New trends in Substance Misuse

Mike Hedges AM welcomed good news regarding Wales being at the forefront of European work to identify new trends in substance misuse –

 

 

 The Welsh Emerging Drugs and Identification of Novel Substances (WEDINOS) project was launched in 2013 by Public Health Wales to provide an early warning system for novel psychoactive substances, including so-called legal highs, circulating in the community. It analyses substances submitted by the public and publishes results of the samples online – www.wedinos.org – in an anonymous form.

 

In its first 12 months, WEDINOS received and profiled 1,869 samples. From these samples it has identified 254 substances.  WEDINOS has submitted 19 reporting forms to the EU Early Warning System – part of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction – in relation to substances not previous profiled in the UK. Some of these have not previously been identified at the European level.

WEDINOS played a key role in reducing the harm associated with the use of a brand of synthetic legal high called Clockwork Orange which was being sold across South Wales.

 

Mike Said –

‘I have been very concerned by the growing use of ‘legal highs’ by young people and it is good to see that Wales is leading the way in identifying these substances and reporting them on to the EU Early Warning System. I know from living in Morriston the affect these legal highs can have on young people. Effective monitoring of these substances is essential if we are to keep on top of the problem where small changes to compounds keep the substances legal. The next step is to outlaw not just individual drugs but the whole family of drugs based around the active component.

 

Employment Debate at the IWA

This week on Click on Wales, we have heared from four Welsh politicians on the biggest issues affecting employment, for better or for worse, in Wales.

An assembly member from each of the parties represented in the National Assembly for Wales has offered their view, ranging from zero hours contracts and new employment practices to the impact of changing tax thresholds.

You can read all of the pieces in the series here.

Whilst much of the recent debate on employment practices has been on zero hours contracts unfortunately this is not the only “flexible” practice used by employers. Others include short guaranteed hours, split shifts, annualised hours and using contractors.  As well as the traditional short term and temporary contracts there has been a growth in the number of these “new employment” practices. This is described as flexible working by those who support it but, by those of us who think it is a backward step, it is a return to the work insecurity of the pre war era.

Types of working

Zero hour contracts

There has been a large increase recently in jobs on “’zero-hours’ “contracts, Zero-hour contracts came into regular use during   the 1990s and they have grown  in the current period of economic uncertainty. Many companies especially in the retail and hospitality industries, but increasing numbers in other sectors such as care, are taking on staff on ‘zero-hours’ contracts – that is, where people agree to be available for work as and when required, but have no guaranteed hours or times of work. Zero-hours contracts provides  employers with a pool of people who are ‘on-call ‘and thus puts the all the financial risk on to the employee whose income is not guaranteed.

Short guaranteed hours

A variation on zero hour contracts but there is a guarantee of as little as one hour a day and when people arrive at work they then discover how long the shift is going to be. Starting at 8:00 am you may finish at 9:00 am or have to work until late in the evening depending on workload and the number of people who are available that day.  This is a highly disruptive work pattern because you are unable to make plans for any part of the day until the day itself. One concern is that if zero hour contracts get banned this will be their replacement.

Split shifts or staggered hours

A split shift is a type of work schedule where the work day is split into two or more parts which may be equal but are not necessarily so. This kind of pattern is common for people working in areas where there are peaks and troughs in demand such bus drivers and bar  staff. It is generally not desired by employees because it involves their availability over long periods and the time in between shifts can be lost traveling to and from work. Whilst this working pattern can be beneficial for some with child care or other caring responsibilities it can cause problems for those who live some distance away from their workplace and obviously it is highly disruptive to the employees’ social and family life.

Annualised hours

The employee has to work a certain number of hours over the year but there is flexibility about when they work .This system of annualized hours offers an answer to demand unpredictability and was first used in the UK in the early 1980s. Since then many organizations from a range of sectors including the public sector have adopted the principles and applied them. One of the advantages to the employer is that it saves on overtime payments during busy periods but conversely the disadvantages to the employee is lost overtime and the working of anti social hours without any financial reward.

Contract working or agency working

Whilst this has been common in areas such as construction and ICT where workers have been employed on short term, and usually highly paid contracts it has now expanded into other parts of the economy.

This includes the using of staff employed via an agency where most employment responsibilities are then with the agency. After twelve weeks in the same role working for the same employer, agency workers are entitled to the same employment and working conditions as permanent staff.  Crucially however agency workers are not entitled to benefits, such as occupational sick pay, redundancy pay and health insurance, the right to claim for unfair dismissal, and minimum notice of redundancy where they are working. This means that agency staff are much easier to dismiss than directly employed staff because they are employed by the agency not the company they are working at.

In conclusion, to employers the various forms of flexible employment practice reduces risk whilst increasing profits and competitiveness. For the employee it can mean an uncertainty of income and a highly disrupted life outside of work. The one thing missing from most of the organizations using these employment practices is a trade union to represent and protect the workers.

