Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

I hope you have time today to pop over to this new blog, launched by Plaid AM Nerys Evans called stories behind the stats. It is the second part of Nerys’s campaign to encourage the Welsh Assembly Government to initiate an awareness campaign in Wales regarding domestic violence. The blog will feature the real life experiences of women in Wales who have suffered at the hands of domestic violence, and will be a way of highlighting the trauma that so many people experience. I wish Nerys all the luck with her campaign.

Dwi’n gobeithio byddech chi’n cael y cyfle i fynd i edrych ar y blog newydd yma heddiw, wedi ei lansio gan AC Plaid Nerys Evans, ‘ stories behind the stats’. Hwn yw ail rhan o ymgyrch Nerys i ennyn Llywodraeth y Cynulliad i lansio ymgyrch er tynnu sylw at ddifrifoldeb trais domestig yng Nghymru. Fydd y blog yn dangos straeon bywydau menywod yng Nghymru sydd wedi dioddef yn sgil trais domestig, ac yn ffordd hynod effeithiol o godi proffil yr ymgyrch yma. Pob lwc i Nerys gyda’r ymgyrch.

It is disappointing that Maerdy Workingmen’s hall is set to be demolished. When I worked in the Rhondda, I used to see so many old, yet fascinating derelict buildings that were once vital hubs for the community-be it for hosting social activities for people of all ages, a place to provide educational courses for those in the surrounding area, and so on.  This is not unique to the Rhondda, it has to be said. The miner’s hall in Merthyr is in a really bad way, and so too are other halls the length and breadth of Wales.

I really think that we should do much more in Wales to retain our heritage- not only in the form of our landscape, but in retaining our old chapels and halls. Of course we need to develop their usage, and there are many success stories. Yet I remember growing up in Merthyr, only for the council to knock down the old Bethesda Chapel that was being used for cultural events and political meetings at the time, as well as taking down the only arcade ( much like a smaller version of Cardiff’s Victorian arcades) in the town, which housed a lovely old fashioned cafeteria and cobblers to make way for the new train station. There’s no denying that we need to develop the economy for new businesses to make their home in the South Wales valleys, but there is room to be more creative in the buildings that we offer such companies, and how best to market ourselves as part of the growing tourist economy.

Perhaps it is too late to save the hall in Maerdy, but I am sure that we can be much more strategic in maintaining other such halls and chapels in Wales, so that our children are not bereft of historical sites to visit or to promote in years to come.  This may be quite sad to admit, but I love looking through history books of various Welsh towns and villages to compare how the main street or the buildings looked like then, and now. It is heartening to see that many towns make the effort to celebrate their heritage, but in other places, the towns have been ruined to make way for new shops and developments which often lead to main streets looking identical to one another.

I guess the natural reaction is for me to set up a meeting with Alun Ffred Jones, the Heritage Minsiter to see how he is developing plans in this area. I know that he has recently announced £1.5 million to be invested in 35 historic buildings across Wales, including two in the Neath area (St Matthew’s Church in Duffryn, and Eglwys Soar, Maes yr Haf)  Perhaps developing some of these sites will facilitate a larger sense of belonging, and of community integration. That is something which we should aspire to, at least.

A few days ago I received the letter from Dafydd Elis Thomas addressed to Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy regarding the housing LCO that has been considered by the Welsh Affairs committee. Dafydd doesn’t take setbacks to our constitutional development in Wales lightly, so I knew that he had a few strong words to say to our man in the Wales Office!

For those of you who don’t know, we are seeking powers for the Welsh Assembly government to suspend the right to buy in areas where this may help with the supply of social housing stock. Within this remit is the call for the powers to abolish the right to buy.  It doesn’t mean that the WAG will choose to use these powers imminently, but it would have the power to do so, should it see fit.

