Speech on Fracking - Gowerton Workingmens Club 20 March 2015

Fracking

First thing to say is that I am opposed to Fracking

I support an unequivocal, point-blank ban on shale gas exploitation for reasons that I will shortly outline.

I also support a moratorium, but I’m under no illusion that the moratorium is anything other than a delaying tactic and not, in itself, opposition to fracking.

Secondly I will read out the Resolution passed by the National assembly during its Plenary Session on Wednesday the 4^th February

1. Notes that Wales has historically made a substantial contribution to the UK's energy portfolio.

 

2. Regrets the provisions within the UK Government's Infrastructure Bill that will allow fracking companies to drill beneath Welsh homes without permission from property owners.

 

3. Believes that energy should be fully devolved to the National Assembly for Wales and that the Welsh Government should have the power to block fracking.

 

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to do everything within its power to prevent fracking from taking place in Wales until it is proven to be safe in both an environmental and public health context.

 

For my part, I consider there are three key considerations. Firstly, is it safe? Secondly, what will be the community impact or benefit, and, thirdly, what is the consequence of reliance on another fossil fuel?

 

Firstly, I am not convinced that there are no safety implications. The Environment and Sustainability Committee, which considered the issue of unconventional gas exploitation in 2012, was also unconvinced.

 

Secondly It is bound to effect house prices. Would I buy a house with fracking taking place, going to take place or having taken place underneath it.

 

Of course I would not and without a substantial reduction in value I do not believe anyone would.

 

Thirdly, even if we can overcome these issues, I’m of the view that it would be the gravest of errors to proceed with and develop any dependency on shale gas as a carbon-emitting fossil fuel. This approach was supported by the environment committee again in 2012, in paragraph 76 of that report, when they stated:

 

‘the Committee considers that the development of another carbon intensive energy industry at this time is not appropriate and cannot be reconciled with EU and UK commitments to reduce emissions’.

 

That was as well as recommending a new and updated technical advice note to help planning authorities in Wales in dealing with planning applications for the exploitation and extraction of unconventional gas.

 

The House of Commons Select Committee on 21 January 2014 endorsed this view, saying,

‘Any large scale extraction…is…at least 10-15 years away.’

‘Continually tightening carbon budgets…will have significantly curtailed our scope for fossil fuel energy, and as a consequence only a very small fraction of the possible shale gas deposits will be burnable.’

 

The report further endorsed this view, supporting the position of the director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Professor Kevin Anderson, who stated:

 

‘Emissions from a fully developed UK shale gas industry would likely be very substantial in their own right. If the UK Government is to respect its obligations under both the Copenhagen Accord and Low Carbon Transition Plan, shale gas offers no meaningful potential as even a transition fuel.

 

The Welsh Government view as given by Edwina Hart AM

 

“Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is an issue that generates significant public debate and much discussion in this Chamber, and much discussion across communities in Wales, which are very fearful about the impact of fracking. That is why we have the precautionary approach to shale gas in Wales.”

 

The Welsh Government have introduced controls through the Notification Direction that will ensure that local planning authorities cannot approve planning applications where hydraulic fracturing would occur

 

Unfortunately this does not prevent test drilling

 

The scale of these new more intense methods are like nothing we have seen before. Up until now the largest onshore gas field in the UK, Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire, had only 8 wells. To produce the same amount of unconventional gas would require hundreds of wells to be drilled. To temporarily replace just one offshore North Sea gas field would require thousands of unconventional wells.

As well as requiring many more wells these methods also involve much more. Shale Gas and Oil require massive, slickwater hydraulic fracturing, to be carried out on every well. Millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are injected under massive pressure. CBM wells are also often fracked.

 

 These unconventional wells also have much shorter lifespans, with production from a typical shale well declining by 70 to 80 per cent in the first year alone. This means that large numbers of new wells need to be constantly drilled to maintain production, even for short periods. In many areas of the US unconventional gas is already peaking after less than a decade of exploitation.

 

Swansea situation

.

Possibly as concerning as the threat of colossal unchecked carbon emissions is the direct risk posed to the people and marine life of Swansea.

The most advanced UCG testing has taken place in Australia where groundwater contamination has been a major problem in almost all pilot projects (as it has wherever UCG has been trialled).

 

In conclusion fracking is unwanted, unnecessary and a threat to not only our country but through the additional carbon emissions the whole planet

Speech on Supplimentry Budget 10 March 2015

Supplementary Budget

Thank you Presiding Officer

The committees view on the draft budget was that the setting of priorities was a matter for the Welsh Government

This is a view held by the committee and fully endorsed by me on the supplementary budget

The role of both the committee and the Assembly is to scrutinise this expenditure and I intend to discuss two areas Health funding and invest to save.

Health funding appears to go through the same cycle each year.

First quarter substantial overspend

Second quarter a small reduction

Third Quarter serious end of year problems predicted

Substantial additional money given to health in the supplementary budget or just before it

Fourth quarter major hospital service cut backs

To be repeated next year

Three questions arise

Firstly the Assembly has granted health boards the ability to plan three year budgets so that overspends in some years can be offset be savings in other years.

