Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

So Alun Davies won the nomination to stand for the next Assembly seat for Labour in Blaenau Gwent, I hear. I also understand that it was a very close competition. 

So, the fight between Alun Davies and Trish Law starts here. AMs representing the Mid and West area are waking up happy this morning I can bet. I can see the press releases now- ‘Alun Davies doesn’t priortise this area, he’s more interested in South East Wales’…hmmm.

Trish Law will relish the chance to prove that she can retain the seat. It may make plenary session debates more interesting, anyway!

Alun Davies is either ready for the challenge- which may be made easier if the Tories win in Westminster, or is annoyed that he didn’t hold out to try for the Islwyn or Aberafan seat which Labour members are undoubtedly fighting over to win nominations for. Time will tell.

But on another note, do any of the Labour members out there know how Alun Pugh did? I swear the press were reporting it as an Alun v Alun fight a few months ago.

Welsh Bloggers in the pub is set to take place tomorrow evening at the Vulcan Pub in Cardiff for those of you who wish to attend. I’m not entirely sure if this is exclusive to bloggers, those who read blogs, who comment, or whatever (will anon commenters and anon bloggers be outed?!)

The website says that the intention is to ’ meet up a couple of times a year and would serve to improve relations, promote better communication and give bloggers a chance to socialise in the real world.’….

Assembly proceedings are  supposed to go on quite long tomorrow, which has also meant that my short debate on open cast mining has been deferred to September unfortunately. However, after I’ve hosted an event to celebrate the success of the Women’s Rugby team at the Senedd, I think I will pop over to the Vulcan. See you there!

The Health Minister formally announced the Welsh Assembly Government’s Framework to treat eating disorders in Wales last Friday. In today’s Western Mail, I have written an article on the new framework, and outline my opinion on it. You can read it here. I am so pleased that there is finally a framework on eating disorders. Yes, campaigners have been waiting ten years for such a government led initiative, but we have to look forward positively now, and ensure that it is implemented effectively, and that the cross party group on eating disorders monitors it on a regular basis. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been involved in the cross party group in lobbying the Minister to implement this framework, and in being so persistent in making sure that it happened!

I know this sounds like the Oscars now, but it is important to thank Edwina Hart again for listening to us, meeting with delegations of the cross party group, and being pro active. She could easily have ignored us, or swept the issue to one side, but she opened consultation on a framework, and has given money to develop services.

We will continue to campaign obviously- especially given the fact that one of our core aims as a group is to campaign for an NHS based in patient centre in Wales- dedicated to treating eating disorders. I won’t be put off by the tight financial settlement. Even if it takes quite a few years, I think its worth keeping at it. Scotland has opened such as centre recently in Aberdeen, and I’m speaking to the brains behind the venture next week in the hope of organising a conference call for our next cross party group meeting on the 29th of September at the Senedd.

So I’ll leave it at that, and hope that this policy is successful, and that Wales can lead the way in relation to this most important issue.

Dwi jyst am sgwennu post byr iawn i ddweud fy mod i’n meddwl am deulu Geraint Owen yn ystod y cyfnod caled yma. Bu farw Gertaint Owen ar nos Wener.

Roedd o’n sioc i bawb sy’n nabod o’n dda, ac fe fydd colled ar ei ol. Dim on 43 oed oedd o. Dwi ddim yn siwr beth yw’r rhesymau dros y marwolaeth, ond dwi’n gobeithio byddaf yn gallu mynychu’r angladd.

Roedd Geraint Owen yn adnabyddus am fod yn actor ar Bobl y Cwm, ac roedd o’n cael ei hadnabod yn lleol yng Ngastell Nedd fel ‘Bond’ ar ol iddo golli allan ar ennill y rol James Bond ar gyfer y ffilmiau mwyaf diweddar.

O’n i’n nabod Geraint drwy’r Blaid yng Nghastell Nedd. Roedd o wedi sefyll yn erbyn Peter Hain ar gyfer sedd Castell Nedd San Steffan yn y gorffennol, ac roedd o wedi rhoi help llaw i mi pan oeddwn i’n sefyll fel ymgeisydd pan oedd e’n gweithio i Janet Davies AC.

Eto, hoffwn i estyn pob cydymdeimlad i’r teulu yn ystod y cyfnod anodd yma.

I can’t say that I enjoy the show Strictly Come Dancing, but its in the press today because the show has decided to axe judge Arlene Phillips, 66,  in favour of a younger Alesha Dixon. The Guardian today has termed it, rather originally- ‘Strictly Come Sexism‘, as its believed that the BBC are keen to get viewing ratings up with the introduction of a younger woman on the judging panel. This is an issue that I believe broadcasters such as the BBC must address in terms of the accusations of ageism and sexism that dominate the headlines. Women such as Anna Ford, Moira Stuart and Selina Scott have been axed from key positions in the BBC, with Selina Scott stating that she was ‘deeply saddened’ by the lack of older women on the tv, and a row erupted last December, when older female presenters were axed from the show Countryfile.

Mark Lawson in the Guardian states that ‘…it is unarguable that, historically, two different rules seem to have applied to male and female broadcasters once the expense accounts of their managers have been charged for a certain number of birthday cards.’