Devolving Policing speech

The case for devolving policing

I am very pleased to open this debate

I also find this type of debate, such as todays and the one on reserved powers last year gives the National assembly an opportunity to show the direction of travel that it wants devolution to take.

In February last year First Minister Carwyn Jones called for powers over policing to be devolved to Wales.

Alun Michael  a former home office minister and currently the police and crime commissioner for South Wales has said

Many of the levers which affect levels of crime have already been devolved to Wales such as community safety, education, training, jobs, mental health services, alcohol and drug treatment, housing, healthy communities as well as many other services relating to social factors.

Tackling crime - reducing offending and reoffending - necessitates working with other public services which already operate on a pan or sub Wales level. For example support for those with mental health conditions both before they reach crisis point and need police intervention, and once they have entered the criminal justice system means working with the Welsh NHS and local Health Boards

 I believe that if policing powers were devolved this would allow for much greater liaison between both services locally and by Ministers and civil servants at a strategic level within Wales, rather than between Wales and Westminster.

I think there is real potential for a successful Welsh model which can build on the strengths of devolution without cutting adrift of being part of the United Kingdom. That’s why I agree with the motion that this should not include the UK National Crime Agency and national security, and I would add the strategic policing requirement and counter terrorism.

It is important that Police Services continue to be able to provide mutual support for large events which we saw an incredibly successful demonstration of during the recent NATO summit in South Wales.

 

Co-operation in policing clearly needs to extend not just to the British Isles, but into Europe and beyond. We know that crime and terrorism cross borders – more so now than ever before and we need co-ordinated measures to make sure that criminals cannot avoid charges by fleeing to Spain or anywhere else as once seemed the case.

The Welsh Government have shown the capacity for leadership and common sense implementing policies developed by Welsh Labour through their investment in 500 additional Community Support Officers which have been invaluable during the harsh period of austerity.

Turning to the proposal

Firstly I want to deal with the two exceptions in the proposal

UK National Crime Agency and national security

Obviously national security needs to be excluded because dealing with spies or terrorists needs to be done on at least a  British basis

The National crime agency is a crime-fighting agency with national and international reach and the mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to bring the full weight of the law to bear in cutting serious and organised crime.

The Border Policing Command (BPC) is a vital part of the  approach to increased border security

The Economic Crime Command (ECC) places the NCA at the forefront of the fight against economic crime affecting the UK

The NCCU provides a joined-up national response to cyber and cyber-enabled crime, ensuring that expertise is focused where it can deliver the most impact and add most value.

The CEOP command is dedicated to eradicating the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children and young people. 

The Organised Crime Command (OCC) leads, supports and co-ordinates the national effort to identify, pursue and disrupt serious and organised criminals.

What this leaves then is the day to day policing carried out by the four Welsh police forces.

The police do not work in isolation, they work closely with the fire service and ambulance service which are both devolved.

Other arguments in favour of devolving policing are the ability to better connect policing with other devolved services such as support for victims of domestic abuse and the health service as mentioned by Alun Michael

 

The Welsh Government’s expansion of Community Support Officers by an additional 500 will further increases their visibility and has had a positive effect on both crime and anti social behaviour. Community Support Officers are now the public face of policing in communities and in many cases they have built up excellent relationships with their local community.

I am aware of both how visible and popular PCSOs are in Swansea East and I would imagine it will be the same across all of Wales.

Many of the older generation will remember when we had Watch Committees responsible for policing in Wales. During most of the 20^th Century policing was a local government function controlled by the Watch Committees of the relevant county, or in the case of Swansea, Cardiff, Merthyr and Newport, the County Borough Council. We then moved from the local Watch Committee to two Police Committees covering the whole of Glamorgan and Gwent with very little control over the local police force.

The replacement of Police Authorities by Police Commissioners is the only major structural change that has taken place in the force since the 1960s. South Wales, Dyfed Powys, North Wales and Gwent have been in their current form, with minor amendments on local government reorganisation in 1996, since the late 1960s

With policing devolved to both Scotland and Northern Ireland it is anomalous that it has not been devolved to Wales.

The Northern Ireland Assembly  in March 2010 voted in favour of the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster, despite opposition from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

The vote underpined the Hillsborough Agreement brokered between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein to stabilise the region's power-sharing government.

The Assembly then created a Department of Justice for Northern Ireland after the powers were devolved later that year.

If the Welsh Assembly votes in favour of devolving policing today who thinks we will have it devolved within a few months?

 Looking at continental Europe and North America it is Wales that appears out of step. Across most of the democratic world other than control of national security, and serious crime policing is carried out by the regional or local police forces

Law enforcement in Germany lies with the 16 federal states. Each lays down the organisation and duties of its police. Germany also has a central police force with responsibility for border security, protection of federal buildings and a mobile response force that is able to help out, or reinforce, state police if requested to do so.

