99,389,430,852.30
Local Government	£15,682,819,570.67
Emergency Services	£78,629,500.56
Non-Departmental Public Bodies	£3,114,832,048.07
NHS	£27,738,042,538.57

Please Mr Cameron can we have some more

2011-08-15T17:15:00.001+01:00

A coalition of 30 national organisations and charities, led by The Children’s Society, are calling on the Government to reverse planned cut to support for disabled children under the new Universal Credit.

New welfare reform proposals will result in disabled children facing a cut of up to £1,400 per year.Raising a disabled child is extremely expensive. The range of costs include higher travel costs, increased fuel bills, extra childcare and loss of income due to hospital appointments.The government estimates that 100,000 disabled children will be hit by this change.

The £27 lost per disabled child a week is more than half the average family’s food budget. And can make the difference between a family coping or falling below the breadline. It could tip families into poverty.

So why make this change? They say this is to align payments with adults- why ? adults can top up their benefit and may be able to get back to work -children cannot.

But the group of adults with whom support is aligned are at some point likely to be able to move back into work. Surely Cameron ,Osborne and Clegg must see that disabled children face additional barriers to escaping poverty and therefore require extra support. Don't they want to reduce child poverty?

David Cameron more than the others must see the stress and cost of having a disabled child.

There is a petition to sign

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/915

It is crucial for people petition the government so they understand the significance of this change for disabled children and their families. For many low income families already living on the breadline, this will make the difference between meeting their children’s basic needs and finding themselves unable to cope.

Our society is becoming more unequal every day. Failing to care for those less able and more vulnerable is the sign of a sick society devoid of compassion. It is time we demanded that the government realised people are more important than profits.

Question Time for Ministers -eventually

2011-08-15T07:35:00.000+01:00

Ah Tom Bodden has shed some light for me on why it has felt that the Assembly has been in slow gear.
Andrew RT Davies has expressed an opinion that Labour back benchers aren't pulling their weight. He says that in the last six weeks, before they disappeared Labour AMs tabled just two written questions to Welsh Ministers. Only two Plaid Cymru AMs tabled questions, Ieuan Wyn Jones has not asked any questions at all since returning to the Senedd in May.
Written questions of ministers are in addition to set pieces in the chamber often used by AMs to "gather brickbats to batter the government."
Former Tory group leader Nick Bourne submitted 135 written questions in just three days once As Tom Bodden points out, it was this questioning that led us to discover "ministers travelled more than 270,000 miles on overseas trips in just over two years to 2005 - further than from Cardiff to the moon. Biggest long-haul traveller was then environment minister Carwyn Jones whose 13 business trips clocked up 77,771 miles costing taxpayers £52,488. Stop offs included New York, Perth, Dubai, Sumatra and South Africa. Ex First Minister Rhodri Morgan visited China, Australia, Vietnam and South Africa on 12 overseas trips - the total bill was £61,090."
It also showed that there was little or no benefit to us economically from all of this.
Interesting then that First Minister Carwyn Jones has just agreed an outline programme of overseas ministerial visits 'subject to business cases at the appropriate time'. It includes China, USA, India, Japan, Africa, New Zealand (during Rugby World Cup?) Patagonia and Brittany.
Wonder which party will get in first with written questions about that.
probably Plaid's Leanne Wood,she seems to be leading scrutiny these days.Unless Andrew RT kicks into gear and goes for it.

Sir Hugh Orde attacks Bratton appointment

2011-08-14T10:53:00.000+01:00

Speaking to The Independent on Sunday, Sir Hugh Orde issued his third rebuke in a week to David Cameron, suggesting that his handling of the crisis has been less than sure-footed. Sir Hugh said: "I am not sure I want to learn about gangs from an area of America that has 400 of them. It seems to me, if you've got 400 gangs, then you're not being very effective. If you look at the style of policing in the States, and their levels of violence, they are so fundamentally different from here." - read more here Independent on Sunday

Kate and the altered image.