Will we get an out turn report showing underspend or overspend this year and how that fits into the three year budget.

The second question is what is being done to ensure medical interventions that are in the opinion of NICE are either of no benefit or likely to do harm to a patient are not carried out

Thirdly is the split between primary and secondary care correct and is the funding for each fair.

General Practitioners are paid so much per patient whilst hospitals are paid per intervention

Is this a fair way of funding because what it has produced is a widening of the gap in both monetary and percentage terms between primary and secondary care expenditure

Finally on health two rhetorical questions

How much of the Welsh budget can be spent on health

If Social care is not adequately funded will that not have serious effect on health needs?

On Invest to Save

I believe this is an excellent scheme to use a capital funding injection to reduce future revenue expenditure

I also believe that the simpler the scheme is the more likely it is to succeed

I am also relaxed in schemes paying back over 5 years rather than 3

What does concern me is those schemes that are making no payment in the first year and the finance committee will be failing in its duty of scrutinising expenditure if it does not keep a close watch on those schemes in future years.

A major recipient of invest to save money has been Natural Resources Wales.

It has had substantial sums from invest to save since inception.

It has postponed payment from the year after the investment into future years.

If the problem is that the cost of merger is substantially higher than was predicted, which in my experience of mergers is normal.

Then a better way would be to fully fund the merger costs and not use invest to save as a method of filling the gap and allowing the invest to save money to be used to create future years savings especially in health.

Finally budgeting is about using resources as effectively as possible and this is the aim of this supplementary budget.

 

 

 

 

 

Short Debate on Loneliness in older people and Befriending Services

 

Loneliness, isolation and befriending

 

Thank you deputy Presiding officer

I have given 1 minute to Bill Powell

 

 

Speaking about loneliness in a chamber of Assembly Members

 

Most being time poor

 

Rushing between meetings, assembly events and their constituencies

 

No time to be lonely but for many elderly people the reality is very different

 

There is no single cause of loneliness and isolation

 

But most people who are lonely and isolated will have some of the following characteristics

 

Elderly, partner either deceased or in a nursing home, mobility problems,  family living away, friends either incapacitated deceased or moved.

 

This is also not a case of people who have been anti social just becoming lonely and isolated.

 

One case study is Charlotte, not her real name.

 

A former trade union activist, living in Cardiff, a regular attender at the AGE cross party group

 

Following the loss of her husband she has suffered from loneliness

 

A more outgoing, sociable and active person it would be difficult to meet

 

 

According to the TNS Loneliness Omnibus Survey for Age UK in April 2014).75,000 over-65s in Wales describe themselves as ‘always or often lonely’ 46%, almost half  say that their TV or pet is their main form of company.

 

This is the saddest statement I have made in this chamber.

 

Loneliness is a huge issue that affects people all year round with nearly a third of older people in Wales saying they would like to go out more often.

Without the benefit of the Welsh Government free bus pass scheme that number would be substantially higher.

Anyone catching a bus in the day will notice how many bus passes are shown as people get on the bus.

 

 

The research also reveals that one in seven people aged over 65 are feeling cut off from society.

 

Loneliness can be seriously damaging and recent studies have shown it has double the impact of obesity and that the feeling of extreme loneliness can increase an older person's chances of premature death by 14 per cent.

 

Being able to take part in community life, with good access to local services and facilities, is a lifeline for many older people.

 

If an older person cannot get out and about locally they are at risk of poor health, less social contact with others and a reduced quality of life overall.

 

Increasing opportunities for older people to take part locally can do much to boost independence, combat social isolation and loneliness and promote health and wellbeing.

 

 An age friendly community is one that has the capacity to support older people to enjoy the best possible quality of life. It includes facilities, services and amenities that are accessible and that accommodate the needs of older people to help them to fully participate in society.

 

Community centres, luncheon clubs and day centres all give opportunities to socialise.

 

The Welsh Government’s Strategy for Older People in Wales identifies a key challenge ‘to develop communities that are age-friendly while ensuring older people have the resources they need to live’.

 

The Strategy acknowledges that as the number of older people in our communities is growing, and recognising the health and wellbeing benefits of social connectedness, it is vital that communities become more age friendly and facilitate participation of people of all ages.

 

It also highlights the importance of older people being full participants in society.

 

However, many older people come up against barriers that prevent their participation, and what should be an enjoyable stage of life can become a time of loneliness and isolation.

 

With local authorities facing budget cutbacks, many of the essential facilities and services that older people rely on are under threat.

 

 The decline in local services over recent decades has caused real problems for many older people, particularly those who face additional barriers such as declining mobility, poor health, low incomes or limited social contact. Older people living in rural areas can face acute challenges in accessing facilities and services.

