MIKE HEDGES AM PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR 20 MPH ZONES

MIKE HEDGES AM PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR 20 MPH ZONES

Mike Hedges, AM for Swansea East spoke on the last day of Plenary this summer on his support for 20 MPH zones.

Mie said…. ‘I greatly support 20MPH zones as means of keeping pedestrian’s safe. It might not sound a lot but people have a much better chance of surviving a crash with a car at 20 mph than at 30 mph and there is a corresponding reduction in the number of serious injuries at the lower speed. I hope that Swansea Council will introduce more 20 MPH zones in the future and will be happy to support such measures. We are all aware of more traffic on the road and people have busy lives which often leads to people dashing from place to place. We must encourage everyone to drive slower.’

Mike Hedges AM - Can I thank John Griffiths for giving me a minute in this debate? What's the difference between 20 mph and 30 mph? It doesn't sound very much, does it? Well, the perception, the corner vision, how much you actually see, increases the slower you're going. Your reaction time—. For those who did their driving test many years ago, the back page of 'The Highway Code' told you how long it would take to stop at different speeds. And the faster you're going, the longer your reaction time and the longer it takes you to stop when you actually do react. And the crash outcomes—the faster you're going, the more likely you are to seriously damage what are often little people.501

I'll just very briefly recount an article that was in the South Wales Evening Post on Saturday, where Robyn Lee, the columnist, wrote about seeing an accident involving a child who just ran straight into the road and was hit by a car. It wasn't a serious accident; the child was just bruised. Why? Not because it was 20 mph, but because, fortunately, there was a very long traffic jam. We can't rely on traffic jams to keep our children safe; we need 20-mph zones

Mike Hedges welcomes news that Signs positive for Better Jobs scheme

Mike Hedges welcomes news that Signs positive for Better Jobs scheme

Leader of the House Julie James yesterday visited one of the pilot projects taking forward the innovative Better Jobs Closer to Home programme.

Mike Hedges AM said …. ‘I am pleased with this news – I have been calling for procurement process to be used to keep money within the Welsh Economy for many years, indeed since I was Leader of Swansea Council nearly years ago.

Many millions of pounds are spent each year in the procurement of services and surely we need to ensure that as much as possible be kept within Wales. I hope that within due course firms in Swansea East will have the chance to tender for these opportunities.’

Better Jobs Closer to Home aims to create opportunities and sustainable jobs by utilising the spending power of public procurement. This is achieved through the use of innovative commercial approaches and, through the use of reserved contracts, using that lever to create jobs in areas of high employment need.

Four Better Jobs Pilots are currently being tested across the South Wales Valleys area and, if successful, similar interventions could then be replicated in other parts of Wales.

Julie James was in Ebbw Vale yesterday to visit EBO Quality Signs, one of the pilot projects. EBO are a social enterprise that employs local people with disabilities, and the Leader of the House was keen to see what progress had been made so far, and what the future may hold for success of the programme.

Speech on retirement of Huw Vaughan Thomas 18 July 2018

18 July 2018

Retirement of Huw Vaughan Thomas

Mike Hedges AM  I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the retirement of the auditor general, Huw Vaughan Thomas. I've been a member of the Public Accounts Committee, or a substitute member, since 2011. To me, the outgoing auditor general had two great strengths, which I hope Nick Ramsay will agree with me on: knowing what the key areas to investigate and report on were, and proportionality in his response. If anybody follows the auditor general's reports, the auditor general's office produces many each year, but it's actually about identifying the key ones, going into them in detail, and reporting back and taking them before the Public Accounts Committee, because if the Public Accounts Committee received all of them, they'd spend an hour each week just receiving and accepting. So, it's the proportionality in what to deal with and highlighting major failings of Government departments—Penmon fish farm, Kancoat, Powys Fadog, the Circuit of Wales—projects that could never have succeeded and that should have been picked up by the civil servants at the very earliest moment as projects that were incapable of success. The failure to do that—. The auditor general has brought those to the attention of Welsh Government, which I hope will work in the future—that people will cast a critical eye over projects and whether they actually can work or not. Many projects will fail, many good projects will fail for all sorts of reasons, but if the auditor general leaves us with something, it's that people cast a critical eye over projects and say, 'Can this project actually succeed?', and when the answer is 'no', then those projects don't get taken forward and money is not spent on them. Can I just finally wish Huw Vaughan Thomas a long and happy retirement? I've enjoyed seven years of discussions, not always agreements with him, but always something that I think I've learnt a lot from, and I hope he's enjoyed.

