Press release on Armed Forces Day 25th June

PRESS RELEASE


Mike Hedges AM and Julie James AM are urging people in Swansea to join millions across the country in marking armed forces day by attending the local event on Saturday 27th June at 11AM in Castle Square.

Armed Forces Day has been hugely successful since its launch in 2006 and it is an opportunity to raise public awareness of the contribution made by those who serve and have served in the Armed Forces – from currently serving personnel to Service families and from veterans to cadets. As well as to say a huge thank you for all they do.

 Julie James AM said: “Armed Forces Day is an opportunity for us all to recognise the huge contribution our women and men of the forces make and have made to protect the freedoms we all enjoy”


Mike Hedges AM said this year is a special year. It marks the 100th anniversary of the Gallipolli campaign as well as other battles in World War One, the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo and the 60th Anniversary of the end of the second world war. It is an opportunity to reflect on conflicts past and the lessons for today.”

Speech at the Senedd 23 June Re Austerity and Social Care

Can I welcome the Minister’s statement?


Can I, again, remind people it was the international banking crisis that got us into the mess the country ended up in?


It had nothing to do with the last Labour Government. Austerity is not working. It is stifling growth in the economy.


This, in turn, is reducing the income tax take of the Government and leading to further cuts—an unvirtuous circle. The more people cut, the bigger the problem they have, as they’ve discovered in Greece, though I’m sure that the Conservatives want to blame the Labour Government in London for the problem in Greece.


Whilst the Government has done everything possible to maximise the resources available to support their priorities, this has been done against a background of substantial cuts from Westminster. While areas such as local government and further education are suffering cuts in Wales, they are not at the level of their equivalent bodies in England.


I again note that Wales spends 5 per cent more per head on health and social care compared to England. Does the Minister agree that we want to reduce health demand and reduce waiting times, and to get people out of hospital as quickly as possible, and that spending on social care is the way forward, to make sure that people are kept in their home by social care expenditure, and while they’re in hospital are able to go home and be looked after in their homes rather than staying in hospital for an extended period?




So, does the Minister really believe that the Government’s view of spending money on social care is the right way as opposed to the Conservatives’ view of cutting that along with everything else?

Questions to Leighton Andrews RE Local Government Reform

First of all, can I very much welcome the general power of competence, something that local authorities have asked for for decades? I think that that will be a great step forward. These proposals are very similar to the eight county councils pre-1995. The major differences are caused by the cross-county boundary changes that took place in the 1995 reorganisation. This is what the county councils and county councillors such as Gwenda Thomas and myself were asking for back in 1993 and 1994. I am happy with the creation of West Glamorgan—a county council, as I said, both Gwenda Thomas and I served on pre-reorganisation. 

The challenge for any local government reorganisation is to create a body large enough to provide key services effectively, but small enough to be considered by residents to be local, rather than creating sub-regional bodies. 

I’ve got six questions for the Minister. [Laughter.] I could have taken it to 10, but I stuck on six. If population size is all important, why is Powys left unchanged? Fire and rescue was run by the county councils, and is run by county councils in England. Will it be returned to county council control? Council tax varies, sometimes significantly, between the proposed merging authorities. How is that to be resolved? Will there be a proposal, on the new councils, to set a duty for the new councils to set up area committees? Will councils be merged or closed and then new councils set up? I believe that will lead to external contracts being treated differently, depending on the methodology used. And, finally, I’d produced my own suggestions, based on the pre-1995 smaller district council structure. Did the Minister consider that option?

Speech at the National Assembly Plenary - Public Service Reform

This motion is the first I can remember to discuss public services as a whole, as opposed to dealing with individual service areas. Every Wednesday, one silo after another has been discussed without looking at public services as a whole, so I really welcome this.

For local government, the challenge is to be large enough to effectively run the major services, but be small enough to be local rather than creating a layer of sub-regional government. When I first became active in politics in the late 1970s, the structure of public services in Wales was very different to those we have today. County councils were the basic building blocks of local services, and further education colleges, polytechnics, institutes of higher education and the fire service were all directly run by county councils, whilst services such as probation and health were organised on a county basis with direct county councillor involvement. Beneath the county council were district councils, which provided the bulk of local services, including almost all public housing. Some county councils actually organised themselves—their services—on a district basis; Mid Glamorgan was a classic example of that.

Today, we have a far more fragmented public service, with 22 unitary authorities replacing the former county and district councils, with a proposal to reduce that number back to the original eight or nine—a case of back to the future. Further education colleges, institutes of higher education and the polytechnics of Wales have all left local authority control. The fire service is currently split across Wales into three, and these are controlled by local authority joint boards. Can I say that, for those living in Swansea, being in the same joint board as Machynlleth doesn’t work for us?

speech at National Assembly 14 May 2015

3th May 2015 Plenary Session at 18:38

Mike Hedges

Firstly, can I thank Suzy Davies for giving me a minute in what I think is a very important debate? I’d like to talk about the role that further education colleges have traditionally played for 14 to 16-year-olds and not just 16-year-olds. Perhaps the Deputy Minister can tell us the current position of the 14-19 pathway.

 

I have three quick case studies from my teaching experience: a pupil who refused to attend school, because he was being bullied, attended college, passed several GCSEs to grade A and then passed one A-level at grade A, had a distinction at BTEC national, leading to acceptance at Aberystwyth University; a pupil who had difficulties in school and was a school refuser, who passed a first diploma, then a national diploma and then moved on to full time employment; a pupil who was asked to leave school for hitting a teacher, who wouldn’t let him leave the class. He completed four GCSEs at grade C, progressed to training and became a plumber. Although, when I was teaching, I did tell him that if he ever wanted to leave, I would not stop him.