 But this particular transfer of power is proving difficult at the moment. The Welsh Affairs Select committee wants to limit the powers that we acquire in this area, so that we are able to suspend the right to buy, which is a flagship One Wales government policy. However, the WAG would not be able to abolish the right to buy under the ruling of the committee. Dafydd has branded this as an ‘anti-devolution sentiment’ by the Labour dominated committee, and I couldn’t agree more. It is no surprise that the MPs are revolting in this manner- they do not want to relinquish any additional powers to Wales. The Tories and the Labour MPs are as bad as each other on this issue, and is again a clear reason as to why we need a full legislative parliament for Wales.

 I despair of what the committee will do when they receive the LCO on the Welsh language. There will be more than a letter landing neatly on Paul Murphy’s door when that time comes, that’s for sure.

A copy of the letter is attached.

letter-from-dafydd-elis-thomas-to-paul-murphy

The cross party group on eating disorders

The cross party group on eating disorders met last night to discuss the work that we are carrying out at the moment. We are set to have another meeting with Edwina Hart AM very soon- hopefully to discuss the allocation of the money dedicated to eating disorders in the budget round, and to discuss the work that needs to be done in relation to up skilling of NHS staff with regards to specialising in eating disorder treatment, and providing more postgraduate opportunities to study this area of interest. We are also organising a presence at the Healthy Living Week event at the Senedd on the 4th of November, so please feel free to pop over and talk to those who are involved in the cross party group.

Today I am backing calls by the Trade Union Congress for the UK Government to ditch its welfare reform proposals and introduce policies to help workers who are being laid off.
The new unemployment figures announced yesterday reveal that 164,000 more people are unemployed in the last quarter to August than in the previous quarter. The TUC proposals include increasing the statutory minimum redundancy pay (as promised by Labour in their 2005 manifesto), greater tax relief on redundancy payments and a reverse in cuts to front line staff at the DWP who deal with the unemployed. Ordinary people face real uncertainty in the current economic climate. The instability in world markets isn’t a distant, abstract notion: it is very real, and many people are struggling, especially those who have lost their job.

The UK Government has demonstrated in their action in the last few days that in times of economic hardship, resources can be found in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown. I sincerely believe that resources must now be found to help those who are out of work as a result of the mess that greedy City bosses have got us into. In accordance to this, adjustments to taxation policy could yield much needed help to those made redundant.

The TUC are right to point out that since 1989 the amount people can receive in redundancy without tax deductions has frozen at £30,000. It must reflect inflation rises since 1989 which mean that level should be increased to £50,000.

Ieuan Wyn Jones announced yesterday that £35 million is being allocated to help redundant workers. Of course, its high time for the UK Government to step up to the plate and show the same decisive action as Ieuan. The consequences of not acting now to help those who need help most could result in unacceptable hardship and could lead to an escalation in child poverty and fuel poverty.

I’m really happy today. Edwina Hart has announced as part of her budget deal that she will be investing £1.5 million in to eating disorders services in Wales. I am so pleased that the work of the campaigners and the experts on the cross party group on eating disorders has been successful, and I hope now that we can organise a meeting with Edwina Hart to discuss how this money will be allocated. There has been severe inaction on eating disorders services in Wales for so many years, despite the ongoing hard work of volunteers and clinicians and so on in lobbying the government. I am over the moon, therefore that this issue is finally being taken seriously, and that the estimated 56,000 sufferers in Wales can now begin to have faith in the fact that something is happening.

This is doubly exciting given that B-eat Cymru ( the charity that supports the carers and those who suffer from eating disorders) will be launched later this month in Monmouth. The work that the statutory sector and the voluntary sector carry out in this area together will ultimately strengthen services across the board.

So we will be celebrating at tonight’s cross party group on eating disorders at 6pm here at the National Assembly if you wish to join us!

Oh dear, my blogging has become very light of late. I was off work ill most of last week, so that is my excuse. There has been plenty of hustle and bustle on the blogs while I’ve been away- what with discussions on the credit crunch ( ‘the end of conservative economic policies’ as quoted from a cross bench Lord on Radio 4 today. About time too!) the US presidential election, Jane Davidson standing down in 2011, and that really interesting story about Jenny Randerson standing against Kirsty Williams for the Lib dem leadership. I can’t wait for that one.