Law enforcement in Spain is complicated but can be simplified into the national police such as the civil guard and the national police corp, regional police forces and local or municipal police forces. The national police concentrate on things such as drug enforcement, immigration and border security. The regional police concentrate on protecting buildings and protection of individuals. The local police tend to deal with matters such as traffic offences and the enforcement of local laws.

Policing in the USA consists of federal agencies like the FBI, state agencies such as highway patrol and local policing by county police and sheriff departments. Some county and some sheriff departments provide the full range of police services. In other areas there are boundary lines between the sheriff’s department and the county police.

What all these have in common is that local policing is local and major crime and national security are dealt with at the national level..

What do the Welsh public think

A poll commissioned by the body examining the case for devolving more powers to the Welsh government from Westminster has reported significant public support for moving policing powers for Wales to Cardiff.

The survey, carried out by Beaufort Research for the Silk Commission on Devolution in Wales, found 63 per cent of 2,009 respondents polled between May 21 and June 12 last year were in favour of policing powers for Wales being devolved from central government in England.

Only 35 per cent of those responding said they wanted policing powers to remain within the remit of the UK government, with the report on the survey describing the findings as indicating the Welsh public “clearly favoured” further devolution.

With eight in ten also saying they felt the National Assembly for Wales worked in the best interests of the country and had “given Wales a stronger voice in the UK”, the survey said two in three backed bringing in the devolved powers within five years

I believe that the way forward is to devolve most policing to the National Assembly but keep the UK National Crime Agency and national security services.

Just remember that up until the 1960s the large cities of Britain policed themselves without anyone outside the Home Office having any concerns.

We should get back the right to police ourselves and hand local policing to the Welsh Government.

 

 

My View on the Welsh Budget

First, the budget needs to be looked at in the context of the Westminster Government cuts that are being imposed on the Welsh block grant. The budget in 2015-16 is nearly 10% lower overall, in real terms, compared to 2010-11, which equates to over £1.5 billion removed from the Welsh public purse, or, more importantly, removed from Welsh public services. The long period of sustained reduction has had an impact on all services, even those that have been relatively protected. The fear is that, in future years, if the coalition continues in Westminster, things will only get worse.

 

The amount available for capital investment will be 30% lower than it was at its peak in 2009-10. I listened to speeches earlier from both Peter Black and Nick Ramsay, when they talked about being unhappy with some of the cuts. What they have failed to do is come up with a balanced budget that replaced those cuts with others. I think that the people who wish to amend the budget need to come along with suggestions—if you add £200 million here, you have to take £200 million off somewhere else.

On the budget strategy, the budget increases health expenditure by £226 million, which equates to a real terms increase of £121 million or 1.9%. This has been mainly paid for by a reduction in local government of £193 million, which equates to a reduction of £262 million in real terms, or 5.7%. Effectively, this is a movement of resources to hospitals from local government services, such as leisure, environmental health and social services, whose activities are important in ensuring that people stay out of hospitals.

Another £44 million has been added to the pupil deprivation grant, which I know has been welcomed by most of the schools in my constituency, because my constituency has one of the highest numbers in Wales of pupils receiving free school meals. However, after two years of the pupil deprivation grant, a resulting improvement in the key stage 1 results of children receiving free school meals should have occurred. I look forward to seeing these results show that the expenditure has had beneficial results in terms of educational attainment. After four years, we should be seeing improvement in key stage 2 results and, after five years, in GCSE results for free school meal pupils. This is one of the easiest expenditure headings to identify success or failure in.

I now turn to the increase in health expenditure, which has been welcomed across Wales, including by many in my constituency. In the 10 steps towards a future NHS Wales discussion paper by Tony Beddow, Julian Tudor Hart, Wayne Richard and John Richards, recommendation 5 is to stop doing all work categorised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as ineffective or harmful.

Nick Ramsay

Mike, you have just welcomed the injection of cash into the health service. Do you therefore regret supporting a Government that, over the last four years, has taken more money than that cash injection out of the health service? That is your Government; you supported it.

 

Mike Hedges

If you listen to what I have to say in the next few minutes, I am going to explain why health needs to be run efficiently. I have serious concerns about some of the work being done in health. If you had listened to what I just said, it should stop doing all work categorised by NICE as ineffective or harmful. I can think of no other public service outside health where such a recommendation could exist. I cannot imagine having in education a recommendation that we should stop teaching people in a way that means they do not learn or we take knowledge out of them. Surely the Welsh Government should tell health boards to stop funding such work. How much of the health budget is being spent on such work? To quote remarks made by Mark Drakeford in January 2014, roughly 20% of customary medical activity is either ineffective or harmful to health, based on US research.

 

The report I mentioned earlier also crushes some health myths. Facts cited in the research report show that the average time in hospital before death does not increase with age and admission rates fall after the age 85. That is from the BMJ, which is an organisation that has been quoted in the Chamber several times in the past. After reviewing major trials, the Cochrane Centre for meta analysis concluded in 2012 that treatment for the borderline range of blood pressure is more likely to harm people than help them, except for those with diabetes. However, GPs are still being encouraged to treat this group as part of their quality and outcomes framework.

