Welsh Liberal blogs

Everyone in care homes needs to be tested for Covid-19, not just those displaying symptoms. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the decision to not roll out Covid-19 testing to everyone in Welsh care homes. On Tuesday the UK Government announced an expansion of it's policy regarding testing in care homes, promising everyone in care homes with cases would be tested.  However Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed this policy will not be implimented in Wales, with only those displaying symptoms being tested. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: "It's incredibly concerning that residents and staff in care homes, where there are suspected cases of Covid-19, are not being guaranteed tests unless they are displaying symptoms. "If we want to keep people safe and contain the spread of this virus then we need to ensure everyone who is potentially exposed is tested and can be treated. Failure to test will only cause further concern a...

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today called on the Welsh Government to boost support for local and independent media through an increase of public health communications spending. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 huge work has been done by both the UK and Welsh Government's to ensure public health information is relayed to the public through a variety of sources. These moves have included getting major media groups onboard to help share information, but many local press organisations and individual journalists have raised that support for them has been much less forthcoming. In repsonse the Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for the Welsh Government to pledge that a proportionate share of spending on public health advertising will go to local newspapers and news organisations. This would result in both a short-term boost to the Government’s public health communications as well as a long-term investment in protecting and maintaining local media across Wales. We...

Welsh Liberal Democrat Diversity Officer Leena Farhat has written to the Minister for Finance Rebecca Evans as well as the Minister for Housing and Local Government Julie James, urging them to close a tax loophole which is allowing second home owners to claim millions of pounds from the fund meant for struggling small businesses.   The loophole allows second homes owners to get away with paying no council tax whatsoever by pretending to be a holiday let.    As a result, second homes are now able to take advantage of the £10,000 grant that the Government is giving to small businesses.   Leena Sarah Farhat said :   “Excessive second home ownership has created mass inequality in communities across rural Wales, making them inaccessible to many demographics such as our young people and thus breaking the fabric of the diverse communities that underpin our nation.”   “This loophole is common knowledge for our councils and our affected c...

Jenny Randerson has called on the UK Government to reform outdated borrowing rules so Wales can tackle Covid-19. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Government to expand the borrowing powers currently available to the Welsh Government to allow it to adequately respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the Welsh Liberal Democrats in Government, the Welsh Government has the ability to borrow up to £1billion from the UK Government for capital expenditure projects. However, this borrowing capacity was designed to enable the Welsh Government to kickstart key infrastructure projects and transport improvements, not respond to crises such as Covid-19. At present the Welsh Government is forced to wait for Barnet Formula Funding consequentials, from spending decisions made in England, to be clarified before any decisions can be made about spending in Wales. In response to this, Welsh Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Jenny Randerson, who has served ...

The UK Parliament needs to adapt in response to COVID-19 and ensure MPs can still hold the Government to account. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have supported calls for an urgent all-party meeting to discuss remote working for Westminster, urging MPs to follow the actions taken to allow the Senedd to function virtually. In a letter to the Chief Whips of all parties in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael MP warned the necessary constraints caused by the spread of coronavirus mean “we must consider alternative arrangements.” The letter follows confirmation that the Speaker of the House of Commons has backed calls for a "virtual" Parliament to allow MPs to keep on scrutinising the Government during the coronavirus outbreak. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the Senedd has led the way in ensuring it can continue to meet, discuss and scrutinise the actions of the Welsh Government. The first digital session of the Senedd was held ...

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey responds to Keir Starmer's election as Leader of the Labour Party At this moment of national crisis, the role of all opposition parties must be to support measures to tackle the coronavirus, whilst also standing up for the most vulnerable by properly scrutinising the Government.  I look forward to working with Keir Starmer on that task. Saving lives from coronavirus remains the absolute priority. Vital issues such as expanding testing capacity, access to adequate protective equipment for frontline health and social care staff, and ensuring the most vulnerable are not left behind as a result of the economic uncertainty are at the top of the agenda. Liberal Democrats will always work with whoever we can to pursue our liberal values, to fight for action on the climate crisis and to build a more caring and just society. In those areas where we share common ground, Liberal Democrats and Labour now have an oppo...