Mike Hedges AM welcomes Positive parenting campaign which was launched this week

Mike Hedges AM welcomes Positive parenting campaign which was launched this week

A local AM, Mike Hedges, is urging parents to find out more about a new resource that promotes positive parenting. The ‘Parenting. Give it time’ campaign promotes the benefits of positive parenting approaches to help parents manage challenging periods in a child’s development.

Positive parenting techniques are the most effective ways of managing difficult behaviour and help parents develop good relationships with their children

The campaign provides a dedicated website, Facebook page and printed resources offering tips and information for parents. 

From birth, these include:

·         take time to model the behaviour you want to see

·         make time for praise

·         take time for love and affection

·         make time to listen, talk and play

·         between the ages of 2 to 7, make time to set boundaries and routines to your day.

The campaign is part of the wider support for parents and is being launched ahead of the Welsh Government introducing legislation to ban the physical punishment of children in Wales.

Mike Hedges AM said….. “It’s not easy being a parent, children do not come with instructions.  The 'Parenting - Give It Time' campaign is a great helping hand to parents and well worth taking a look at.”

“It is about positive parenting and gives advice on situations that every parent will recognise.  Positive parenting techniques are known to assist children to become confident and happy and help children to understand boundaries.”

“The Welsh Government are committed children’s rights and ensuring every child in Wales grows up in an environment that allows them to have the very best start in life.  This campaign is about supporting parents to achieve that outcome.”

MIKE HEDGES ASKS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MINISTER FOR UPDATE ON WELSH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR VIRGIN MEDIA STAFF BEING MADE REDUNDANT

MIKE HEDGES ASKS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MINISTER FOR UPDATE ON WELSH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR VIRGIN MEDIA STAFF BEING MADE REDUNDANT

Speaking after Plenary, Mike Hedges said…. ‘It is vital for the employees at virgin to receive all of the support possible from the Welsh Government. I am pleased to hear that support for Virgin Media employees is ongoing and that jobs fairs will shortly be held at the site. It is imperative that people are supported into well paid jobs.’

Questions to the Leader of the House and Government Business Manager

Mike Hedges AM - I would ask for two statements, the first—this will come as no surprise to the leader of the house—an update regarding staff in Swansea being made redundant by Virgin Media, this statement to include details of what the Welsh Government is doing to help the staff find alternative employment, and any update on the redundancy terms being offered. 

Julie James - Thank you for those two issues. With Virgin Media, as the Member well knows, throughout the summer, officials have been in meetings with both Virgin Media management and its employee representatives to assess the situation as it evolves and to be sure our assistance is available where appropriate. The Welsh Contact Centre Forum is arranging jobs fairs to be held later this month at the Virgin Media site. The fairs will bring together recruiting employers within the area, as well as providing careers advice for those staff seeking alternative employment. 

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS MINISTER TO CONSIDER USING BOTTLE DEPOSIT SCHEME TO ENCOURAGE REUSE OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS MINISTER TO CONSIDER USING BOTTLE DEPOSIT SCHEME TO ENCOURAGE REUSE OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

Speaking after Questions to the Welsh Government Environment Minister Hanna Bleddyn, Mike Hedges AM said…. ‘When I was a child everyone took pop bottles back to the shop because of the 5p or later 10p return on the bottle – the bottle had value – as I said in my question, people feel plastic bottles have no value so therefore they are more likely to throw them away. It is time to bring back the deposit on a bottle so there is an extra incentive to encourage reuse of the bottle – it worked in the past and I sure it will be a success again’

Mike Hedges AM - Since devolution, there has been an increase in our municipal recycling rate from 5 per cent to 64 per cent, which is phenomenal. It's driven by policy, but can I say, it's driven more by landfill tax, so it has put pressure on local authorities to ensure that they do recycle?349

Recycling is, of course, only one of the three Rs to reduce waste into landfill. The others are 'reduce' and 'reuse' and I believe the other two are more important. Which is environmentally the better: use one plastic bottle 10 times or recycle 10 plastic bottles? The latter improves recycling rates. I would suggest that the former was environmentally much better, and I think that is an important point.350