I also share the concerns about polypharmacy and the detrimental effect on health it can have. Rather than charging for prescriptions, perhaps you should be looking for a reduction in the number of prescriptions, especially those whose interaction with others can make health worse. So, yes, more money for health is good, but it needs to be money that works. Every time somebody goes to see a doctor, they do not have to walk out with a prescription and they do not have to walk out with a doctor’s paper: they can actually be given advice on how to improve their health, and that might well be a better way of making progress than doing what we are doing at the moment.

On a major point, we cannot continue to increase the proportion of the Assembly’s expenditure on health, or sometime in the next Assembly, health will hit 50% of total Welsh expenditure. If we keep on going like this, in the middle of this century, it will hit 100%, and, towards the end of it, it will be over 100%, but I am not quite sure how you spend more than 100% of your budget.

5 easy ways to Improviethe lives of older peole

Public toilets

Public toilets play a vital role in ensuring that visits are accessible to people of all ages. They can be a lifeline for older people, providing them with freedom, independence and the confidence they need to lead fulfilling and active lives. Adequate public toilet provision but more importantly not just the number but their location is vital to enable older people to maintain their dignity and participate in community life.

 

The Welsh Government funded Community Toilet Grant Scheme launched in 2008 provides local authorities with grant funding to encourage local businesses to open their facilities to the public.

I believe that the Scheme, together with the provision of toilet facilities for public use within all public buildings, must be better publicised and promoted.

There must be clear and visible branding and signage (eg notices in windows of premises taking part in the Scheme), if they are to form a solution to toilet provision alongside public toilets provided by the local authority.

I welcome proposals in the Welsh Government’s Public Health Bill to strengthen the role of public authorities in planning for the provision of and access to toilets for public use, to meet the needs of their communities.

 

 

Voluntary meeting places

I believe that local authorities have a vital role in supporting community facilities and activities through working in partnership with voluntary and community groups, and exploring the co-design and delivery of such services. Such facilities could also promote intergenerational activities.

 

Older people have said that local authorities could do more to support and facilitate informal interest groups and clubs, and have suggested that public buildings such as community centres and libraries could be used more than they are now.

An example of a good practice initiative to improve the quality of life for older people is Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn’s Age Well centres, where six dedicated centres have opened throughout Gwynedd and Anglesey utilising funding from the Big Lottery, Gwynedd County Council and Lifelong Health and Wellbeing funding in partnership with Bangor University. The benefit of these centres, which are hubs for the community, is to introduce people back into their local communities and help older people to overcome isolation and loneliness.

 

The Age Well work has had a major impact on the lives of individuals that have attended either in a cognitive, physical or spiritual sense.

Research has shown that participants at the Age Well Centre in Nefyn gained positive benefits over a 12 month period, and reported that it is possible for over 50s to make meaningful changes in lifestyle that can help to improve health and wellbeing, given suitable community resources and a small amount of  support. 

Participants showed improvements in aspects of mental fitness, physical health and physical fitness. The Age Well Centre model is inclusive and is based around social engagement, with a choice of activities based on members’ preferences and interests. It is an ideal vehicle for improving health and well-being, and draws people in to a community which offers support to maintain positive changes.

 

Nutrition in care settings

In recent years the public health agenda has focused resources on tackling the obesity crisis with much less attention being paid to malnutrition. This is despite the economic burden of malnutrition in the UK being estimated to be around £7.3 billion a year - equivalent to obesity. Over half of these costs are being expended on people over the age of 65.

It is important to stress that whilst work has been done to try to tackle malnutrition and dehydration in hospitals, unfortunately it still remains a problem in some wards.

 

The recent ‘Trusted to care’ report, an independent review of the quality of care for older people at the Princess of Wales hospital in Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot Hospital, identified some very specific areas where there were failings in the care of older patients. These included failures in ensuring patients are kept hydrated. The report issued a number of recommendations for Welsh Government including to commission a strategic campaign to increase public and professional understanding that regular hydration and feeding are as important as hand-cleaning for older people in hospitals. Therefore further work is required in hospitals as well as care homes to improve nutrition and hydration.

 

Hydration standards are particularly welcomed as we often hear anecdotally in care homes (and in hospitals) that people do not have constant access to fluids, often if you miss the ‘tea trolley run’, you may not be offered a drink for hours.

 

A balanced diet is also clearly important for good health, but we note standards must be careful to avoid restricting individual preferences and right to choice over foods. People with dementia often experience a change in their taste preferences and flexibility must be incorporated to allow for this.

No Cold Calling Zones

I am calling on the Welsh Government and local authorities in Wales to examine the case for drastically increasing the scope and the scale of No Cold Calling Zones to protect older people from rogue traders and high pressure salespeople on their doorsteps.

