Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

I guess my New Year’s Resolution will have to be “I shall blog more often”… That’s if I can find the motivation to do it…

Only trouble is, I never usually make resolutions, though another of next year’s resolutions must be to win more seats for Plaid in the Westminster election. But I’d say that has to be a resolution for everyone in Plaid, and not just for me alone!  It’s totally within our grasp in many areas of Wales, and activists are working hard. Labour are looking better in the polls ( God only knows why) so I guess they are eager to go when they think they have a whisker’s chance of winning! 

It’s nearing Christmas, and I for one am very tired as is everyone else I’m sure. It’s been a busy term for me, but productive.

I was thinking of starting a grumpy old woman section for this blog. For people who know me, I think they would agree that it would be a good idea and a way to get things off my chest!!

 My grumpy blog for today is probably that I’m getting a bit frustrated with all the stories popping up still on Mohammed Ashgar’s defection ( some of you will say, well why you blogging about it then?- fair point indeed but hear me out…) But, all I want to say is that we should move on now.Yes it was bad, yes he treated his staff badly, yes there’s questions to be asked about why, and what and where but most people will just see that a Plaid AM has defected to the Tories. It’s not the best news story in the World. The normal person in the street isn’t aware of the gossip surrounding the situation, or the personalities involved. They just see one AM leaving a party for another.

I would say that we in Plaid need to be pro active now, and make sure that our members, our sections, our AMs and every other elected rep are well supported and are all positive about the future. Personally I don’t think we need to over analyse the work that we need to do on our internal party lists-people should be well aware of what they are signing up for before becoming candidates- especially our main policy objectives. Now its over to the Tories, and good luck!

Really bad news tonight that there’s been a fire at the Afan Lido in Port Talbot. I’m not sure if its affected the whole of the building, but it doesn’t seem good. From news reports I’ve read so far, the emergency services were quick to arrive at the scene. I’m going to ring the Council in the morning, and see what can be done. I’m sure  to raise  it on a Welsh Government level too in terms of whether the Council needs financial support for any work that will possibly need to be done on the building. So many events take place at the Lido that its a great shame that this has happened. I’m there most weeks for either charity events, or sports events I support.

The next few days I am in the region going about my work. I’m meeting with campaigners tomorrow evening who are concerned about the proposed closure of Ysgol Godre’r Graig in Pontardawe, and I’m also carol singing with a local school at an old people’s home. Tonight I went to the Urdd’s Carol evening in Porthcawl. It was a great evening, and the singing was equally as challenging for the audience as it was for the children….!

Below is the statement on Carwyn Jones’s new cabinet. Andrew Davies and Brian Gibbons are out. Lesley Griffiths and Huw Lewis are Deputy Ministers. I wonder whether Huw expected to be given a Ministerial position following on from the Labour leadership campaign? John Griffiths has been made Counsel General, with a newly created post for Jane Hutt as business and budget Minister. Leighton Andrews gets a promotion too, as does Carl Sargeant. Some happy people around the Bay, then, but some I am sure annoyed that they have been left out of the cabinet, or sidelined. This is the case in politics always! Plaid Minster’s stay the same, of course.

WRITTEN STATEMENT BY THE
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT

Title: Cabinet Appointments

Date: 10 December 2009

By: Carwyn Jones, First Minister

I am writing to inform you that Her Majesty The Queen has approved the nominations for Welsh Ministers and Deputy Ministers in my Cabinet. The details are as follows:

Two new Ministers join the Cabinet – former Chief Whip Carl Sargeant becomes Minister for Social Justice and Local Government while former Deputy Regeneration Minister Leighton Andrews becomes Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning. Jane Hutt moves to a new portfolio as Minister for Business and Budget.

Two new Deputy Ministers have been appointed following portfolio changes creating two new portfolios. Lesley Griffiths becomes Deputy Minister for Skills, Innovation and Science while Huw Lewis will lead a newly created portfolio as Deputy Minister for Children. In this role Mr Lewis will have particular responsibility for co-ordination of Government matters relating to child poverty.

Details of my new Cabinet are as follows:

Ieuan Wyn Jones Deputy First Minister and Minister for
the Economy & Transport
Jane Hutt Business and Budget
Edwina Hart Health and Social Services
Jane Davidson Environment, Sustainability and Housing
Leighton Andrews Children, Education and Lifelong Learning
Carl Sargeant Social Justice and Local Government
Elin Jones Rural Affairs
Alun Ffred Jones Heritage

Deputy Ministers
Lesley Griffiths Skills, Innovation & Science
Jocelyn Davies Housing and Regeneration
Gwenda Thomas Social Services
Huw Lewis Children

John Griffiths Counsel General & Leader of the Legislative
Programme
Janice Gregory Chief Whip

A FEW weeks ago on this blog I promised to raise the question with Jane Hutt AM as to whether the Welsh Government would be taking part in the UK Government’s review of student fees.

I did this last week during a debate on the Higher Education strategy but, from the Minister’s response, it is clear to me that she is not taking part in the process. Considering that Welsh students will be impacted upon by any proposed changes to the system, I would have thought that the Minister would be taking an active role in it. I intend to write to the Students Unions in Wales following on from this to see what their opinions are in relation to this.

Here’s the question -

Bethan Jenkins: You will be aware of the announcement made by the UK Government at the beginning of the month that Lord Bourne will chair a new review into higher education and students fees on a UK level. Will you be taking part in this consultation, as a Welsh Minister, because a number of Welsh students will be affected by a possible hike in fees? Is there any way in which the Assembly strategy will change, specifically with regard to the graduate recruitment scheme and the bursary scheme, if higher fees are introduced on a UK level?

Jane Hutt: I assure you, Bethan, that the announcements that I made in March or June on the redirection of student finance, the abolition or the phasing out of the tuition fee grant, on a fairer and more equitable national bursary scheme, a new scheme to offer a measure of debt relief to students, and the graduate employment scheme, are all essential parts of the delivery of this plan for Wales.

On another note, I should congratulate Carwyn Jones for being elected as leader of the Labour party in Wales. He’s not First Minister yet, for all those twitterers and Facebook status updaters who are adamant that he is already in the post.

Clearly, Carwyn Jones has to restore trust with Plaid Ministers, which came into question last week following the statement from Peter Hain and Rhodri Morgan on the referendum, when he becomes First Minister. I don’t think we will be ready to take on any dithering or stalling on this most important matter from the Labour party, especially considering that it is written in black and white in the One Wales agreement. It’s Carwyn Jones’ duty to show leadership, and to take the Labour party with him in campaigning for a yes vote.

What was good to see, however, was the media coverage of the election of Carwyn Jones as leader. Today, I believe he was on the Daily Politics show. Nonetheless, coverage of Welsh matters should be a given, not only when there are events of significance in Wales.

I am off to prepare my short debate on opencast mining that I am delivering today as a short debate  in the Siambr. You can join me by watching it on Senedd TV.