Those who create their own compost do not count against recycling, although, obviously, they're recycling and they're cutting down on the amount of energy used to move things to be recycled. I speak as someone who is very much in favour of not just a deposit-return scheme, but one where you actually reuse the bottles afterwards. Those of us from the Corona pop age group will be well aware of taking a bottle back and getting 5p or 10p—it worked. I think it is important that—. Plastic, too often, has no value, and that's why people are quite happy to throw it away. You wander around football grounds and other parks and you'll see plastic bottles being thrown because they're of no value. I think that we need a deposit-return scheme.351

I also think that we ought to bring in some form of tax to level the playing field between glass and plastic. When I went to buy a bottle of vinegar a few weeks ago and it came in a plastic bottle, I was somewhere between amazed and surprised. The question is: should we be measuring recycling, or should we be measuring residual waste for incineration and landfill? Isn't that a better indication of how well we're doing? And would the Minister agree that that would be a better measure of environmental success, because otherwise we're penalising the reusers and we're penalising the reducers?352

17:05

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Hanna Blethyn AM  - I thank Mike Hedges for his contribution and the insight into different vinegar bottles in the local supermarket. You raise a very important point with that anecdote as well, and the importance of the three Rs in the waste hierarchy. Recycling is at one end, and we've got reduce and reuse before that, which is why the emphasis on a circular economy is so important, and the number of reuse organisations that we're supporting is expanding across Wales. You referred back to the days of Corona pop. I think I'm just about old enough to remember it, although I don't think it's the right public health message when I said I was allowed to keep the change to buy a 10p pick-and-mix bag in the shop. But you said about the DRS and the opportunities, potentially, there to incentivise people to collect bottles, or that you hear tales from elsewhere in Europe where they have got DRS, where enterprising young people, particularly after large major events, go and collect the bottles and then return them to wherever the product return facility is, and get the tokens or the receipts back for it. So, the Member raises very important and valid contributions, which I'm sure will be considered.

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS FOR BETTER SUPPORT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND FOR MORE EFFECTIVE MONITORING OF LOCAL AUTHORITY SPENDING ON SUPPORT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS FOR BETTER SUPPORT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND FOR MORE EFFECTIVE MONITORING OF LOCAL AUTHORITY SPENDING ON SUPPORT FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

Speaking after Plenary, Mike Hedges said….. I welcome the work the Welsh Government already undertakes but there is more to be done – and some of it will not cost that much money. Transport is an issue for all sections of our communities but more so for disabled people. Some small changes as outlined in my speech would make a huge difference to disabled people

Regarding the Independent Living Grant – it is a shame that this is no longer available as it made such a difference to people’s lives. It is however available to Local Authorities within other grants. It is therefore important that we ensure that the spend on these activities doesn’t drop; currently there is no effective monitoring of the spend – there should be and I hope that the Cabinet Member acts upon my suggestion’

           

Can I first of all welcome the Welsh Government's statement? I'm sure no-one would disagree with the Welsh Government's commitment to help disabled people to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions and dreams—everybody should be able to do that. I agree that this is no easy task, because it requires us to work hard to remove barriers that get in the way of such ambitions.333

As the Cabinet Secretary said, there are 75,000 disabled people in Wales who are actively seeking work or would like to work. That's almost 2,000 per constituency. Can I declare an interest? My sister, who is one of your constituents, is actually one of them.334

Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that unless we have quotas or a financial incentive, then employers and personnel departments will not change their attitudes? We're going to have to either incentivise them or do something to them. It's pointless saying, 'We want you to employ more disabled people'—we've said that for decades, and they haven't. So, I think we need to do something much more active than we have.335

Can I just talk about transport? We have a series of simple actions that could make life easier for those with disabilities to travel, such as public transport announcing stops and the removal of pavement clutter to help those with sight loss; public transport showing the next stop to help those with hearing loss; wheelchair access to public transport; road crossovers; and more than one wheelchair user being able to use a bus at any one time. These are not asking a lot, but they would make huge differences to the lives of a lot of people who suffer with disabilities.336

On the independent living grant, I belong to that large number of people, including in our party, who are disappointed that it ended. What I will ask is—. I don't think it's going to be coming back, so I'm not going to ask whether you'll bring it back, because I think the answer is going to be 'no', but can I ask that the Cabinet Secretary, whichever one it happens to be, asks that local authorities report their spending in that area? So, although it's not a specific grant, it'll get reported back how much each local authority spends on it, and that'll be reported in such a way that it becomes available to all of us. So, if our local authority is spending less than they did previously, I think many of us would want to take it up with them. 