I would like to see cold calling zones extended to cover all of Wales, preferably with an exemption for political candidates.

 

I have seen how well they have been received in my own constituency including the relatively new one at Clasemont Park.

 

Research among 1000 individuals across the demographic groups showed 86% of all respondents were in favour. This number rose to 93% among older people.

 

The zones currently in existence are not legally enforceable. Traders who cold call in these zones are not committing an offence. An offence is only committed if a cold caller persists in trying to sell goods or services after they have been asked to leave - this is regarded as harassment. I believe we need a change in the law which would give the zones legal enforceability so that flouting them is potentially a criminal offence. Just making it easier to set them up and to extend them would generate peace of mind for many.

 

Low Cost adaptations

Substantial progress has been made on this since I first started promoting it in the 1990s but again more needs to be done, more handrails especially in gardens and replacing lino with carpet to reduce slip hazards would improve lives rather than expensive DFG when many elderly people want neither the disruption or mess of large scale work  or dealing with the result of the slip with long term hospitalization.

 

 

In conclusion

These are five relatively cheap ways of improving the lives and the health of elderly people, not as headline grabbing as spending hundreds of millions of pounds extra on dealing with the consequences of not carrying out what I have described.

devolution

Devolution

I very much welcome the debate and the cross party consensus on taking devolution forward

Whilst there is a small group of people who want to close down the Assembly

And an even smaller group of people who want Independence

There is a growing consensus in Wales shown in opinion polls

Which I see echoed when talking to my own constituents

A desire to have a working sphere of Government with the tools to do the job

I wish to concentrate on two areas firstly the reserved powers model and then tax devolution

As someone who has been a strong supporter of the reserved powers model I am pleased that this is becoming the consensus view.

Early last year I wrote a series of articles published by the IWA describing the devolution settlement in the rest of the UK and within Europe.

All based upon the reserved powers model.

In the individual members debate on the 26^th June last year supporting the reserved powers model

With support from members of all parties

It was passed by

43 votes for

6 against

2 abstentions

I hope today on this issue we can achieve unanimity

As I said then and now reiterate

The Reserved powers is not about more powers it is about clarity on what is and what is not devolved.

Turning to the financial proposals in this resolution

I do not believe taxation is primarily an economic driver

I believe its primary aim is to raise money for public services

If Northern Ireland and Scotland have the devolved to them corporation tax then Wales should as well;

 

But to Quote the Holthanm report

 

It is evident that varying corporation tax in different parts of the UK raises issues at both the UK national and the European level and these may be in conflict. The UK Governmentt would presumably wish to ensure that any variation was implemented in a way that was regionally equitable and not costly to HM Treasury. Yet devolution would also have to be consistent with European law, which precludes tax systems that could be interpreted as State aid to some businesses at the expense of others.”

 

Some people believe that low corporation tax in Ireland including the now closed double Irish helped the Irish economy

But the OECD said

 

Ireland’s appeal has been based on the quality, price and availability of its labour, the welcoming attitude to foreign investors, the use of the English language and exploitation of ‘first-mover advantages’: once one producer in a sector establishes production facilities in Ireland, it is generally easier to attract its competitors.

  But there is no question that the robust and prolonged expansion of the US economy – the source of most of the direct investment flows – and the attractive policy and institutional setting in Ireland have been the major driving forces.  A generally conducive and transparent regulatory framework, an open trade regime and competitive labour costs have generated this outcome.

 

 A long-standing favourable tax regime applied to tradeable goods sectors, financial incentives and substantial industrial support targeted at a small number of key dynamic sectors with spin-off potential, may also have been important in convincing major multinational incorporations to choose Ireland as a production location in order to serve at least the EU market”.

 

If Air Passenger Duty for direct long-haul flights is devolved to Scotland then it should be devolved to Wales

 

There should be a review the level of the borrowing powers afforded to Wales in the Wales Bill

 

I do not believe the Welsh Government should be treated less favourably than either Scotland or Welsh Local Authorities

 

Welsh Local Authorities can engage in borrowing to a locally set prudential limit

 

I do not see if it is good enough for Welsh Councils that the Welsh Government should not be treated the same

 

Welsh Government should be allowed to issue its own bonds

Just like Local Authorities and whilst borrowing from the PWLB has traditionally been cheaper Transport for London used bonds to part fund crossrail.

Again if Local authorities can do it so should the Welsh Government

 

we have come a long way since I first raised the reserved powers model at a Gorwel meeting

Hopefully with cross party agreement we can take Wales forward

Local Goverment -From August 2013IWA blog- now others have caught up

As we approach the start of another Welsh budget and a further reduction in the block grant by the Westminster Government, then cuts in public services are inevitable. Questions that arise are where they will be made and what will be the impact on each service area?
Giving the Welsh Government’s response to the lessons that the Welsh NHS needs to learn from the events of Mid Staffordshire, following the inquiry by Robert Francis QC, Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford made the following statement:

“Jointly with the Finance Minister I will be undertaking a review of the NHS budget over the summer to ensure that it reflects the lessons to be learnt from Francis, the additional burdens which face the health service and to ensure that there is a proper match between the quality of care, patient safety issues and the budgets to support them.”

