Mike Hedges AM welcomes Help to Buy success

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Help to Buy success

Local Assembly Member Mike Hedges AM has welcomed latest Help to Buy Wales stats.

The figures show that since the introduction of the Help to Buy Wales scheme in 2014 a total of 400 purchases in Swansea were completed using a Welsh Government Help to Buy-Wales shared equity loan.

The majority of homes purchased through Help to Buy Wales were by first time buyers, helping them get on the housing ladder. 

The Welsh Government is also helping first time buyers with progressive tax changes.  They are introducing Land transaction tax (LTT), in April 2018.¹ Just under two-thirds of all homebuyers will pay no tax under the main (LTT) rates.

Wales will have the most generous starting threshold for this type of property tax in the UK from April 2018 (£55,000 higher than England and Northern Ireland and £35,000 higher than Scotland) and round 80% of first-time buyers in Wales won’t pay any tax.

Mike Hedges AM said…… “It is great news that help to buy has helped so many first time buyers onto the housing ladder”

“This coupled with the progressive property tax the Welsh Labour Government are introducing, demonstrates how determined they are to help residents in places like Swansea achieve their goal of getting on the housing ladder.”

End

Notes

A tax on land and property transactions which will replace stamp duty.

Mike Hedges AM welcomes announcement that a Plan has been launched to improve respiratory health in Wales

Mike Hedges AM welcomes announcement that a Plan has been launched to improve respiratory health in Wales

An updated plan to improve respiratory health in Wales has been launched today by the Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething.

Mike Hedges said…. ‘I greatly welcome this updated plan; I know many people from my Constituency who suffer from respiratory health problems; it is a very debilitating condition and any improvements that can be made to these people’s health really is life enhancing.

Dealing with issues such as smoking and childhood asthma will see really significant improvements in quality of life for these people. I welcome the Welsh Governments new initiatives to deal with these issues. I look forward following the progress of this new plan in the coming years’

It sets out the Welsh Government’s vision for respiratory services in Wales and identifies the actions the NHS in Wales will take in response. The plan will focus on delivering care that best impacts on patient experience and outcome and tackling variation in the quality of care.

The plan outlines work to improve smoking cessation services, better diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and reduce variation in prescribing. Health boards have all committed to:

·         appointing a flu jab champion

·         ensuring carbon monoxide monitoring and referral is routine smokers attending a respiratory outpatient appointment

·         offering patients and parents asthma action plans for better self care

·         improve access to exercise-based programmes for people with chronic respiratory conditions.

In 2015, around 15% of adults in Wales were being treated for a respiratory condition and respiratory diseases caused more than 16% of all deaths in Wales. Asthma UK estimates there are around 59,000 children with asthma in Wales, 9.5% of the total. 

Mike Hedges AM has welcomed the findings of an independent Parliamentary review into the delivery of health and social care services in Wales.

Mike Hedges AM has welcomed the findings of an independent Parliamentary review into the delivery of health and social care services in Wales. The independent report concludes that Wales needs a different system to delivery seamless health and care services.

The reviews proposals will build on the Welsh Labour Governments strong track record of promoting the integration of health and social care, which is very different to what is happening in other parts of the UK. The report is published at a time when all the UK countries are experiencing high level of demand for health and care services, and these services are becoming increasingly stretched.  It provides a rare opportunity to focus on solutions for the long term – solutions that we must will all need to get behind.

The panel’s report includes a renewed vision for health and social care in Wales, with action guided by four mutually supportive goals:

·         Improving the health and wellbeing of the population;

·         improving the experience and quality of care for individuals and their families;

·         improving the wellbeing and engagement of the workforce;

·         increasing the value achieved from the resources that are invested in services.

The report, recommends bold new models of care with services organised around the individual and their family, as close to home as possible. It also emphasises that services need to be preventative, easy to access and of high quality.  They also need to be seamless, and delivered without artificial barriers.