MIKE HEDGES AM SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL CREDIT UNION DAY.

MIKE HEDGES AM SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL CREDIT UNION DAY.

18 October is International Credit Union Day where people come together to celebrate the role of Credit Unions.

International Credit Union (ICU) Day® celebrates the spirit of the global credit union movement. The day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement's history, promote its achievements, recognize the hard work and share member experiences. International Credit Union (ICU) Day® has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948.

Mike Hedges AM said…. ‘I am pleased to support the Credit Union Movement; I recognize the role that Credit Unions play in supporting people who are on low incomes and who otherwise might go to High Interest lenders or even loan sharks. When people are in a financial crisis they often find it difficult to access loans from traditional lenders – if you are in this situation, I would strongly urge you to get in touch with your local credit union rather than go to anyone like Provident or a payday lender.

The local Credit Union for Swansea now is Celtic Credit Union – they can be contacted at –

https://celticcreditunion.co.uk/

PLEASE CONTACT THEM FOR ADVICE IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.’

MIKE HEDGES AM WELCOMES THE NEWS THAT INDIVIDUAL PATIENT FUNDING REUEST REVIEWHAS CONCLUDED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PROCESS IS SIMPLER AND BETTER UNDERSTOOD.

MIKE HEDGES AM WELCOMES THE NEWS THAT INDIVIDUAL PATIENT FUNDING REUEST REVIEWHAS CONCLUDED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PROCESS IS SIMPLER AND BETTER UNDERSTOOD.

Mike Hedges AM said after the release of the Statement by Welsh Government Health Secretary, Vaughan Gethin,   ‘I am glad that this process has concluded and that Health Secretary has accepted so many of the recommendations from the review. I am pleased that the new processes are working well and the review confirms that the process is simpler and understood.’

WRITTEN STATEMENT

BY

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT

TITLE	Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) Review
DATE	10 October 2018
BY	Vaughan Gething, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services

An Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) is the process health boards and the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) use to consider providing a patient with a treatment which is not routinely available in NHS Wales.

In July 2016, I announced an independent review of the IPFR process, to consider the criterion used to make IPFR decisions - clinical exceptionality - and the potential to reduce the number of IPFR panels. 

In January last year I published the report and sought feedback on it.  In March I announced that I accepted and would implement the recommendations contained in the report. 

The report concluded that, rather than attempting to prove a patient was clinically exceptional, a clinician should prove the patient would gain significant clinical benefit from the treatment requested and that the treatment offered reasonable value for money for NHS Wales (recommendation 11).  In May 2017, NHS Wales issued new national guidance NHS Wales Policy: Making Decisions on Individual Patient Funding Requests, which incorporates these new criteria.  All health board IPFR panels are adhering to the new guidance.

The report recommended that each health board should continue to have its own IPFR panel, rather than establishing a single national panel, so this practice has continued (recommendation 20).  A single panel was considered impracticable, due to the number of IPFRs and the logistics of managing a single panel.  The application form was re-designed to reflect the new criteria (recommendation 27) and the electronic version launched in December.  A standard template for the IPFR panel meeting minutes was developed to record a broad estimate of the IPFR’s benefit and value (recommendation 15) by September.

Ten recommendations (9, 12-14, 16-18 and 20-22) endorsed current practice in the NHS such as disregarding the availability of a treatment, affordability or non-clinical factors when the IPFR panel makes its decision; seeking expert advice for the IPFR panel when

necessary; monitoring the outcomes of IPFRs and documenting the reasons for the IPFR panel’s decision.  They were implemented immediately by continuing current practice.

Seven recommendations (2-8) addressed commissioning issues, which can impact on IPFRs.  NHS Wales produced all-Wales prior approval process guidance and an application form (2 and 5).  Health board commissioners held meetings to share good practice and co-ordinate commissioned services (3).  The All-Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre website has updated information on how the IPFR process works and the alternative commissioning routes for access to medicines and non-medicines (4 and 6).  Health boards are using agreed standard text to explain why patients in Wales may not choose their place of treatment (7), even though their health board may send them to another healthcare provider for treatment.  The WHSSC website has been revised to give clearer information about which services it does or does not commission (8).  These recommendations were implemented by October.

An NHS staff working group has been established to draft the new commissioning framework (recommendation 1), reflecting the changes brought about by implementing the other recommendations.  The framework is still in development.