2011-08-14T10:46:00.000+01:00

Weekly magazine Grazia has admitted to digitally manipulating a front-page image of the Duchess of Cambridge which had the effect of making her look thinner than she is.
A complaint was made to the Press Complaints Commission about the image of the Duchess of Cambridge in her wedding dress, in which it was said she appeared to have been made to look thinner.
The magazine told the PCC that the image had been altered to remove Prince William arm so that the Duchess could be featured on the cover alone. To do this it revealed that it "mirrored" one of the Duchess’s arms and pasted it into place on the photo, "an inadvertent result of the change was the slimming of her waist".
Grazia agreed to publish the following statement: "Following a letter received from a Mr H about our royal wedding issue, Grazia magazine would like to clarify the process that led to our final cover image of the Duchess of Cambridge.
"We wanted a great image of the Duchess on her own, but all the photographs had the Duke in too. So we asked our reproduction house to remove him from the picture (common practice among glossy magazines)."This would have left the Duchess with only one arm, so they copied over her arm to complete the picture. We would like to reassure all our readers that we did not purposely make any alternations to the Duchess of Cambridge’s image to make her appear slimmer, and we are sorry if this process gave that impression. Grazia takes the issue of women's body image very seriously and we would never 'slim down' a picture of a female role model."Such digital manipulation of images may be "common practice" on the glossies - but it does appear to be in breach of the Editors' Code, clause one of which states: "The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures."
How scary is this, Kate Middleton is already very slim, some would say underweight and she is made to look even skinnier. There is enough anxiety about female body image and young women without magazines photo shopping.
I wonder what the circulation and reader profile is for grazia and I wonder where this statement was positioned , bet it wasnt the front page

Your kid your responsibility

2011-08-10T16:25:00.000+01:00

So far the cost of riots in England is around £100m in damage and lost business . The economic cost of the riots is likely to be significant, at a time in Britain's recovery from recession is in the balance. Small retailers will be the worst hit, but larger firms will also feel the pain as will the country's tourist industry.The Association of British Insurers said the industry's liability would run to "well over" £100m. Home and commercial insurance policies should cover fire and looting, and accommodation for those forced out, but some households and small businesses are likely to face big uninsured losses.
May be instead of closing job centres, youth clubs and cutting education grants it would have been cheaper to have invested in services that would have kept young people busy , give them hope and less reason to go rampaging.
OK so its looters and criminals to the fore , but why are kids as young as eight out there. Time to reflect on priorities ,riots don't just happen for no reason.
Where are parents letting the kids run riot - may be plastic bullets and water cannon will get them off the streets but its not going to solve the under currents and under lying causes that is feeding this.
There is no respect - for parents , for teachers , for the law, for property, for them selves.
Well its got to start somewhere and judging by the results it had better be soon.

Ed's Labour is it anything new?

2011-08-07T10:09:00.000+01:00

Labour Party members are curious Its while now since the review of where to go next with Labour officially titled "the Refounding Labour consultation" came to an end.We hear that there is a twelve page summary document in play that says very little
Mark Ferguson over at Labour List says " It's an open secret in the Labour movement that there's a 30+ page document circulating amongst the higher echelons of the party. Worryingly, it's also strongly rumoured that the document was largely drafted before the close of submissions. That's enough to give a consultation that many of us became personally invested in the uncomfortable and unpleasant whiff of a sham".
So who has written this 30 page missive or has OK'd it to be written then. A Mark F hints it has to be Peter Hain who wrote this 30 pager wrote (or authorised) a document to be written before the end of the consultation process .If this is right , then what was the purpose of the consultation? And did Ed Milliband authorise Hain to do this?
O,which would be even more interesting - who did write it? Whats in it ; what does it propose? It seems there a number of very curious and not happy people in the Labour movement at present , with this sate of affairs. Mark F again "at the moment all we're getting is damaging leaks, briefings and counter-briefings.Worse, we're now hearing that the document will be subject to a series of "take it or leave it" votes, including to the NEC and conference. "
Is this likely to happen , would any one seriously think any conference would OK a package of imposed proposals .Knowing some of the feisty people who inhabit the NEC I would think this is as unlikely as snow in August - but hey strange things do happen.
Its also not democracy as we know it Jim !!!
Read more and some interesting comments here. is it paranoia or just business as usual.

http://www.labourlist.org/missing-in-action-refounding-labour

From the BBC

2011-08-05T12:03:00.000+01:00

Disabled workers in Rhondda Cynon Taf are staging a 48-hour protest as the UK government consults on the future of Britain's Remploy factories. Seventy two jobs in Porth are under threat, along with more than 300 others at eight other Remploy bases in Wales.

