Mike Hedges AM backs ambitious plans to ban single use plastics

Mike Hedges AM backs ambitious plans to ban single use plastics



Local AM Mike Hedges, has welcomed far reaching plans to ban the most commonly littered single use plastics in Wales.  The plans were set out by Hannah Blythyn the minister responsible, during a Senedd debate yesterday.



The Minister stated that the Welsh Government is to consult on restricting the sale of a wide-range throw-away plastics.  This would include straws, stirrers, cotton buds and cutlery



The ban could be in place as early as next year and see Wales once again leading the way on single use plastics.

Wales has a proud record when it comes to recycling, the Welsh Government led the way in the UK on the single use plastic carrier bag charge and Wales is ranked third in the world for amount of waste recycled.

Mike Hedges AM said:



“I am immensely proud that Welsh Labour have led the way on recycling and am delighted that we are looking to do the same by banning single use plastics.”



“It is clear that we need to act know to address the issue of single use plastics, and the damage that they are doing to ecosystems globally.”



“Welsh Government have to consult before instigating such a ban and I would urge residents in Swansea East  to support these proposals.”

Mike Hedges AM backs democracy week with call for UK Government to scrap plans that would suppress voter turnout

Mike Hedges AM backs democracy week with call for UK Government to scrap plans that would suppress voter turnout

Local AM Mike Hedges AM has called on the UK Government to scrap controversial plans to prevent people from voting unless they carry photographic ID at polling stations.

This week (14-20 of October) is national democracy week which is about local representatives using their experience, insight and passion in their communities to increase democratic participation.



The Assembly Member believes that UK Government proposals announced in the recent Queens Speech will see millions of voters unable to cast their vote. The Electoral Commission has reported that 3.5 million electors – 7.5% of the electorate – would have no acceptable piece of photo ID.  Under the government’s proposals, these voters would either be denied a vote entirely, or in other trial areas, required to produce multiple pieces of ID.



The proposals are in stark contrast to Welsh Labours successful campaign to allow sixteen and seventeen year olds to vote in the next Senedd elections.



Mike Hedges AM said “These plans risk denying residents in Swansea East the vote.”



“It is clear these proposals will disproportionately affect people on low incomes and other vulnerable groups.  These are groups that have been most impacted by ten years of Tory austerity.”



“I am proud to be part of a Welsh Labour Party that wants to extend the franchise and has successfully campaigned for votes for 16 and 17 year olds.”



“I call upon the UK Government to think again about disentrancing voters in our community.”

END

Mike Hedges AM backs Wear Red Day

Mike Hedges AM backs Wear Red Day



Local AM Mike Hedges AM, will be wearing red on Friday to show support of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign. 



Mike Hedges AM is encouraging residents in Swansea East to join them in showing solidarity with the campaign. Particularly following the dreadful scenes of racist chanting at the Bulgaria v England match earlier this week and reports of a 10% rise in hate crime in England and Wales.



Mike Hedges AM said “Show Racism the Red Card do great work delivering anti-racism training, across Wales and in Swansea East” I am proud to show my support and would encourage others to do so.”



“It is incredibly disappointing to read about the rise in hate crime and I know that we are certainly not immune to this in Swansea East.”



“We must all do all we can to challenge racism wherever we see it and that is why campaigns like this are so important.”



Wear Red Day is a national day of action which encourages schools, businesses & individuals to wear red and donate £1 to help facilitate the delivery of anti-racism education for young people & adults.

End



Link to story about rise in hate crime

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50054915



Link to Wear Red Day Page

https://www.theredcard.org/wear-red-day

What is the Welsh Government doing to tackle climate change?

What is the Welsh Government doing to tackle climate change?

Mike Hedges AM who chairs the climate change, environment and rural affairs committee at the National Assembly said “ Climate change is the biggest threat we face, land is in serious danger of being lost to rising sea levels and many species face extinction as the climate changes faster than they can adapt. I welcome the Welsh Government action which needs to be copied by countries around the World”



On the 29th of April 2019 Wales became one of the first nations in to declare a climate emergency.

We were already doing some great things with 100 actions in our plan, including:

·         accelerating the deployment of renewable energy  

·         making our homes more energy efficient and reducing fuel poverty 

·         transforming Wales into one of the top three recycling nations in the world.