One recommendation (10) was to set a consistent national policy on the use of inexpensive interventions requested via IPFR.  Health boards and WHSSC already have arrangements in place to maximise the use of interventions of equal effectiveness but lower cost; for example, health boards already routinely use generic and biosimilar medicines over more expensive branded medicines without the need for bureaucratic approval arrangements.  There will be occasions where it is appropriate to use the IPFR process even where an intervention is inexpensive; simply because a medicine is less expensive does not mean it is appropriate to deviate from the usual treatment pathway. 

There were three recommendations (24-26) to improve the training for clinicians.  By September, clinicians had received training sessions as part of their continuing professional development (24); there were guidance notes for clinicians about explaining the IPFR process to patients (25); a decision-making guide had been developed to help clinicians with the IPFR application process and each health board had a single point of contact for help with the application (26).

A Quality Assurance Advisory Group was established, and held its first meeting in January, to review randomly selected IPFRs from each health board (recommendation 19).  The Group reports to medical directors and to the Welsh Government’s Chief Medical Officer.  Members have been involved in developing new training materials for patients and clinicians (recommendation 23).

I would like to reiterate my thanks to the members of the review group, for carrying out such a demanding task amongst all their other commitments; to the patients and organisations who provided evidence, and to everyone who has worked so diligently to make the IPFR process simpler and better understood.

Beat flu this winter, urges Mike Hedges AM

Beat flu this winter, urges Mike Hedges AM

Vaccination is the single best way to protect yourself and others against influenza (flu), a potentially life threatening illness

The annual NHS Wales Beat Flu campaign, which encourages everyone eligible for flu vaccination to get protected, is now underway.

The free vaccine is being made more widely available to now include all primary school children and pre-schoolers aged two and three. For the first time the vaccine is also being offered to staff with regular client contact working in residential care and nursing homes this winter.

Annual flu vaccination is the best protection against catching or spreading flu, a potentially life-threatening infection. Every year over two thirds of those aged 65 and over and almost half of people in at-risk groups in Wales get their flu jab.

Over 820,000 flu vaccines were given by NHS Wales last year. 

Mike Hedges  AM, Assembly Member for Swansea East  is urging people to take advantage of the free vaccine on offer: “I have had the flu and was very ill, I lost a week of my life,  it is not a heavy cold it is a serious disease”

Developments for this year include:

·         All primary school children are now eligible for a free nasal spray flu vaccine, as well as children aged two and three years (age on 31 August 2018).

·         Staff in adult care homes who have regular contact with residents can have a free NHS flu vaccine at many community pharmacies. This will help protect care home residents who are more vulnerable to complications from flu and reduce the spread of flu.

·         To improve effectiveness different flu vaccines recommended for different age groups are being introduced this year. Delivery of supplies of certain flu vaccines to GP practices and community pharmacies will be staggered between September and November. Some people may be asked to wait until the most effective vaccine for them is available. It’s planned that everyone will be offered vaccination before mid-December when flu typically starts to circulate.

Pregnant women, people with long-term health conditions and everyone aged 65 and over are also eligible for a free NHS flu vaccination, along with unpaid carers and first aid volunteers. All health and social care staff with direct patient or client contact are also recommended to have the vaccine to protect themselves and those they care for. They can ask their occupational health department or employer about where and when to get their vaccine.  

Dr Richard Roberts, Head of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme at Public Health Wales, said: “Each year new flu viruses circulate, causing many people to be ill and some to face life-threatening complications. And flu vaccines are changed each year to try to match the flu viruses circulating in order to give the best protection.

“Last winter there were 2,680 patients with confirmed flu in hospitals – 192 in intensive care units. As well as the impact on these individuals, this places an additional pressure on the health service at a busy time of year.

“People with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems are over ten times more likely to suffer severe outcomes from influenza and we want to see even more people protected this year.”

While most NHS flu vaccines are given in GP surgeries, it is also available for adults in many community pharmacies across Wales.

Flu is a respiratory illness caused by a virus that affects the lungs and airways. Symptoms generally come on suddenly, and can include fever, chills, headache, cough, body aches and fatigue.

Flu is spread via droplets which are sprayed into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Direct contact with contaminated hands or surfaces can also spread infection. It can spread rapidly, especially in closed communities such as hospitals, residential homes and schools.

Find out more by visiting www.beatflu.org or www.curwchffliw.org or finding Beat Flu or Curwch Ffliw on Twitter and Facebook.