 

There are many social barriers that can exclude older people from their communities –

 These can include:

 

• physical access problems for people with mobility impairments such as steps, and access for wheelchairs and mobility scooters;
   
• pavements in a poor condition and street ‘clutter’, which can be hazardous for older people and can pose an increased falls risk;

 

• a lack of public toilets in the right place – adequate public toilet provision is vital to enable older people to maintain their dignity and participate in community life;
• a lack of places to meet in the community, which can increase social isolation;
   
• reductions in the number of facilities such as public libraries, which can enable older people to engage activities, and access computer.The ability to Skype or facetime grand children and great grandchildren can have a hugely beneficial effect on the lives of the elderly.
   

Important as Social care is in dealing with the problems of mobility and personal care

 

There are other equally important means of supporting the  elderly such as the contact the Elderly’s service model.

 

The Contact the Elderly model is based on a simple yet very effective concept: free monthly tea parties for older people, supported by a network of volunteers, within local communities.

 

The social gatherings bring individuals together and develop fulfilling friendships and support networks – and thereby help to reduce loneliness and isolation.

 

Contact the Elderly recruits volunteer drivers, hosts and group coordinators to help arrange the monthly tea parties for small groups of older people

 

Once a month, each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver, and is taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they join a small group for tea, chat and companionship.

 

The group is warmly welcomed by a different host each month, but the charity’s drivers and older guests remain the same. This ensures that over the months and years, acquaintances turn into friends and loneliness is replaced by companionship

 

Simple changes

 

• Decisions about changes to services and facilities must take older people’s needs into account through effective engagement and consultation.
   
• Local authorities must ensure that streets are safe and accessible, with good lighting. Pedestrian crossings must allow sufficient time to cross roads, there must be a means of crossing the road in a mobility scooter, signage should be easily visible, and pavements must be well maintained and be free of obstruction.

 

• The vital role of library services in facilitating digital inclusion must be protected and extended to ensure that such services are accessible to older people.
   
• The Welsh Government’s Community Toilet Grant scheme, which provides local authorities with grant funding to encourage local businesses to open their facilities to the public, must be better publicised and promoted if it is to form part of a co-ordinated sustainable solution to toilet provision.

 

• The Welsh Government to consider supporting befriending projects across Wales when the current funding ends in 2016. If the projects end, the experience and knowledge of staff and volunteers will be lost.
   
• In my experience a large number of older men attempt to overcome loneliness by going to the pub and drinking all day. Others both men and women overcome loneliness by drinking at home.

 

We need a better understanding of  how many older people need support to fight their addiction to alcohol.

 

Befriending

Befriending is a simple yet strategic way to tackle social isolation. Research during the late 1990s made the clear link between older people living in isolation and the emergence of befriending. Befriending schemes seek to address the fact that older age brings challenges which, without support, can be daunting and lead to social isolation – which means loneliness or lack of contact with other people.

 

The outcomes of befriending schemes include:

• Reduced loneliness and increased wellbeing through improved social interaction.
• Increased confidence and ability to meet the challenges and opportunities of ageing.
• Increased understanding and use of rights and awareness and uptake of services leading to greater independence and choice for older people.

 

The research found that most befriending schemes rely on volunteers to help deliver the service ‘because they are a cheaper means to service provision, and because they are felt to have skills and attributes which a paid befriender could not bring to the role and it concluded that while befriending is not a mechanism for ‘tackling the root cause of disadvantage’, it can ‘ameliorate the worst aspects of isolation and exclusion from community participation’ and can ‘make a valued and valuable contribution to people’s lives’.

 

In 2013, the Welsh Government’s Social Research division published a report entitled ‘Let’s Start Assessing Not Assuming’.  While it needs to be stressed that this is not a policy document, it is arguably the most informative and comprehensive assessment of social isolation and appropriate interventions to tackle the problem in Wales.

 

The report states that ‘Social isolation is a risk to independent living because it has been associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, posing a similar risk to health as other common factors such as smoking or heart disease.

 

In terms of defining social isolation, the Welsh Government report finds that ‘while clear definitions exist in the academic literature, they do not seem to have been successfully transferred to policy or practice.

 

There is a general understanding of situations that can lead to social isolation – such as living alone, bereavement, poor access to local transport and facilities, for example.

 

Key findings from the report were:

• Social isolation is identified within the Strategy for Older People in Wales but the strategy stops short of identifying befriending specifically as a way of tackling it.

 

• The same is true of the Older People’s Commissioner whose 2013-2017 Framework for action highlights loneliness and social isolation as issues, but does not mention befriending as a solution.

 

 

Since 2012, the Big Lottery Fund in Wales announced it was investing some £20 million in 30 projects operating across Wales via the AdvantAGE programme. 20 of the 29 projects funded via AdvantAGE are befriending projects.

 

So far this has resulted in 29 full time staff, 35 part time staff, 1,141 volunteers and 6,825 beneficiaries.

 

Most of the schemes are finishing in 2016. If this goes ahead then the experience and knowledge of staff and volunteers will be lost; expertise in a much needed area.

 

Everyone hopefully will grow old and what we must ensure is that the golden years are not sad and lonely ones.