 

The point I’m trying to make is that education other than at school should not mean that pupils cannot be successful. I think that really is the key: we want them to succeed. Schools don’t always suit everybody, but we want every child to fulfil their potential.

 

 

Speech at National Assembly on Legal High's

Legal Highs

Thank you presiding officer..

Whilst not a member of the committee I did attend a meeting during the discussion of this problem and I live in an area where legal highs are on sale

I intend pressing for the Irish solution of banning new psychoactive substances based upon effect not on chemical composition. We will never win a battle with the chemists

 

I accept that legislation will not completely solve the problem as it has not solved the problem of cannabis, heroin and cocaine.

I also accept that education is very important

I find it amazing that people will buy items of unknown provenance and of unknown composition and then put it into their body

Sometimes with tragic results

A father was killed by a new legal high found for the first time in Britain - and an inquest in Cardiff heard it was five times stronger than heroin.

Dad-of-three Thaker Hafid, 37, was found dead by his wife after trying the legal high bought online from China.

He collapsed in the study after experimenting with the white powder delivered to his home.

The hearing was told it was analysed as acetyl fentanyl - described as having the same effect as morphine and heroin.

Owain Vaughan, from Glynneath, was rushed to Morriston Hospital, Swansea suffering fits and being violently sick. The substance he took is not banned — indeed a quick search on the internet can identify where it is on sale in South West Wales.

I could continue, but I am sure the Presiding officer would not let me, listing people taken seriously ill after using legal highs in Wales for over an hour.

FOLLOWING five recent cases of people in South Wales needing hospital treatment after taking so-called legal highs, the Post asked journalism student DANNY GALLAGHER to find out just how available they are over the counter in our shops. Here's what he found

The legal high he was searching for goes by the name of Exodus, a popular underground synthetic cannabinoid or herbal incense. A quick browse online showed the product is "strictly not for human consumption". Users of the substance had left reviews, one simply warned: "never again".

It was soon clear that he was delving into a clouded and unregulated industry

In October 2013, 17-year-old Matt Ford lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack in his Canterbury bedroom after inhalation of Exodus. Another man from Kent had sustained severe brain damage after a heart attack.

Two years on and it is still on the streets, sold legally.

Before setting off, he checked online the kind of prices . Most sites agreed on around £8 for a one gram sachet of the product, or up to £55 for nine grams.

It was early morning when he approached the shop in Neath, which had two men in the doorway. After informing the lady behind the counter I wanted Exodus, she signalled to a male by the door who promptly came over to serve him.

The man quickly asked to see identification before locating a shoulder bag from beyond the counter — inside, a collection of herbal incenses. He wasn't asked for a specific cash sum, instead he just looked at me as though he was intended to know.

He then visited a shop in Swansea city centre. The store said it did not stock herbal incense, but was happy to provide a product called Salvia.

Derived from the sage-like plant salvia divinorum, the substance is known to produce strong hallucinogenic experiences. The cashier gave the options of different strengths.

A moment later and £9.75 out of pocket he had bought a gram. Clearly labelled on the packet were the words: Not approved for human consumption

Finally can I turn to Woodfield Street in Morriston where a shop selling legal highs exists.

Where you can find people collapsed on the floor

People who are described colloquially as out of it

We have Elderly Residents in fear of walking on the pavement.

A bike with Sat Nav is used for delivery

Whilst making it illegal will not stop it being used

It will stop it being sold on the streets and on the Internet

 

Speech on Further Education in Wales April 2015

Further Education

I taught in a  Further Education College for over 25 years

Firstly as part of Mid Glamorgan County Council at Pontypridd College, then Pontypridd College, then Coleg Morgannwg and the college is now called Coleg Cymynoed

I didn’t change my college

Just the result of the changes that took place

I also spent 10 years as a governor of Swansea College

Further Education is a microcosm of what has happened to public services over the last 30 years

Firstly having been organised and structured since its inception by the County Councils of Wales it was decided that each college should be incorporated, run by local business people.

Terms and conditions deteriorated

The “Silver book” terms were “negotiated” away

New staff were employed on the new flexible contracts

Student contact hours were cut

Class sizes increased

All in the name of efficiency

It moved from educating to completing the syllabus

Budgets were cut and are still being cut

Jobs have been lost

The resolution

Notes the importance of further education institutions to the provision of post-16 education;.

 

 Notes the importance of providing adult learning opportunities for adults wanting to acquire new skills

Both of which I fully agree with

 

Reviewing Education questions and opposition debates Further Education comes a very poor third after Schools and Higher Education

It has always been the “Cinderella” service in terms of Education

It has suffered since it was removed from Local Authority control

It has like many other areas suffered from merger mania

 

So we have a college covering Neath Port Talbot and Powys

I am not sure who believes that Montgomeryshire and Port Talbot have a community of interest

 

The college where I used to work covers Aberdare, Pontypridd, Rhondda and Caerphilly

 

Senior staff especially Principals have had very large salary rises

From below that of Assistant Director of Education

To in many cases above that of Directors of Education

They have benefitted by the ever increasing average salary model

Should Further Education be better funded

Instead of what

Where we have a system

Agreed by almost everyone here that Health must have a substantial year on year increase

And an in year payment

To be spent almost exclusively on Secondary care

 

Then the inevitable consequence is a reduction in almost all other areas of the Assembly expenditure

Glad to see further education being discussed today

I believe it is important

Giving many a second chance

I hope others are also convinced