ENDS

Editor’s notes

This year, the vaccination programme has been extended to include all children of primary school age (reception class through to year 6) as well as two and three year olds. In 2017-18 flu vaccine uptake in two and three year olds was 50.2%, and in children aged between four and eight years it was 68.3%.

For the first time this year, staff who work in adult residential care homes and nursing homes who are in regular contact with residents will be eligible for the free vaccine via community pharmacies. Staff working in children’s hospices in Wales will also be offered the vaccine as part of the scheme.

Last year in Wales, uptake of flu vaccine in clinical risk groups (ages 6 months – 64 years) was 48.5%.

Vaccine uptake in those aged 65 and over was 68.8% in Wales last year.

For more information visit www.beatflu.org

About Public Health Wales

Public Health Wales is an NHS organisation providing professionally independent public health advice and services to protect and improve the health and wellbeing of the population of Wales.

Public Health Wales has four statutory functions:

• To provide and manage a range of public health, health protection, healthcare improvement, health advisory, child protection and microbiological laboratory services and services relating to the surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases;
• To develop and maintain arrangements for making information about matters related to the protection and improvement of health in Wales available to the public; to undertake and commission research into such matters and to contribute to the provision and development of training in such matters;
• To undertake the systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of information about the health of the people of Wales in particular including cancer incidence, mortality and survival; and prevalence of congenital anomalies; and
• To provide, manage, monitor, evaluate and conduct research into screening of health conditions and screening of health related matters.
• More information on Public Health Wales is available at www.publichealthwales.org

Swansea East AM, Mike Hedges asks for further testing of Mud to be dumped in Bristol Channel near Cardiff.

Swansea East AM, Mike Hedges asks for further testing of Mud to be dumped in Bristol Channel near Cardiff.

Speaking after the Senedd Debate, Mike Hedges said…. I have been contacted by many constituents expressing concerns about the dumping of mud from the Hinkley C construction site. We have had a lot of conflicting opinions about whether or not the mud is radioactive, and if the right tests were used. I have therefore asked for the testing undertaken to undergo peer review by other scientists so that we can establish a correct picture. Failure of EDF to make the mud available for independent testing is very disappointing

Mike Hedges AM - I'll be very brief. I don't know if the mud is safe. It has been tested, and we've had the results of that testing. What I do know is that the public are not assured that it is safe.418

EDF offered me a briefing three times last week. Each time I asked that the mud be made available to bona fide academics to re-test. Each time that request was ignored. I wish once again, in public, to request that EDF make that mud available to bona fide academics. Science is a wonderful thing. If two people test the same sample, they'll come out with the same results within the margin of error. Scientists don't make up results. It would destroy their credibility as scientists if they did make up results and those results were so out of sync with everybody else who is producing results. So, what we want is to make people believe that it's safe. Have a peer review. Everything is peer reviewed. Why can this not be? I think I'll ask again, and hope that EDF will make that mud available to bona fide academics to peer review it. If the results produced by Cefas are correct, and I have no reason to think they're not, then exactly the same results will be produced by every other scientist who tests it. So that, I think, might give more reassurance to the public than they have at the moment.

Speech on Debate on dumping of Radio Active Mud 10 October 2018

Debate on dumping of Radio Active Mud

Mike Hedges AM - I'll be very brief. I don't know if the mud is safe. It has been tested, and we've had the results of that testing. What I do know is that the public are not assured that it is safe.418
EDF offered me a briefing three times last week. Each time I asked that the mud be made available to bona fide academics to re-test. Each time that request was ignored. I wish once again, in public, to request that EDF make that mud available to bona fide academics. Science is a wonderful thing. If two people test the same sample, they'll come out with the same results within the margin of error. Scientists don't make up results. It would destroy their credibility as scientists if they did make up results and those results were so out of sync with everybody else who is producing results. So, what we want is to make people believe that it's safe. Have a peer review. Everything is peer reviewed. Why can this not be? I think I'll ask again, and hope that EDF will make that mud available to bona fide academics to peer review it. If the results produced by Cefas are correct, and I have no reason to think they're not, then exactly the same results will be produced by every other scientist who tests it. So that, I think, might give more reassurance to the public than they have at the moment.