There are 54 Remploy factories left in Britain offering sheltered and safe work for people with disabilities. The UK government is considering a report which suggests workers could find posts in the mainstream market. The Remploy factories were set up after World War II to provide a sheltered environment for people with disabilities.
Jason Seldon, who works for Remploy in Porth and is a member of the GMB union, said the factory's closure would be "devastating" for the area. "The protest starts at 12pm, but this is just the start. We have set up a committee and are looking to stage other events such as a march."
Mr Seldon said the Porth factory recycled old computers. "If the factory closed it would be devastating for the area. There are not many jobs in the Rhondda, many of the jobs are in local supermarkets, so if the factory closed it would be devastating for the area," he added. He said workers from other Remploy factories in Wales had been invited to attend the protest.
Bridgend Remploy worker Robert Jenkins, 42, said the idea that disabled people could be helped to get jobs elsewhere were "slim to none". "There is not enough work for people out there now. If someone abled-bodied can't get jobs what hope have we got?" he told BBC Radio Wales. Mr Jenkins said workers had the support of first minister Carwyn Jones who is the local assembly member. "People have the wrong idea about Remploy [workers] - they think we sit there and basket weave," he said. "But I can tell you now we do a lot of work for people like Ford and Honda."
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said "no decisions" had been made about the future of Remploy. She added: "We said we would consult on the recommendations put forward by Liz Sayce and that is what we are doing. "The Sayce review is about spending money differently, not cutting it. The amount of money going into employment services for disabled is being protected. But by spending it differently there is the potential to support an extra 35,000 disabled people into work."
Spending it differently - hmm makes me shudder,Remploy needs to be supported in Wales , where else are people who are disabled going to find work .I hope the high profile Labour AMs and MPs who represent these workers start protesting and being visible .It may be summer but they are still working .

2011-08-04T09:12:00.001+01:00

Ieuan Wyn Jones: Plaid was tested in government and was not found wanting, he writes at Wales on line.

Discuss !!!!!

Is this fair or another expenses anomaly

2011-08-03T08:26:00.001+01:00

Former AMs are still claiming expenses the National Assembly’s website shows that 12 politicians who were not re-elected have between them claimed more than £12,600 since their term of office finished at the end of March.

The claims were for car parking, rail travel, mortgage interest on second homes and website hosting, office expenses such as rent, insurance and the hire of equipment

Former Labour AM Lorraine Barrett claimed £216.19 for website hosting until December this year. Andrew Davies claimed for rail travel and parking charges.Jenny Randerson continued to pay rent on her constituency office in Cardiff Central after leaving the Assembly to go to the House of Lords. Plaid s AM Gareth Jones claimed expenses on a second home in Cardiff Bay after leaving the Assembly.

Andrew Davies, Jenny Randerson and Janet Ryder office rent was paid to their respective political parties after they ceased to be AMs. Mick Bates also paid rent to the Liberal Democrats, although he left the party

Expenses are there to meet the costs that AMs incur while doing their job representing constituents.Comment from the TA “There is no justification for charging taxpayers for things like rail travel and parking after AMs have ceased their roles.”

But under existing rules retiring AMs, as well as AMs who fail to get re-elected, are allowed a winding-up period where costs that continue to be incurred they can claim, these include office cost and residential allowances.

If there is a contract in place for a year then that has to be paid, its often difficult or impossible to get out of. But the period that expenses are pay able for needs to be monitored. I wonder if other public sector expenses are paid after employment ceases in the same way.

No Minister !!

2011-07-30T18:33:00.000+01:00

The Chair of the Commons Work and Pensions has written to the Minister for Employment Chris Grayling with serious concerns at recent misrepresentation of DWP statistics on benefit claimants in the media , after the committee published a report which covered, among other things, concerns over the way releases of official statistics about the incapacity benefit reassessment process have been covered in the media in the past.
Here is her letter to Chris Grayling

Dear Minister,
As you know, the committee published its report on "The role of incapacity benefit reassessment in helping claimants into work" yesterday.
You will have seen that in our report, we highlighted the concern amongst incapacity benefit claimants about the negative public perception of them. We deprecated the coverage of the reassessment in some sections of the media and in particular the use of terms such as "scrounger" and "work shy". We drew particular attention to the way in which releases of official statistics about the reassessment process were covered in the media and said that:

"We believe that more care is needed in the way the Government engages with the media and in particular the way in which it releases and provides its commentary on official statistics on the IB reassessment. In the end, the media will choose its own angle, but the Government should take great care with the language it itself uses and take all possible steps to ensure that context is provided when information about IB claimants found fit for work is released, so that unhelpful and inaccurate stories can be shown to have no basis."