Housing Debate – 10 July 2018

Housing Debate – 10 July 2018

Housing is a basic need and a basic right. I think that is something that we really do need at the forefront of our minds every time we discuss housing. No week is complete without the need for more affordable housing being made clear to me by my constituents—in the last seven days, a family of four, including a disabled child, living in a one-bedroomed flat; someone who is effectively homeless, sofa surfing, using sofas in friends’ houses, as they currently have no fixed abode, where the next stop could be the street; a newly divorced woman who is finding it increasingly hard to pay the rent being charged by a private landlord. This is the reality of living in twenty-first century Wales. Each one is a personal tragedy. The sad thing is, if I was making this speech next week, I would be talking about three or four different cases of people with exactly the same housing need. How did we get here?385

Thirty years ago, finding affordable housing was not a problem. You might not have got either a council house or a housing association house in your area of first choice, but accommodation was available. A number of things have happened, some of which we've had control over and some which we haven't. There has been a decrease in the size of households. There's been an increase in population. Both have put pressure on needing more accommodation.386

We had a boom in the early 2000s, where people were being given 110 per cent mortgages, where we had steady economic growth. People thought everything was going to fine forever, until we reached the problem of the banking collapse. Within Britain, the average price of a house was £100,000 in the year 2000 and £225,000 in 2007, before the financial crash brought the boom to an end. This was unsustainable

Will you give way?388

Mike Hedges AM 17:14:16

Certainly.389

Wrth gwrs.

Mark Isherwood AM 17:14:17

Do you regret that the Welsh Government at the time ignored the warnings by the housing sector joined together campaign throughout the early 2000s that there would be a housing supply crisis if the Welsh Government didn't reverse its 70 per cent affordable housing cuts? That was long before the credit crunch and they ignored that—hence where we are today

It was also before my time here. What I will say is that councils were continuing to sell council houses under the right to buy—and I'm sure Mark Isherwood regrets the sale of council houses. Until recently, councils were not building. Low-cost owner-occupier properties have become buy-to-rent properties. That's a real thing that's affected very many of my constituents—very many people who are on median earnings, who are working, cannot now afford to buy a house, when 25 or 30 years ago they'd have had no difficulty, because these have been mopped up by people who are buying to rent. 391

It is in the interest of large house builders to build less than demand, because the opposite means that they will be left with unsold properties. Help to Buy increases the demand side, but does nothing for the supply side. The shortage of houses is not at the scale of the immediate post-war period. In 1945, we had houses lost to bombing, and we had large-scale slum clearance in the 1940s and 1950s. I'm not going to repeat what David Melding said, but I think he was making a really important point that building lots of houses and building a lot of public sector houses is not unique and it's not difficult. It's been done in the past. It was done by Labour and Conservative Governments, and in Britain as a whole council housing peaked under the Conservative Government of the 1950s. The 1959 Conservative manifesto was talking about how many council houses the Conservative Government were going to build.  392

There was a lot of expansion. I was brought up in a council house on the outskirts of Swansea. Lots of council housing was built on what were then the outskirts of many towns and cities, which have probably been 'outskirted', if such a word exists, since then. We've had house price booms and busts, but these were post the 1960s. In the 1960s, 400,000 properties were built in Britain. Wales's equivalent would have been around 19,000 or 20,000. On quality, the standard that is usually talked about is the Parker Morris standard, which set what the size of houses should be. It said that it's better to build flats and houses that are too large, rather than too small. Imagine a builder saying that today.  393

Affordable housing to meet the needs of the people of Wales needs more land released to small builders in plots below the local development plan threshold, including infill sites, and councils to be funded and empowered to build council houses again. Unless we start building council houses, there is no way I can possibly see us reaching the number of houses in the affordable sector that we need in Wales. More needs to be done to bring empty properties back into use. If doubling the council tax doesn't work, try quadrupling it. There must be some point on the council tax amount that they pay where people will actually put those houses back into use.  Finally, I think that the key has got to be making sure that our policies are aimed at the supply side, not the demand side. Putting money into the demand side only pushes up prices.