This has been taken by many commentators to mean that there will be an increase in health expenditure next year relative to the other services funded by the Welsh Government. This is despite my having attended meetings at the Assembly throughout the last year where a whole plethora of organisations have explained how for every pound spent on them several pounds will be saved by the national health service.
Out of the Welsh budget for 2013-14 of over £15.5 billion, health and social services were allocated over £6.3 billion and local government over £4.7 billion.  With more than 70 per cent of the total budget being spent in these two areas there is naturally a fear that if one increases its percentage in the next funding round, the other must go down. The easy option is to cut local government spending and use it to protect the health service. However, it is not as simple as that.
Local government provides a variety of services that contribute to the health and well being. For instance, if local authorities are unable to provide timely social care packages for those leaving hospital then bed blocking will occur. If Local Authorities do not intervene with home care provision soon enough then that will inevitably increase the risk of hospitalisation. As budgets become stretched then slowing down assessment and the production of a care package for hospital discharge could be the only way of staying within budget.
In order for some people to be discharged from hospital adaptations to their homes are often needed. The disability facilities grant is managed and funded by local authorities. Yet if there is insufficient funding available for the work to be done then the patient often cannot be released from hospital despite having no medical need to stay there.
Environmental health workers check food safety in premises where food is prepared. If there are less of them then obviously visits will take place less often and the chance of food poisoning such as salmonella will increase.
Of course, all these are statutory services. But if they are fully protected then the discretionary services would be hit disproportionately hard. Councils can reduce expenditure on road maintenance and street lighting but doing so increases the chance of accidents occurring and will add to the pressure on accident and emergency departments.
In a country where lack of exercise and unhealthy lifestyles are contributing to an obesity epidemic the last thing that the health of the nation needs is the closure of leisure facilities or a huge increase in their cost. Local authority run leisure centres and swimming pools provide an opportunity for people to engage in exercise at a reasonable cost. It will not improve health and fitness if they are either closed or prices are increased to such an extent that they exclude a large proportion of the public.
Welsh Government funding for free swimming in Wales for children and young people aged 16 and under during all school holidays and at the weekends, and for people aged 60 and over outside school holidays, has been very well received. It is an excellent means of increasing fitness. But what if we have to close our swimming pools in order to balance budgets? I remain unconvinced that if budgets are cut substantially then discretionary leisure expenditure will not face a major cut-back.
There are of course efficiency savings and invest to save opportunities such as more 3g and 4g pitches to allow greater use of sports facilities. Local authorities should be looking to use either the Welsh Government’s invest to save initiative, or their own reserves in order to reduce on going expenditure by investing to save. Local authorities can collaborate more to save money, especially with back office functions such as payroll. But the savings likely to be achieved will be around the edges.
If we continue to substantially reduce spending in fields other than the health service there will be big trade offs and health could be the loser. Health is not only about treating the ill and injured but also about ensuring preventative initiatives are in place. Local government is a major provider of preventative services. Large cuts in local government expenditure and a reduced provision of services could damage the overall health of the nation. We must remember that to keep Wales healthy local government has a major role to play.

Tags: Health, Mark Drakeford

Mike Hedges is Labour AM for Swansea East and a former leader of Swansea City Council.

Published on: Friday, August 2nd, 2013
Posted in: Economy, Featured Article, Health.
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devolution speech

I also welcome the decision made in Scotland by the Scottish people, by an overhelming majority of over 400,000 people. If ‘Yes’ had succeeded, Scotland would have needed to create a new currency, perhaps called the Scottish pound. New Scottish passports would have needed to be created. Scotland would have had to reapply to the European Union for membership with the near certainty of rejection. A ‘Yes’ vote in Scotland could have led to the Balkanisation of the whole of western Europe. Market reaction would have been the opposite of a rise in the pound and share prices. Last year, I led a backbench debate on the reserved powers model. I do not want to repeat the long list I gave of the countries in Europe that have embraced the reserved powers model, so, suffice it to say, it is the preferred model across Europe. Britain, when it set up devolution, embraced the asymmetric devolution model, based on what had been done in Spain. Catalonia had far greater powers than almost anywhere else in Spain, the Basque country had greater powers and some of the other regions had substantially fewer. Spain is now moving towards symmetry. In recent times, the difference between the powers devolved has become reduced as further responsibility has been devolved to all regions.