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE TO CONSIDER DEFINNG EXPENDETURE WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO LONG TERM GOOD

MIKE HEDGES AM ASKS CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE TO CONSIDER DEFINNG EXPENDETURE WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO LONG TERM GOOD

Speaking after the Senedd Question Time to Mark Drakeford, Mike said….. I have long argued that it is better to spend money to prevent something than to deal with something after it has occurred, when it often costs more to remedy. Health expenditure is a good example of this and I strongly believe that more should be put into primary care such as provided by GP’s as opposed to Hospital services when you are often dealing with a problem which might have been avoided if managed earlier.

I made this point to the Minister at Question Time and a meeting I Chaired this morning with the BMA which allowed Assembly Members to have an update on GP services in Wales. Type 2 Diabetes was given as an exemplar of a condition where most hospitalisations could be prevented with better management of the condition at an earlier stage and the condition avoided all together through life style changes before medical intervention becomes necessary. Better resourced Primary Care would provide better quality of life for patients and reduce the need for expensive hospital treatment later on.

Mike Hedges AM  - Does the Cabinet Secretary accept that it is difficult to define preventative spend? For example, spending on home social care is preventative of needing residential care and hospital care. Expenditure on GPs is also preventative of hospital care. Would it not be better to define the expenditure as that which provides long-term good?9

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I thank Mike Hedges for that supplementary question. He will know that, when I was in front of the Finance Committee last week, I set out the new agreed definition that we have used in this budget of what we mean by 'preventative spend', a definition developed by the third sector and Public Health Wales in consultation with the commissioner for the well-being of future generations Act. And it's not perfect, I'm sure, and we'll develop it further, but it is a genuine step forward in having a common language. That divides what we mean by 'preventative spend' into a number of categories, from primary to acute. Any definition only helps us so far in the decisions we have to make, and Mike Hedges's idea of defining expenditure against long-term good, I can well see the sense that that would bring. By itself, it would not avoid decision making.10

Dirprwy Lywydd, I was reminded, listening to that supplementary question, of a day that I spent when I was health Minister. I had two pieces of advice on the table. One was to use a sum of money that would have made a profound difference in the lives of very few people in Wales—fewer than 20 people, each one of them at a very high cost per person. On the same day, I had advice that told me how I could spend the same amount of money on a new cadre of, as I remember, epilepsy nurses around Wales—people who would have been able to do good things in the lives of a far larger number of people but where that difference would have been incremental to services that they provided rather than transformative. Both of those were possibilities that would have promoted long-term good. So, whatever definitions we have, and helpful as they can be, in the end they can't make decisions for us, and decisions are always difficult when you are faced with a finite sum of money and many different ways in which that money could be usefully spent.

Mike Hedges AM asks for statement on Digitalisation Program for the Public Sector in Wales.

Mike Hedges AM asks for statement on Digitalisation Program for the Public Sector in Wales.

Speaking after the Plenary, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges said… I have long supported the Digitalisation Program of the Welsh Government and across the Welsh Public Sector. It is important that we receive statements on its progress so that we can clarify where things are going well –and publicise them – and check where things are not going so well so we can identify solutions. I look forward to the Ministers Statement in the near future.

Questions to the Government Business Manager 9 October 2018

Mike Hedges AM - I would like to ask for two statements. One is a Government statement providing an update on Welsh Government support and progress with the digitisation programme across the whole of the Welsh public sector

Julie James AM - In terms of digitisation, I am actually planning to make a statement on digital transformation sometime before Christmas, so I'll make sure that that gets timetabled accordingly.

Mike Hedges AM asks for oral statement re Closure of Virgin Media and Actions being taken.

Mike Hedges AM asks for oral statement re Closure of Virgin Media and Actions being taken.

Speaking after Plenary, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges said… ‘I am grateful for the written statement which we received yesterday. I welcome the support given to workers are the site. The Task Force is positive development but I remain concerned about some actions by the company. As members however, we need to have the opportunity to ask Questions of the Minister and I welcome the Government Business Manager agreement to discuss an oral statement with the relevant cabinet member’

Questions to the Business Manager

Mike Hedges AM I know we had a written statement from the Cabinet Secretary yesterday regarding Virgin Media closure and action being taken, but I would like to ask if we could have an oral statement on it for me and, I'm sure, you and other Members representing the area. The loss of what is the best part of 900 jobs is a substantial blow to the area. I would hope that we could have an oral question or statement to give us an opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet Secretary over an issue that is, to you, like myself, a very important one.