Question to Finance Minister 18 July 2018 RE Brexit Preparation

Questions to Finance Minister 18 July 2018

Mike Hedges AM - Can I talk about Brexit in terms of organisations that rarely get mentioned, namely local government? How is the Welsh Government helping local authorities prepare for Brexit, including the possibility of a 'no deal' scenario? Because local authorities don't often get mentioned when we talk about Brexit, but they will, in many cases, be at the front line when we come out.82

14:20

Mark Drakeford AM 14:20:05

I thank Mike Hedges for that question. I want to assure him that local government plays an important part in our planning and that it is very ably represented on the European advisory group by the leader of Swansea council, Councillor Rob Stewart, who regularly reports at that group about issues of concern to local authorities and action that is being taken. I was very pleased earlier this month to be able to confirm £150,000 worth of support for the WLGA from our £50 million European Union transition fund, and that's there to help local authorities in the vital work that they do in preparing for Brexit

MIKE HEDGES AM QUESTIONS WELSH GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MINISTER ON VIRGIN MEDIA CLOSURE

MIKE HEDGES AM QUESTIONS WELSH GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MINISTER ON VIRGIN MEDIA CLOSURE

Mike Hedges said… ‘It is a good that the Welsh Government remains committing to providing support for workers of Virgin Media. This support may be vital if a counterproposal is to be successful’ I am also grateful for comments relating to keeping Assembly Members informed over the recess of any developments during recess. Assembly members will be working through the recess and will be on hand to help if we possibly can.’

Mike Hedges - As you know, leader of the house, in the first week of May this year, Virgin Media announced 772 job cuts at its Swansea call centre, which it proposed to close, causing serious concerns to many of my constituents and many of yours. The Welsh Government, since then, have been involved in supporting staff working in Virgin Media, and all I've heard are good things from the people working there about the support they've had from the Welsh Government and Welsh Government officials. But can the leader of the house provide an update on the progress being made as of now? And will the leader of the house be able to keep us informed if anything does happen in either the last couple of weeks of July, August, or during early September? I'm sure that a number of other Members are interested. Some are Government Ministers and can't ask questions on this, but they also represent constituents who work there. Approximately 800 people is bound to cover a far larger area than Swansea East.115

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Julie James - Yes, indeed. The Member is quite right, Llywydd. Obviously, Members of my own constituency are also covered, just to make sure the Assembly is aware, and I know other Government members have constituency interest in that area. We are in close touch with Virgin Media. We are continuing with our plans for the taskforce to be ready to support any affected staff. We have done what we can to help reverse the decision by assisting the in-house staff association, Voice, in preparing a counterproposal. We are prepared to assist with any proposal that maintains the skills and the jobs in the Swansea area and, certainly, Llywydd, I will undertake to ensure that Members are kept updated of any change to that during the recess period

Mike Hedges welcomes £15million for critical care services in Wales

Mike Hedges welcomes £15million for critical care services in Wales

Critical care services in Wales are set to benefit from a new annual £15million fund, The Welsh Government has announced.

Mike Hedges AM for Swansea East said…….. ‘This is great news for the Welsh Health Service. Critically Ill people will receive a new redesigned service, remodelled to take account of new technologies as well as this new investment. This will enable the service to move forward towards the next decade with its future secured.’

The funding will be used to strengthen critical care so it can continue to deliver the very highest standard of care to those who need it in the future.

It will help to redesign the way critical care services in Wales are delivered and develop a national model of care for those who are critically ill.

This model will look at developing and expanding the workforce, increasing the number of critical care beds and the options for transferring critically ill patients. 