I’m filming for Week in Week Out on a regular basis at the moment, for a programme set to hit your screens on the 28th of October on Prince Charles- the work he does or doesn’t do, his role in Wales, the way the people of Wales view him etc. Amanda Protheroe Thomas and myself have been interviewing people for the show. I’ve been interviewing mainly Royalists and close associates of Charles, while Amanda has been interviewing the Welsh Republicans.

I think they are trying to see if we change our opinions of Charles and the Royal Family by the end of this experience. Amanda Protheroe Thomas carries out work for the Prince’s Trust so she will obviously take less convincing than me that the Monarchy has a clear role in Wales. On this issue, I watched Dragon’s Eye last week with an air of bemusement at Andrew R T Davies AMs outburst regarding the fact that there may be no celebration of Charles’s investiture. He seemed to believe that you had to be a Nationalist to be a republican - without taking in to account that there are in fact Unionist republicans out there who have equally strong views on the future role of the Monarchy. They are not all ‘Nats’ as Andrew so clearly wants to believe.

Nevertheless, I believe that a consideration of the future role of the Monarchy, and the Prince of Wales should be debated at the National Assembly for Wales. I now await with baited breath an opposition party debate on this issue, tabled by Andrew himself….I will be waiting a long time no doubt.

I am leaving the office now to head for Crickhowell where I will be interviewing Shan Legge-Bourke, Lady in Waiting to Princess Ann and a descendant of Richard Crawshay about her views on Prince Charles. Should be interesting. I might not ask her about Tiggy…

Sorry for the failure to blog after the beginning of last week. My phone signal in the heart of Ireland was an issue, and also I had very little time in between meetings and events to blog. The Transatlantic Network 2020 summit was superb. I met so many interesting people, and had such a great experience, that I would urge any new up and coming young leaders in any field to apply. It is set to grow in number every year until 2020 so that people from all backgrounds and ages can experience the network and what it has to offer.

We went to see the drama Black Watch on Friday night in Dublin- a drama about the experiences of Scottish soldiers fighting in the Iraq war. It was very moving, and any words to describe it would not do it justice here on this blog. We also had a chance during one of our sessions in Wicklow to meet with an ex IRA member and a UVF member who are now working with the Glencree team for peace and reconciliation to share their experiences and work towards conflict resolution in the North of Ireland. I also had a quick chat with Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland while at the Guiness Storehouse. She is a true inspiration to young women who are entering politics- that and the fact that she went to school with my mother in Belfast. Its a small world…

The next summit is to take place somewhere in North America. I sincerely hope that I am one of the chosen ones that will take part in the network next year…we shall see!

Back in Wales, the political scene is rife with gossip about the future of Nick Bourne’s position as leader of the Tories in Wales. It was somewhat ironic to watch the Politics Show in the UK, with Cameron stressing  the secret to the success of the shadow team  at the moment is their unity, when in Wales this is the very opposite reality!

This is one of the elements of politics that I hate the most- backstabbing and childishness. It was unacceptable for Nick Bourne to attack Rhodri Morgan for his personal appearance ( despite the fact that Bourne obviously didn’t write it himself) but if we are going to pull someone apart for such attacks, can we not be consistent? Some of us have had far worse said about us.

What this says about the Tories is less about the content of the dossier on Rhodri Morgan itself but on the instability within their group at the Assembly. There are individuals there who are blatantly trying to undermine their leader to force a leadership election in Wales. I don’t think that it is necessarily motivated by the Lord Roberts report on the Tories’ perception of devolution, but it is certainly a signal that many believe that Nick Bourne is not the leader to catapult the party to instant success in Wales.

So, I am glad to be back in Wales, but one lesson that the TN2020 summit has taught me quite clearly is the importance of co-operation and of listening to others. Welsh politicians could learn so much from those 100 young people from across the globe, if only they wanted to!