Welsh Liberal blogs

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners.   The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects.   The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster.   However, three major developers are still yet to reply.   The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property de...

rresponding to the news that Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has declared a ‘black alert’, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated the Welsh Government must make getting to grips with the crisis in Welsh healthcare its top priority. Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:   “This news is extremely concerning, black alerts are always serious but this has happened on a weekday night, typically a time of lower demand.   “Our NHS staff are working their absolute hardest to provide the care people deserve, but the Welsh Labour Government has so far failed to get to grips with this crisis.   “We know COVID has added sustained pressure to the healthcare system in recent years, not least with large backlogs but A&E services have been struggling for the best part of a decade.   “Labour must make reforming and fixing A&E services their absolute priority and of course, improve health care services at a local level which would g...

Responding to today’s health statistics published by the Welsh Government, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have described the current situation as “abysmal” and called on more to be done to improve waiting times and make sure people get the care they need when they need it.   According to today’s statistics, waiting times for A&E are the fifth-worst on record, four out of seven health boards are failing to have even half of red calls for ambulances reach patients within the 8 minute target time, and one in four patients are waiting over a year for treatment on the NHS. This comes on top of yesterday's figures showing almost 80% of referrals to Child Mental Health Services were not being seen in the four-week waiting time. Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Senedd Member Jane Dodds said: “These figures truly are abysmal and make for harrowing reading. While the pandemic has resulted in extra pressure on the NHS in Wales, we cannot pretend it hasn’t been in crisis f...

  Research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats has revealed the areas in Wales set to be hardest hit by the crippling energy price hike announced by Ofgem today. This news comes as Ofgem have announced a 54% increase in the energy price cap, with average bills reaching nearly £2,000.   Average energy bills per household are expected to rise by £970 in some areas, according to analysis of ONS data by the party.   The worst hit local authority areas include Ceredigion (£972), Gwynedd (£904), Carmarthenshire (£853) and Powys (£848).   Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds, who represents 5/6 of the worst hit areas through the Mid & West Wales Region in the Senedd, has stated that the figures show the “absolute energy bill nightmare” being faced by families across Wales while oil and gas firms are making record profits.   The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for a windfall tax on the super profits of gas and oil producers and traders to fund s...

  A protest was held this Saturday in front of the Senedd steps in Cardiff Bay to demand action by the Welsh Government on the cladding scandal. The meeting was organised by the Welsh Liberal Democrats and is the first hosted by a political party in Wales. Groups attending included: the Welsh Cladiators, Ripped Off by Redrow and Cymru Cladding Crisis. Victims of Cardiff’s cladding scandal, unveiled during the wake of the Grenfell disaster are facing bills up to £60,000 each for safety work to fix their unsellable, fire defective homes. Although the Welsh Government have agreed to fund the recladding of social housing, many private leaseholders are still facing both the costs of recladding and interim safety costs themselves.   The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to introduce a Welsh Building Safety Fund to deal with all fire safety defects as quickly as possible and ensure no tenant or leaseholder is left out of pocket. Commenting Welsh Li...

Responding to First Minister Mark Drakeford’s comments on the potential for employees to be fined £60 for not working from home if they are able to, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS has stated that explanations remain unclear and that the rule should be immediately dropped. Responding Jane Dodds stated: “It is inaccurate to state the system of fines is the same as in the past. Regulation 18B, which covers the fines referred to was introduced in a different context and while it was voted for by the Senedd, we voted for it under very different circumstances. “At the time all of Wales was under a stay at home mandate, while at the present time the guidance only applies to certain employers and employees. “Concern over these fine is not down to “unhelpful reporting”, but rather a serious concern the Government is not recognising the power dynamics between workers and employers. It is not a relationship of equals and a great many people will not feel comfortable having to...

Ahead of today’s Senedd debate on a cladding safety Bill, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls that the Welsh Government must protect people first and pursue developers later when it comes to tackling the cladding crisis.   Under current plans, the Welsh Government is pursuing developers to force them to pay for the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding, but the Welsh Liberal Democrats have argued that citizens cannot continue to live in unsafe accommodation or front up the bill while the Welsh Government wrangles in legal loopholes with developers.   The Party is calling on the Welsh Government to front the cost of the changes as soon as possible and pursue the developers for costs at a later date in order to ensure no one is living in unsafe accommodation.   Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “The cladding scandal has been a long and drawn-out nightmare for leaseholders. I cannot imagine what it feels like ...

   The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to commit to reinstating the Hydro Power Grant Scheme as the COP26 Climate Conference takes place in Glasgow, stating it is a vital scheme in both fighting climate change and boosting investment in rural communities.   The Hydro Power Grant was introduced by the Welsh Government in 2018, but subsequently cancelled last November amid ‘budgetary pressures’. The scheme supported small-scale hydropower plants across Wales by exempting them from paying business rates. Small-scall hydro schemes had been particularly hard hit after a 2017 review of business rates left many making no or next to no profit from generated electricity. Of the 120 small hydro plants in Wales, around 60 of them were thought to be benefiting from the scheme.   Hydropower is mentioned only once in the Welsh Government’s ‘Net Zero Wales’ plans published last Wednesday, where hydro projects from the previous Government was ou...