 

Speech Supplimentry Budget Debate

Supplementary Budget Debate 10 July 2018

I just wanted to make three very brief points in this debate. Firstly, the first supplementary budget shows very small change from the original budget. If it showed substantial changes, we’d probably have a problem on our hands, and it would be very strange indeed if there was large blocks of money moving around. So, I think that’s what we’ve got to expect from the first supplementary budget.303

But whilst the changes are not substantial, I think it’s really good practice that the finance Secretary comes before the Finance Committee for scrutiny and we have a debate on it in this Chamber. I think that really is important that we carry on doing that rather than allowing, as the rules do, a letter from the Cabinet Secretary and a letter back from the Finance Committee. I’ve never been a great believer in sending letters between two parties is the best way of having a conversation, and things can get lost in translation. So, I’m really pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has continued the openness and transparency and willingness to engage, as his predecessor did, with the Finance Committee. 304

I think that's really good practice, but at some stage in the future, we will have a different finance Secretary and the Standing Orders allow the exchange to be conveyed solely by letter. I hope this practice, which the previous Cabinet Secretary brought in and the current Cabinet Secretary now follows, of producing a supplementary budget and appearing before the Finance Committee, is carried out by all future finance Secretaries, and then we have a Plenary debate on it, even if the Plenary debate consists mainly of people, or only of people, who are on the Finance Committee in the first place. But I think it’s important that we get a Plenary debate on it and that we do engage in that level of scrutiny.305

Secondly, transaction capital, which appears to be a Treasury method of keeping borrowing off the Government debt, does create huge difficulties. I welcome the fact that the Treasury has agreed to the Welsh Government’s request to carry forward £90 million unspent financial transaction funding provided in the UK autumn budget, in addition to Welsh reserve arrangements. This means that no funds have been returned to the Westminster Treasury. If we are giving signs of success for any Cabinet Secretary for finance, not sending any money back to the Westminster Treasury must be one of those things that you give as a ‘plus’ if you’re marking them, because sending money back to Westminster is the last thing we want to do.306

I quote the finance Secretary, who said to the Finance Committee,307

‘The restrictions on the use of financial transaction capital do make it an unwieldy instrument.’308

Following the ONS classification of housing associations and the subsequent need for legislation to get housing associations designated as not public sector organisations, it meant that, for a short time, transaction capital could not be used to support housing associations building homes.309

I welcome the first tranche of money that is being used to provide support for credit unions in Wales. I think there are very many of us, across parties, who are very supportive of credit unions, who provide for many people an opportunity to borrow at a level that they couldn't anywhere else, where they cannot get money out of the high street banks, but there's no shortage of doorstep lenders prepared to lend them money at obscene interest rates. So, it's a small amount of money, which would be very useful to individual credit unions in the transition they're having to make in the rules that are newly being applied to them, and in terms of capital-to-loans ratios. It's probably the difference in some cases between them being able to carry on trading or not, but it really is important that we do support these credit unions, because for too many people it's a choice between a credit union or a doorstep lender.310

The other problem with transaction capital is that it is not understood by the public that the money cannot be spent on schools and hospitals. You've got this money, why aren't you spending it on our key priorities—roads, schools and hospitals?311

Finally, an issue that does not directly affect the Welsh Government budget but affects total Government borrowing is the student loan fund. Student loans form part of the annually managed expenditure, which has increased by £22.5 million—£19.1 million revenue and £3.4 million capital. The Cabinet Secretary clarified that HM Treasury supplies the funding for the student loan book in Wales and that work is being undertaken at a UK level regarding the classification of student loans. We are less exposed in Wales, because we have a different student support system, which is more generous in terms of the grants we give, rather than the loans that have to be repaid. But, to me, the student loans book is like a giant Ponzi-type scheme—it keeps on increasing. You're lending money to people who will almost certainly never pay all of it back, and most will default. The basic tax rate for former students with loans is 8 per cent than the rest of the population. If we added 8 per cent to income tax for everybody else, there'd be uproar, but adding it for people who are graduates seems to be allowed. When will the Westminster Government realise the student loan scheme does not work and is not financially able to continue without building up bigger and bigger debt? It doesn't work. We need to have a new system of funding students