By what I assume was a coincidence, the Department chose to release statistics on new Employment and Support Allowance claims yesterday. The coverage of the statistics in some newspapers, notably the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, was a particularly egregious example of the way they can be misused. The headline in today's Daily Mail was "The shirking classes: just 1 in 14 incapacity benefit claimants is unfit to work".
When we took evidence from you in this inquiry, you stressed that the Government had played no part in feeding negative media stories about benefit claimants. You made clear that the Government could not control the editorial approach of the tabloids but said that you had had "a number of conversations with people in the media about the need for care in this area".
I am sure that you are therefore as shocked as I am by this most recent misrepresentation of DWP statistics on benefit claimants. It is clear that your efforts to persuade the press to act responsibly when discussing incapacity benefit have not yet been successful.
It is also important that the Department's press releases always take care to emphasise the distinction between new ESA claims and the reassessment of existing incapacity benefit claimants, which may not have been the case on this occasion.
I trust that you will be contacting newspaper editors again to urge them to ensure that the reports they carry about ESA claims are factually correct and that they avoid pejorative terms such as "shirkers" and "scroungers" which are irresponsible and inaccurate. As we said, "portraying the reassessment of incapacity benefit claimants as some sort of scheme to 'weed out benefit cheats' shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the Government's objectives." It is clearly important that the Government takes every possible step to counter this ongoing negative portrayal.
Yours sincerely

Dame Anne Begg MP
Well said - this demonetisation of people who are ill has gone too far. No one denies there are those who take advantage - but they have always been around. Most people would much rather have their health and be working than be on benefits and castigated in the way some of the press are doing at the moment .
I just hope the minister has enough guts to act on this letter

Welsh language -are they serious ?

2011-07-28T07:22:00.000+01:00

Is Google Translate going to be used to provide a bilingual record of meetings at the National Assembly? It’s been flagged up in a paper written for the Assembly Commission earlier this month. Until last September the Assembly’s website carried a full version of plenary sessions in both languages. But a decision by the Assembly Commission ended that arrangement. Now the Record of Proceedings only translates contributions made by AMs in Welsh into English, and not vice versa.

The Welsh Language Board said this had gone against the Welsh language scheme by discontinuing the bilingual Cofnod, and called for it to be reinstated. But the Assembly Commission has not committed to doing so. Instead it is looking at various options. One section of the report states: “Last week, we undertook a pilot exercise to establish if a web-based machine-translation service could provide a feasible alternative to commissioned external translation. “A 5,000-word section of a plenary record was successfully uploaded to Google Translate and an experienced member of staff quality-assured the output. As a result, we estimate that a typical plenary would require around 36 hours of proof reading, currently charged at £39 per hour. The estimated annual cost would be around £110,000, including VAT.

Google translate is free at the moment but there are plans to charge for it and is this really the way to translate government business

.Catrin Dafydd, rights spokesperson for language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said: “We’re bemused by this decision, which leaves the Assembly continuing to break its language scheme and the law. How on earth can the Commission ignore the Language Board’s recommendation? “From the very start, the Assembly has argued that getting rid of the Cofnod was not a financial decision. But, looking at the recent Commission decisions, it’s clear that is much more of a priority than the principle that the Assembly was founded on, namely creating a completely bilingual institution. What hope do people around the country have of receiving Welsh language services if the Assembly cannot provide something as basic as this?

Isn’t even considering Google Translate at odds with Welsh language law unanimously by all the parties last year which established two important principles: official status for the language and not treating Welsh less favourably than English.

Wasted lives

2011-07-23T17:45:00.000+01:00

Massacre by a mad man in Norway The toll in both attacks reached 91, and police said that could still rise as they search the waters around the island of Utoya for more bodies.
Acting Police Chief Roger Andresen said he did not how many people were still missing. The Oslo University hospital said it has so far received 11 wounded from the bombing and 16 people from the camp shooting.

Most of those killed were young people with their whole lives ahead of them - what possessed this right wing extremist to take all those young lives The same man – a blonde-blue eyed Norwegian with reported Christian fundamentalist, anti-Muslim views – is suspected in both attacks. He has been preliminarily charged with acts of terrorism.

We prepared for terror attacks from out side , we rarely look at the enemy within. So so unnecessary and so so sad.
Hvil i fred hearfelt sympati til de som har lidd tap.

IWJ to be gone soon -well within 8 months .

2011-07-20T19:07:00.000+01:00

Plaid Cymru should look to a new generation when Ieuan Wyn Jones stands down as leader,

those were Alun Ffred's words lets see who throws in for the fight.
Date for nominations is January.He announced he will go before Plaids Spring Conference
Why not just go now and not prolong the agony.
Plaid need to move on and they cannot do that until he goes. he is cutting down his timescale though.
He intends to stay as an AM , well why wouldn't he. Pays good and works not too hard .Contenders -there should be a few to ensure its a contest not a coronation.
Elin Jones -could she be Plaids first woman leader
Dafydd EL - may just for the hell of it
Leanne Wood - lets hope so feisty and now Welsh speaking too
Rhodri Glyn - could be a dark horse.
Who else shame Helen Marys out of contention
Could it be an MP ?