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to reconsider its presence in the middle eastern states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar due to concerns over the human rights conditions in the two nations. The Welsh Government currently has offices in 12 countries, including in Dubai, the UAE and Doha, Qatar. However, the Welsh Lib Dems believe, that the offices should be reconsidered and the resources of Trade and Invest Wales potentially moved to countries with better records on human rights and democracy as part of an ‘ethical trade policy for Wales’. Both Qatar and the UAE rank extremely poorly on several human rights metrics. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s World Democracy Index, Qatar ranks 126/167 nations while the UAE ranks 145/167 making both countries “authoritarian regimes”. The countries also perform poorly on woman’s rights, with a male guardianship system still in place that means most women still need the permission o...

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to forge ahead with its own deposit return scheme, citing the “unacceptable” delay of plans by the Conservative Government to introduce a joint England, Wales and Northern Irish scheme. A Deposit Return Scheme, also known as a bottle deposit scheme, encourages people to recycle drinks containers such as plastic or glass bottles. People pay a small deposit for the container which is paid back when it is returned to a collection point. In Norway, the scheme has led to 95 per cent of bottles being recycled. Research from Wrap Cymru estimates that 400,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Wales each year, with 67 per cent of that waste being packaging. Another report by the Marine Conservation Society found that there were 29 drinks containers for every 100 meters of beach in Wales. The Conservatives first announced they would seek to introduce a UK-wide deposit scheme in 2018, but earlier this year quietly...

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to deliver on its long promised Clean Air Act for Wales, stating that the “health of Welsh people cannot wait any longer for its introduction” and that Welsh Labour had “not acted fast enough” to secure the Bill’s introduction. The Welsh Labour Government has consistently promised a clean air act for Wales, but its introduction has faced repeated delays. Such an act would likely contain measures such as implementing World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, mandating the Welsh Government to produce an air-quality strategy every five years, introduce a “right to breathe” and require local authorities to monitor and assess air pollution and take action to reduce it.   Poor air quality currently costs Wales considerably, with an estimated 2,000 people dying a year in Wales and many more having their average life expectancy cut short. The cost of air-quality related health conditions for the Welsh NHS appr...

  The Welsh Lib Dems have continued their calls for the Welsh Government and local councils to rule out the illiberal and unworkable vaccine passports, with news that the Conservatives in Westminster are looking to bring them in.   The party’s leader in Wales, Jane Dodds MS said: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats continue to oppose any form of passport or certificate for accessing services or venues. The introduction of these would not only be divisive and discriminatory but unworkable and illiberal.   "If we truly want to keep people safe, then we must ensure that we have a strong test and trace system to protect vulnerable people - but a national ID system for vaccines does not help with this.   "Introducing these passports will leave many businesses on their knees, facing reduced custom and struggling with the extra cost of enforcement.   "I call on the Welsh Government and local councils to rule out introducing these burdensome vaccine passports...

Welsh Liberal Democrats have today called for an upfront premium grant to small and micro-businesses in Wales, as well as to freelancers, to help them through the next few months  in light of  the latest lockdown measures.   Small and family-owned businesses are set to suffer significantly with the double whammy of Brexit and the new  Covid  lockdown, with experts are predicting closures could extend into the spring.   Many small and micro-businesses in Wales are either ineligible for Welsh Government support or are receiving so little it prevents them from becoming financially stable in these uncertain times.   Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said:   “Each successive lockdown hits business harder, with few having recovered their resilience from the last lockdown. The effect is cumulative - recovery from each closure takes longer. Much of the support business receives has so far been in the form of loans, which will need to be repaid even...

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today called on the Welsh Government to give urgent clarity around the new 5-mile rule and how it effects different areas of Wales. In the Welsh Government announcement today First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that two individuals would be allowed to meet, so long as they maintained social distancing. As part of this new guidance, people are not meant to travel more than 5 miles for these interactions. However, the First Minister made clear that in rural communities, where the distance to even essential services can be greater than 5 miles, there would be some flexibility to this limit. In response, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the Welsh Government to be completely upfront about how they plan to communicate these new regulations and to make this distinction clear. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: "While I welcome today’s easing of restrictions many questions remain. I know the Welsh Government is making these ...

With the establishment of the Welsh Parliament, we are sending a clear message that things are starting to change in Welsh politics.   Now is the time for us to learn the lessons of the past and shake up the way we do things.   For too long we failed to convey a clear message of what the purpose of the Assembly was and what it had the power to do. Instead, we let it be portrayed as ineffective, a barrier to change that was little more than a glorified talking shop.   We need to cut through the noise and bluster of those who seek to do down our Parliament and show people the real change we can make happen. We have the power to do so much, all we need to do is think outside the box and not be afraid to challenge the status quo.   Our focus now needs to be on tackling the issues that have plagued Wales for generations: low wages, insecure housing, a lack of jobs, poor transport links, rural poverty, and so much more.   The Senedd has the power to address all these...