Question to Local Government Secretary 11 July 2018 RE Local Government Reform

11 July 2018

Mike Hedges AM - The first thing any voting system needs to be is secure. We should have a system that does not allow either multivoting or the harvesting of votes. We do, however, need to make it easier to vote. Has the Welsh Government considered supporting two simple innovations: allowing early voting at a central voting centre, and, secondly, allowing voting at any polling station in a constituency?174

Alun Davies AM - Presiding Officer, we are very happy to consider both of those suggestions. I would look towards electronic voting, voting on different days, such as the weekend, mobile polling stations, electronic voting, and electronic counting as well. The point that the Member for Swansea East makes about the security of the ballot is well made and accepted. We are working closely with an expert strategic group—the electoral reform programme board—upon which there are a number of representatives who are looking at ensuring that we have the security of a ballot as a prerequisite but then looking creatively at how we move forward, enabling more people to take part in local democracy. That is our objective and that is what we seek to achieve.

Question to Environment Secretary 11 July RE Tidal Lagoon

11 July

Mike Hedges AM The Westminster Government seems to have an energy policy based upon offshore wind and nuclear power. As prototypes are by their very nature more expensive, and the future storage costs of nuclear are capped—we would never have had a nuclear power station built if they weren't capped—it is not a level playing field. Did the Westminster Government explain why the price for nuclear—which, as we all know, is an over-60-year-old technology—was acceptable, but the same price, which was the final offer of the same strike price for the tidal lagoon as for Hinkley, was not acceptable? Have the Westminster Government explained why one is acceptable and one isn't, when one's a prototype and one's a 60-year-old technology with a capped final cost?61

Lesley Griffiths AM 14:02:46

No, and I think that's a very important point that you raise. I've just mentioned in my answer to Caroline Jones that we are looking at that summary value-for-money assessment now. I think you're right; their policy does seem to focus on just offshore and nuclear power. Of course, nuclear power, whilst being low carbon, is certainly not renewable energy. I've had discussions with Claire Perry, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, around this, and about the need to encourage further onshore wind, and certainly solar power, too. I've also written to Greg Clark following the decision around the importance of making sure that we engage and support other renewable energy technologies.62

Mike Hedges AM is supporting Catch the Bus Week

Mike Hedges AM is supporting Catch the Bus Week

A local Assembly Member Mike Hedges AM is showing their support for Catch the Bus Week.  The AM joined passengers on the number 4 service from Morriston to the Quadrant to highlight the vital role busses play in the community.

Catch the Bus Week – spearheaded by Greener Journeys – aims to raise awareness of the vast economic, environmental and social benefits of taking the bus. The initiative, now in its 6^th year, urges passengers, bus operators and local authorities to work together to encourage the switch from car to bus.

Switching just one car journey in 25, can remove one billion car journeys from UK roads and result in a reduction of 2m tonnes of CO2.

Travelling by bus instead of car also frees up road space, with a fully loaded double decker bus capable of taking up to 75 cars off the road. This makes journey times shorter and more reliable for all road users.

Buses keep people connected with family, friends and their local communities, as well as helping people access jobs, healthcare, education and training.

The Welsh Labour Government introduced free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people across Wales in 2002. You can find out how to apply and if you are eligible here https://beta.gov.wales/apply-bus-pass

You can plan you bus journey by visiting https://www.traveline.cymru/

Mike Hedges AM  said

“Catch the bus week is a great opportunity to promote the benefits of taking the bus.  It helps reduce air pollution, reduces congestion and is significantly less stressful than driving”

“I congratulate everyone involved in the campaign and hope that the week really draws resident’s attention to what a great value way to travel around town and further afield busses are.”

End

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Pay Rise offer for NHS staff

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Pay Rise offer for NHS staff

In the Week the National Health Service celebrates its 70^th Birthday the Welsh Labour Government have announced a new pay offer for NHS Wales’s staff.  The offer matches and in some cases goes beyond the new NHS pay deal for England.

The offer, which will provide a pay increase for staff across the NHS, has been negotiated with employers and unions. It will now need to be approved through a ballot of union members. It means all NHS staff in Wales will have pay parity with their counterparts in England, following the recently announced new pay deal there. 

Mike Hedges AM said: “NHS staff in Wales do an amazing job and deliver first class care to residents in Swansea East and across Wales.”