Julie James AM - Yes. I will certainly discuss with the Cabinet Secretary the possibility of that, or of how we could communicate where we are with the taskforce on Virgin Media. I share the Member's concern about the actions of the company and some of the stories that are happening there. So, I'll certainly have that discussion with the Cabinet Secretary to see how we can best facilitate those discussions and public information on that.

Mike Hedges AM surrounded by food and household items donated by members of Seion Newydd chapel,  Morriston, as part of the harvest celebration, for  local foodbanks.

On Sunday morning Mike Hedges AM  collected the harvest gifts from Seion Newydd  chapel for distribution to local food banks. Food collections used to be made for Rumania but due to the huge call for food locally this year the food was delivered locally to the  Morriston and Bonymaen foodbanks. Stories abound of mothers who have not eaten for days in order to feed their children and people opening a tin of beans they are given and eating it on the spot.

Mike Hedges AM shows support for smart meter revolution

PRESS RELEASE

Mike Hedges AM shows support for smart meter revolution

Mike Hedges AM is urging local people in Swansea East to contact their energy supplier to get a smart meter fitted in their homes at no extra cost, so they can take control of how much energy they are using.

Mike Hedges AM said he was looking forward to seeing more smart meters installed across his local constituency after he heard about the benefits of the new technology from Smart Energy GB at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay.

As part of the event, and following on from International Coffee Day earlier this week, Smart Energy GB demonstrated that if everyone in Wales had a smart meter installed by their energy supplier at no extra cost, we could save enough energy to fuel the nation’s coffee drinking habits.

The typical annual energy savings from having a smart meter installed could save a single household enough energy to make 20,000 cups of instant coffee a year.

With more than 12 million smart meters already installed across Great Britain, Mike Hedges AM is looking forward to seeing this new technology in more and more homes across Swansea East.

Commenting on smart meters and the national rollout, Mike Hedges AM said:

“By getting a smart meter from your energy supplier at no extra cost, you’ll be able to see in pounds and pence how much gas and electricity you’re using not just to make your coffee, but also on every appliance within your home, helping you to identify where you’re wasting energy. 

“This means that you can save your energy and money for the things that you enjoy - like even more coffee.”

-ENDS-

N.B. Calculations undertaken by Smart Energy GB and available upon request

About the survey

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1,003 adults, of which 187 were from North Wales. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th - 17th September 2018.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Welsh adults (aged 18+).

About Smart Energy GB

Smart Energy GB is the voice of the smart meter rollout. It’s our task to help everyone in Great Britain understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use their new meters to get their gas and electricity under control. Our national campaign is reaching households and microbusinesses in England, Scotland and Wales. For more information visit our website smartenergyGB.org

About smart meters and the rollout

Smart meters replace the traditional meters we currently have in our homes. They enable accurate bills, near real time information on energy use in pounds and pence, and greater control over the way we buy and use energy. The smart meter rollout is an essential technology upgrade, unprecedented in its scale, to improve Great Britain’s energy infrastructure.

There are already more than 12 million smart meters installed in homes and microbusinesses across Great Britain. Every household in England, Scotland and Wales will be offered one at no extra cost. Contact your energy supplier about getting your smart meter.

Smart Energy GB media contacts

For more information including interview requests, case studies of smart meter users, infographics, photography and video content please contact the Smart Energy GB media team:

Helen Croney: helen.croney@smartenergygb.org 0131 322 6204 / 07921 458 041

Wales should be the best place in the world to grow old” says local AM Mike Hedges

“Wales should be the best place in the world to grow old” says local AM Mike Hedges

Mike Hedges AM has supported the Welsh Labour Government’s aim to make Wales the best place in the world to grow old.

The Assembly Member has welcomed the Welsh Government’s commitment to putting the human rights of older people in Wales at the heart of Welsh public services and make Wales the best place in the world to grow old.

To mark International Day of Older Persons (Monday 1st October), The Welsh Government has reaffirmed their commitment to putting the human rights of older people in Wales at the heart of Welsh public services.

Raising awareness of human rights can empower older people to play an active role in ensuring the care they receive upholds their fundamental right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Mike Hedges AM  said: “Celebrating Older People’s Day is an opportunity to put the rights of older people at the heart of everything we do. Growing older should not erode an individual’s human rights.”