 

If we look at the United States of America, as we often do on many things, we see that state size varies from California with 38 million people and Texas with more than 26 million people to Vermont with just over 600,000 people and Wyoming with less than 600,000 people. The last two, as I always point out, are smaller than the Swansea city region. What do not vary are state powers. The number of senators they have also does not vary. I recently outlined my support for the Northern Ireland model, under which section 4 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 allows the Secretary of State to devolve areas listed as reserved matters in the Act provided that a resolution has been passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly. This has stopped the big bang method of everything being devolved in one go. When two thirds of the Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly wish to have items devolved to them, a vote by that body moves those powers to being devolved. Has it worked? Yes. Additional legislative power relating to policing and justice matters were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly last year following a resolution of that body.

The English question will not go away and cannot be answered by creating first and second-class members of the Westminster Parliament. It will have to be addressed, which is one of the reasons why we need a constitutional convention to end asymmetric devolution and deal with the problems in England. It needs to be made up not just of the usual suspects. It needs to involve interested individuals as well as politicians and academics. We also need to decide what should be provided in each sphere of government. May I take you back to a word that, in 1990s and the early 2000s, was very popular: ‘subsidiarity’? The subsidiarity principle is based on the idea that decisions must be taken as closely as possible to citizens. The European Union brought it in. The principle says that the European Union should not undertake action, except on matters for which it alone is responsible, unless EU action is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level. We need to decide what should be provided where. Devolution cannot stop at Cardiff bay. It cannot just be a case of moving powers from Westminster to Cardiff bay and then stopping. I am going to suggest a novel approach: we decide in which sphere of government a decision is best made and then allow that sphere of government to deal with it. It may be Westminster, it may be here and, dare I say it, it may actually be local government. We need a showing of mutual respect, not just by Westminster to the Assembly but also by the Assembly to principal councils and by principal councils to community councils. In 10 years’ time, we need to look back and be able to say that we have most, if not all, decisions made at the appropriate level. Would anyone say that we are there today?

they meant it

From the BBC website

Meanwhile RBS confirmed it would not be moving its registered head office now that independence had been rejected

"The announcement we made about moving our registered head office to England was part of a contingency plan to ensure certainty and stability for our customers, staff and shareholders should there be a 'Yes' vote," the bank said.

"That contingency plan is no longer required. Following the result it is business as usual for all our customers across the UK and RBS."

In a statement, Lloyds Banking Group said: "The group is proud of its strong Scottish heritage and remains committed to having a significant presence in Scotland. We remain fully focused on supporting households and businesses in Scotland as well as right across the rest of the UK."

if Scotland votes yes, what happens next

Well the first thing we can be certain of is that the Scottish Nationalist will have a big party over the whole weekend to celebrate the historic decision but when Monday morning comes what happens .

Firstly the time table for Scottish independence is far too long and will have a serious economic impact possibly pushing the whole country including Scotland back into recession. Surely the most sensible situation would be for Scottish independence to coincide with the start of the 2015 financial year.

Scotland would need to create a central bank and a currency which I assume will be called the Scottish pound and arrange for sufficient to be printed so that they can arrange to exchange British currency for Scottish currency at the banks. I would also expect the currency to start at equal value and then the currency markets to decide their relative values.

The Scottish passport office would need to start creating Scottish passports to replace the British passport that people travelling currently use. A decision on whether to share embassies with Scottish and British sections or to have separate buildings will have to be made.

The armed forces would need to ensure that all Scottish servicemen were in areas that were going to Scotland and that non Scottish servicemen moved the other way. In terms of the infantry equipment, air force and navy Scotland’s share will need to be calculated and sent to Scotland.

In terms of national assets and debts they will need to be shared out and the simplest way would be on a population basis but if such an agreement cannot be reached then arbitration will need to be used.

The easiest way to set the first year taxation and benefit levels would be to use the levels set at Westminster but in subsequent years as a sovereign country it would obviously set and collect its own revenue and have its own benefits system.

Those companies that wished to relocate either into Scotland or out of Scotland could then issue their 90 day redundancy notices and have time to either relocate or employ new staff at their new centres.

Scotland could apply immediately to become a member of the European Union and seek any opt outs that Britain has got that it wishes to continue with.

Divorce is never easy but a quick clean break would be the best way.

a Welsh treasury

As taxation and borrowing powers are devolved to the Welsh Government then we will obviously need a Welsh Treasury to deal with these changes, but what will it actually do.

There are two distinct types of public sector treasury that we have in Britain, the treasury at Westminster and the treasuries at Local authorities.

The treasury at Westminster carries out 5 main functions, central co-ordinating and accounting department, a ministry of finance, economics department, foreign economic policy agent and a policy driver.

Local authority treasuries act as tax collectors, control borrowing including debt management, manage expenditure and invest reserves. Effectively they fulfil the first two functions listed above of the Westminster Treasury.

Currently the Finance Department in the National Assembly acts as a central co-ordinating and accounting department where it distributes the money received from the Treasury at the beginning of the financial year and via a series of supplementary budgets allocates additional funding during the year. What it effectively does is receive income from the treasury and distribute it between the different assembly directorates for them to spend.