“It is fitting that as we celebrate 70 years of our wonderful NHS we recognise the work NHS staff do with this pay offer.”

“The NHS could not function without so many dedicated staff do. I want to say a huge thanks to them and everybody who has worked in the NHS over the last 70 years.”

“The then Labour Government fought hard to establish the NHS, in the teeth of opposition from the Tories. With our Welsh Labour government NHS Wales is free from Tory privatisation with more nurses employed than ever before and more patients surviving cancer than ever before. The NHS is only safe in Welsh Labours hands.”

End

Notes

The deal matches the offer made in England and goes beyond it in some areas which are important to our NHS in Wales.

These include a continuing commitment to look at the annual Living Wage Foundation recommendations so that NHS pay scales remain fair in the future. In addition, recognising the specific commitments to improve the health, wellbeing and attendance of NHS staff in Wales, the offer provides better payments during sickness absence than in England. Trade unions and employers will also work together to support individuals if they face a diagnosis of a terminal illness including support for the TUC “Dying to Work” campaign.

The pay offer includes:

·         Going beyond our commitment to the Living Wage Foundation recommendations,  with a new rate of £17,460 introduced from 1 April 2018 as the minimum basic pay rate in the NHS and the lowest starting NHS salary increases to £18,005 in 20/21. 

·         Investing in higher starting salaries for staff in every pay band by reforming the pay system to remove overlapping pay points.

·         Guaranteeing fair basic pay awards for the next three years to the staff who are at the top of pay bands;

·         Guaranteeing fair basic pay awards and faster progression pay for the next three years to those staff who are not yet on the top of their pay band.

Question to 1st Minister 3 July 2018

Mike Hedges AM 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to tackle poverty? OAQ52445

14:15

Carwyn Jones AM 14:15:02

First Minister of Wales

We are committed to improving outcomes for future generations through investment in early years and increasing prosperity for all by focusing on employability and economic growth.

Mike Hedges AM - Can I thank the First Minister for that response? Many of my constituents are facing a financial crisis during the summer holidays, having to find 10 extra meals per child for six weeks. Whilst Carolyn Harris MP is providing food for some children for two weeks of the holiday, there will be substantial unmet need. Faith in the Community has met some of that need, but the closure of Communities First puts the continuation of lunches and breakfasts in some of our poorest communities in jeopardy. Will the Welsh Government investigate the cost of continuing free breakfasts and free school meals for those eligible during the school summer holidays?94

Carwyn Jones AM 14:15:45

First Minister of Wales

Well, we have made available a grant of £500,000 per annum to the WLGA since 2017 to support the programme Food and Fun—Bwyd a Hwyl. Last year, it ran in 38 schools, covering 12 local authorities and all seven local health boards, with approximately 1,500 children benefiting from the programme. The 2018 programme is anticipated to run in approximately 60 schools. It will cover 16 local authorities, and, again, all LHB areas. The indications are that an estimated 3,000 learners will attend the scheme this summer.

Question to Business Minister RE Virgin Media

Question on Business Statement 3 July 2018

Mike Hedges AM - I wish to return again to the threat of closure by Virgin Media of their facility in Swansea. Can I firstly ask for an update on the Welsh Government support for the main submission to try and save the whole site and the call centre agents, based on their quality and skills? Secondly, can I ask for an update on support for the non-call-centre operational staff, of which there are about 80, who are putting a proposal for an alternative site locally or an expansion of other sites in south Wales?136

Julie James AM 14:39:37

Thank you for that. The Member is continuing to show his concern for the large number of people who are under threat of redundancy in his constituency and in the Swansea area in general. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport met with Virgin Media on 14 June to further discuss the plans for closure and the reasons behind the decision, and to offer what support we can to help reverse that decision. The consultation period commenced on 23 May, and it will run for a minimum of 45 days. We are assisting with a counterproposal from the employer's representatives aimed at keeping the site open, and we're awaiting the outcome of that consultation. Should the plans for closure continue after that consultation, the taskforce will be ready to support affected staff, and that includes discussions with any particular groups of staff who have a specific proposal for parts of the business to be self-standing here in Wales.