“I want Wales to be the best place in the world to grow old.  This means that the right to dignity and respect has to be the starting point for the delivery of first class care.  The best way to ensure this is by ensuring people are aware of their rights”

Mike Hedges AM supports Welsh Government Budget Statement

Mike Hedges AM supports Welsh Government Budget Statement

Speaking after the Plenary debate, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges said…. I welcome this budget statement as it sets Wales on course for a stable and secure future for all our citizens. I am pleased to praise the work done on prevention and early intervention in both Health and Education. Our aim is to make people healthier so they do not need as many health interventions. I have concerns however how the costs of dealing with social care falls almost exclusively on local government. I hope that shared budgets for Health and Social Care can become the norm.

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Mike Hedges AM - Diolch, Llywydd. I welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Finance's statement and the draft budget. As austerity continues, the amount of money needed to run our public services to the level the public want is not being provided. I'm sure the Cabinet Secretary will agree with me that austerity is not an economic policy but a political direction of travel. The Conservatives at Westminster want to reduce public expenditure and roll back state provision of services. And as the Cabinet Secretary said earlier today, that £4 billion to £6 billion are missing from our budget. What a different budget we'd have today with that extra £4 billion to £6 billion. I think that everybody would leave here much happier than we will.223

I think that Neil Hamilton made a very interesting point—live within your means. Can I just say, the key point is: increase your means? That's called economic growth. What we've had is stagnation and, as such, we haven't increased it. That's why the deficit's gone up—it's because growth has been at best sluggish, at worst non-existent.224

I have three questions for the Cabinet Secretary. One on transaction capital: has the Tory Westminster Government given any indication on changing the rules on its use? If not, can it be used as replacement capital for economic development support to private companies, and thus increase the discretionary capital expenditure available to the Welsh Government for things such as new schools, which everybody in this Chamber welcomes?225

Secondly, is there any indication that the borrowing limit will be increased? Will bonds be made available? Whilst they would not be mine and I'm sure not the Cabinet Secretary's choice of means of borrowing, because they tend to be more expensive, what they've done and why local authorities like them—. You don't want to use them, but what you want them to do is to keep the public works loan board's lending level's low. When the public works lending board pushed their rates up, what happened was that we saw that people started looking at bonds, and all of a sudden the  public works loan board's costs came down quite considerably. I think that this is really important.226

Finally can I raise primary health, secondary health and social services expenditure? The auditor general, in about 2015, produced a report on medical interventions that do no good to the patient, estimated at that time at several hundred million pounds. This did not include expenditure where the operation was successful, but following hospitalisation, when the individual was no longer able to look after themselves and ended up in a nursing home.227

The late Dr Julian Tudor Hart, who many of us knew, with others, identified expenditure on such things as reducing slightly raised blood pressure, which does no good in terms of health, but it's actually expensive. And can I remind the finance Cabinet Secretary, while health Secretary, you reported, on more than one occasion, on the different intervention rates for the removal of tonsils between two areas in the same health board. So, it's not a difference between health boards—it's basically the difference between two surgeons. You're twice as likely to have your tonsils removed in one than the other.228

The Royal College of General Practitioners regularly identify the relative reduction in primary care expenditure. And I have concerns about the fact that secondary care takes priority over primary care. The Nuffield Foundation produced research showing that productivity in hospitals in Wales, in terms of patient-per-doctor intervention, had reduced between 2003 and 2013.229

Social care is under huge pressure, especially elderly care and support for children. I understand that support for children has gone up by 100 per cent over the last 10 years. And we also know that elderly care is continuing to increase. Many of us think it's a good thing—we all want to live longer, don't we? But it does come with a cost, and that is falling, almost exclusively, on local authorities.230

I'm very pleased that from being a lone voice supporting improving health by dealing with factors such as obesity and smoking that lead to ill health, there is now a lot of support for preventative action. In fact, we had Steffan Lewis talking about preventative action earlier, and I hope we'll get more people talking about preventative action. Having somebody in hospital being operated on, in many cases, is a sign of failure, not success. The sign of success is them not ending up there in the first place. I think our aim has got be to increase health rather than increase health expenditure or health interventions.231

So, I welcome the budget, I think that it's the best that can be done. Could we have the £4 billion to £6 billion we should have? And then both the Cabinet Secretary and most Members in this room will be very, very happy. We're not going to get that, and under very difficult circumstances, I commend the Cabinet Secretary for his budget.