·         planting over 800,000 trees, and 

·         and creating more than 840 free water refill stations

But we all agree that we can and need to do more.

Since we declared a climate emergency, we’ve been talking to groups such as Extinction Rebellion, agencies like your local councils and Natural Resources Wales, and you, the public, about the next steps we should take to create a better future for our planet.

Here are the top 8 things we’re doing to tackle the climate emergency in Wales:

1. Setting ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions. We’re raising our carbon reduction targets to 95% with an ambition to get to net zero by 2050. 
2. Making it easier for people to use their car less. We’re investing £30 million on improving active travel, making it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport. 
3. Banning some single use plastics. We’re banning and restricting 10 common single use plastics including straws, stirrers and cotton buds, plastic cutlery, polystyrene food packaging and drinks containers. 
4. Tackling the nature emergency. We’re addressing diversity loss and increasing ecosystem resilience by creating a National Forest and investing £500,000 in community-led projects to improve biodiversity and minimise waste.
5. Investing in the circular economy. We’re supporting businesses in Wales to reuse existing materials and minimise waste.
6. More electric vehicle charging points. We’re developing an Electric Vehicle charging strategy and have allocated more than £500,000 for charging infrastructure. We’ve also started introducing electric buses into public transport.
7. Establishing world-leading renewable industries. We’ve secured nearly £20 million in EU investment to establish a world leading marine energy sector in Wales. 
8. Promising to keep the conversation going. We’ve established a permanent Cabinet Sub-Committee to keep climate emergency a priority at the highest level in government. We promise to keep conversations going, especially with young people through our eco-schools and Size of Wales programmes, and the new curriculum.

These are just some of the pledges we’ve made to tackle climate change. What pledges are you making? 

Thank you to everyone who has engaged with us on the climate emergency so far. We’d love for you to keep talking to us via:

Facebook: facebook.com/welshgovernment/
Twitter: twitter.com/WelshGovernment
#LowCarbonWales

MIKE HEDGES AM WELCOMES GOVERNMENT STATEMENT ON HOMELESSNESS.

Speaking after the Assembly, Mike Hedges AM said … ‘I met with some people from Swansea today who have had experience of being homeless; it was interesting to hear of their experiences of sleeping rough and sleeping on friends floors; it brought home to me again that we all need to play our part in ensuring that people have a safe place to live. I am therefore pleased that the Welsh Government have committed to doing more to address the housing crisis in Wales. I am pleased that councils in Wales, including my own in Swansea are building housing again but they need to do so on a much larger scale. I also support bringing empty properties back into use – it makes no sense to have houses empty often for years on end when there is such a shortage.

I am sure that the plans outlined today by the Housing Minister will build on the work already undertaken and I look forward to following the progress of the work outlined by the Minister’

I very much welcome the Minister’s statement. Homelessness is complicated and is caused by a number of different events. A job loss coinciding with splitting up with a partner can quite easily make somebody homeless who never thought that was ever likely to happen to them.225

Whilst people often equate homelessness with rough-sleeping, many more homeless people sleep on sofas and floors of friends and family or are in temporary accommodation. The most important thing—and I agree with the Minister—is to stop people becoming homeless in the first place by early intervention—prevention, an emergency response and housing, accommodation and support, then the provision of housing and ongoing support as a means of moving people out of homelessness.226

For some homeless people, providing a house or flat will not solve their problems. Their problems are far greater than that, and all you’re doing is putting them up to fail. You move them into a house or a flat that they’re unable to cope with. I feel what the Minister said about 18-year-olds; at 18, I was not capable of looking after myself in any way whatsoever, and I think that to send them out, give them a flat and wish them luck is always going to end, or in very many cases, with a lot of failure.227

I think I'd like to add that there’s good work done by charities such as the Wallich, including their cross-border women’s project in Birchgrove, Swansea. But does the Minister agree that, until we start building more council houses, get empty houses back into use and until the supply of housing meets housing demand, then we are always going to have some form of homelessness, because what we’ve got is out of kilter at the moment? There is far more demand than there is supply. I know the Government puts money into the demand side of housing, but if we could put more money into the supply side so that we actually get sufficient housing, we could end up in a virtuous circle, rather than the vicious one we’re in now.