What a Welsh Treasury will not become is a foreign economic policy agent because that will be still be carried out by the Westminster Treasury or an economics department because the main macro economic policy will also still be set at Westminster. What we do not want it to be is a policy driver, with Treasury policies over riding departmental policies as appears to happen at Westminster.

It will have more similarities with the treasury function of a Council than it will with the Treasury functions at Westminster. It will continue to manage expenditure but will have added to that raising part of the income and managing debt. Also it is inevitable that investing and managing any reserves will become part of the duties of a Welsh Treasury.

Whilst initially the amount of money raised via taxation by the Welsh Government, outside of the block grant, will be relatively small if income tax is either wholly or partly devolved that will lead to a far larger proportion of the Welsh Government income being raised in Wales.

I believe there is a definite requirement for a Welsh Treasury to control debt including debt management, manage investments and income as well as distribute money. What we need to avoid is a Treasury that also wants to be a policy driver setting its own policies and driving Government policy.

 

 

 

questions on scotish indepenence

Scotland would not be unique if it broke away from the rest of the UK or if it didn’t. We have seen in recent years in Europe the splitting up of the old Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. More recently Sudan split into Sudan and Southern Sudan. Quebec has twice rejected separation from the rest of Canada in a referendum.

That Scotland is large enough to be separate country is self evident as it is larger than a number of other countries in the world. Strathclyde on its own is bigger than Slovenia and almost five times the size of Luxembourg.

We have the three big questions, currency, European Union and share of the debt.

We have a fairly recent example of an amicable divorce by two countries when Czechoslovakia divided into the two new countries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Initially the old Czechoslovak currency, the Czechoslovak Koruna, was used in both countries following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on the 31 December 1992. However, by the 8 February 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had adopted their own national currencies in the form of the Czech Koruna and the Slovak Koruna. At the beginning, the currencies had an equal exchange rate, but later on the value of the Slovak Koruna was as much as 30 per cent lower than the Czech Koruna. The Czech and Slovak joint currency lasted less than 40 days.What I have been unable to identify is countries splitting up and then continuing with a joint currency for more than a few years.

On debt we again have the example of the split in Czechoslovakia when most federal assets and debt were divided in a ratio of 2 to 1 (the approximate ratio between the Czech and Slovak population within Czechoslovakia).  The same would be expected to occur and if it could not be agreed then we would need arbitration.   If after a split the debt is left behind then it would be in the interests of every region in Europe to split away and leave the debt behind causing another European banking crisis.

Would Scotland have to reapply to the EU and would it be accepted? We need to look at this from a European perspective where many European Countries have regions which have expressed a desire for independence such as Catalonia and the Venice region of Italy. If a split can occur and regions or nations can remain within the EU, then again the fragmentation of Europe looks likely.

I am sure that there are those who see Britain as the centre of the universe who will say things like “There is a considerable difference between the global significance of Sterling compared to the Czech/Slovak Koruna” or “how important sterling is as a  currency”, or “EU needs Scotland”.

On September 19^th we may start finding out who is right regarding currency, debt and the EU.

good news for Morriston

Danbert house has been an eyesore and a safety problem in Morriston for many years.
I am very pleased with the Council's action

From the Evening Post on Wednesday 13th August


"THE owners of a crumbling Morriston landmark have been given an ultimatum by Swansea Council — 'pay for the work we have done on the property or we will force you to sell it'.
The deteriorating state of Danbert House has led the local authority to step in and take emergency action including making the building safe, clearing vegetation and dealing with rats.
The Post understands the council has spent tens of thousands of pounds on the Morfydd Road house in recent years, and now wants to recoup the cash either directly from the owners or by forcing them to sell.
A statutory section 103 notice has been served on the owners — who are believed to live in Australia — giving them three months to pay up or face the sale of the listed building."

Is Williams NUTS

 

When I saw the proposed new structure for Councils in Wales I thought it looked familiar.

The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, (NUTS), is a European Union standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes.

The United Kingdom is split into 12 NUTS1 areas and Wales is one of them. Wales is then subdivided into the NUTS 2 areas of West Wales and the valleys, which is in receipt of European convergence funding, and East Wales.  The rules of NUTS 2 is that the average population should be between 800,000 and 3 million so at the last review Wales could have been split into one, two or three NUTS2 areas but it was decided to stay with the two previously used.

Below NUTS 2 are the NUTS 3 areas made up of one or more local authorities and there are 12 of these, for those who have read the Williams report that number should look  familiar. The only difference with the Williams Commission is that in all their proposed options Ynys Mon and Gwynedd are merged, the keeping of Ynys Mon as a  separate NUTS 3 areas is highly anomalous, whilst other proposals involve removing Carmarthenshire from South West Wales and adding Swansea to Neath Port Talbot Bridgend leaving seven unchanged from their NUTS 3 boundaries in every proposed reconfiguration. The proposals consist of keeping 7, 8 or 10 unchanged NUTS3 areas.