Mike Hedges AM said “I welcome this report and the call for further integration between health and social care services.  The impacts of an ageing population means we have to get this right”

“The Welsh Labour Government were right to protect social care funding not just because of the support that funding gives to vulnerable individuals but because cutting it has a huge impact on our NHS”

“These conclusions could not be more timely and I am glad to see that in Wales at least we have a Government that is looking to find long term solutions to the challenges facing our NHS”

End

AM welcomes consultation launch on ending physical punishment of children

AM welcomes consultation launch on ending physical punishment of children

Mike Hedges, the AM for Swansea East, has welcomed the launching of a Welsh Labour Government consultation on proposals to remove the defence of reasonable punishment in Wales.

The 12 week consultation was launched today - part of a much wider package of measures the Welsh Government is taking to support children to have the best start in life, and to support their parents to do the best job they can. 

The proposed legislation would not involve the creation of a new offence. It would instead remove a defence to the existing offences of assault and battery. It would mean any adult looking after a child would no longer be able to use physical or corporal punishment against them. 

Mike Hedges AM said

“These proposals are about giving parents the support to help them raise healthy and happy children.”

“Times have changed. Many fewer parents now use physical punishment and there is growing recognition that there are much more effective alternatives.”

“I am proud of the Welsh Labour Government’s record of working to ensure children have the best start in life and of promoting children’s rights.”

“There will be different views on this legislation but this is a great chance to take part in the consultation and for residents in Swansea East to have their say to help try to address concerns as the legislation develops.”

You can take part in the consultation here

The Welsh Government, have recently  invested significantly in parenting programmes across Wales and in information campaigns such as ‘Parenting: Give it Time’ to support parents to be the best they can be.

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Additional £10 million to help relieve winter pressures in the NHS announced

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Additional £10 million to help relieve winter pressures in the NHS announced

An additional £10 million to help relieve pressures on health and social care services in Wales during the busy winter period, has been announced today by Health Secretary Vaughan Gething.

Mike Hedges said…. I greatly welcome this news; we are all aware of the tremendous pressure on the NHS at the moment and this funding will be a welcome additional resource for the treatment of people at this difficult time. Can I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the tremendous work undertaken by Health Service and Ambulance Service staff at this difficult time? The work they do really does epitomise all that is good in our public services, dependent as they are on the dedication of members of staff.

The funding will be used to support health boards, the ambulance service and social care services across Wales treat and care for the increase in people using services at this time of year.

It will help relieve pressure across the whole system from primary care through to hospital care and social services in Wales, for example enabling older people to leave hospital more quickly through the use of support packages where appropriate

Mike Hedges AM welcomes the news that Cancer services in Wales continue to improve

Mike Hedges AM welcomes the news that Cancer services in Wales continue to improve

Welsh Labour’s Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has today welcomed the Welsh Government’s
Cancer Annual Statement which shows continuing improvements in cancer services in Wales.

Mike said… ‘this is very good news for cancer patients in Wales. This is a dreadful disease and this news of more people being treated with the target time is to be greatly welcomed, as is the news that 72% of people diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 survived for at least one year. The Welsh Government is committed to improving cancer services for people affected by the disease and I look forward to continued improvements in the years ahead.’

The NHS in Wales is diagnosing and treating more patients for cancer within target time than ever before. An additional 1,800 people were treated within target time compared to five years ago.
Despite demand for cancer services rising at around 1.5% a year, the Annual Statement shows performance has remained stable over the past few years and there have been improvements in some areas.

The statement shows in 2016/17:

• Of these, 15,912 (93%) were treated within target. This is 1,705 (12%) more than five years ago (2011-12)
• For the first time more than 72% of people diagnosed with cancer between 2010 and 2014 survived at least one year
• The Wales cancer patient experience survey showed 93% of respondents rated their care positively

Key workers were allocated in 86% of cases compared to 66% in 2013