In a totally unscientific piece of quick fire research, I googled ‘gender balance in the BBC’, and the first article that appeared was this rather ironically- an article on how female AMs have transformed Welsh politics. Yet I couldn’t find information on statistics of how many women the BBC employ, and the positions they hold. I am sure that I can find the information at a later date, but it would be interesting to find out how they go about changing the make-up of some of their more successful shows, and how they base decisions to axe certain individuals over others. It is a rather annoying trend of  BBC News, at least, to always have an older man sitting next to a young woman. This must be intentional. Surely they have carried out market research that indicates that this is a successful mix?

Still, it comes down to the sad fact that women still have to fight for recognition and approval even in the 21st century, and that we are far from being equal. We need only to quote that the pay gap between men and women has intensfied last year to 17.1% to realise that there is still much more to be done to realise equality of esteem and rights between men and women in the workplace.

Perhaps the BBC should follow the lead of the National Assembly and celebrate the role of women in the BBC much more so, and put key policies in place ensure that sexism and ageism is eliminated.

Yet of course, the National Assembly is far from perfect, and I am sure the results of the next Assembly election will result in a very different gender make-up- one balanced towards more men being elected as AMs as a result of the changes to the rules in the way some political parties decide on their candidates.

A discussion for another day, perhaps, but another example of the way that gender equality is still a long way away.

I sit on the Communities and Culture Committee at the National Assembly, and we are conducting an inquiry in to the youth justice system in the secure estate. It is a fascinating piece of work, and today Edwina Hart AM announced that Professor Rod Morgan from Bristol University would be conducting an inquiry into the benefits and risks of devolving the youth justice system to Wales, which will report by the end of the year.

In her evidence session to the committee today, the Minister emphasised the divergence of opinion between Wales and Westminster on this matter- eg disagreeing with the fixed penalties system, against the incarceration of young people, and the educational implications on young Welsh people who are in English prisons.

Most of the evidence that we have taken to date calls for the devolution of the youth justice system, and today, we took superb evidence from The Howard League for Penal Reform- Andrew Neilson, who is the Assistant Director. He told us of the necessity to devolve the criminal justice system so that we can deliver on the rights based agenda of the Welsh Assembly Government, and so that young Welsh people are treated fairly. A few quotes from Andrew stuck in my mind. One was in relation to the fact that the UK government is obsessed with locking people up instead of looking at alternative measures. He said ‘ the problem with prisons are that they make us prisoners in our thinking’.

Another interesting point that he made was on the back of the fact that Members present stated their experiences of having visited some of the secure estates in England, and Hillside in Wales as part of the inquiry.  Andrew said in response to a comment Mark Isherwood AM made about meeting some young people who actually wanted to be in a secure estate as it gave them structure and boundaries- ‘ it surprises me that it has taken a Welsh child, in an English prison, to talk to AMs about how they actually feel’.

There’s still a long way to go in this inquiry yet, but I can imagine that the same themes will crop up over the need to devolve the youth justice system to Wales in order for Welsh Ministers to be able to prioritise budgets to implement ideas and initiatives which differ from that of Westminster- which usually centres on locking them up, and throwing away the key……

Fel yr Aelod Cynulliad i Blaid Gymru sydd yn canolbwyntio ar faterion diwylliannol, mae’n orfodol i mi ymateb yn fyr i adroddiad y pwyllgor materion cymreig ar y gorchymyn iaith a ddaeth allan ddoe. Wrth gwrs, mae’n bleser mawr i ni fel Plaid bod y pwyllgor yn unfrydol mai yn y Cynulliad y dylid deddfu dros yr iaith. Mae hwn yn egwyddor hynod bwysig sy’n cael ei amlygu gan yr ASau  (ond yn y Cynulliad y dylem ddeddfu ar bopeth, ynte!)

Nawr mae’n bwysig i ni barhau ar hast gyda’r camau nesaf er mwyn i’r gorchymyn yma ddod yn realiti, ac er mwyn i Lywodraeth Cymru’n Un weithredu yn y maes. Mae’r broses wedi bod yn hir fel ag y mae, ac felly dwi’n gyndyn iawn i gytuno gyda’r argymhelliad yn yr adroddiad bod angen i’r pwyllgor materion cymreig cael ail dro i asesu’r gorchymyn yn y dyfodol. Mae hyn, yn ol beth dwi’n deall, yn deillio o’r ffaith bod consyrn ynghylch y ffaith nad yw rhai cwmniau preifat yn cael ei crybwyll yn y gorchymyn, tra fod eraill yn cael eu henwi yn y gorchymyn, ac hefyd yr amwysedd ynghylch yr angen i gwmniau a mudiadau sy’n derbyn dros £200,000 o arian gyhoeddus weithredu o dan oblygiadau’r ddeddf. Tra fod angen gwneud mwy o waith ar hwn, dwi ddim yn credu mai adroddiad arall gan y pwyllgor materion cymreig yw’r ateb.

Mae’r pwyllgor hefyd yn gofyn am fwy o fanylion o swyddogaeth y Comisynydd Iaith. Yn fy marn i, nid lle yr ASau yw i fynnu manylion o’r fath. Bydd cwestiynnau o’r natur yma yn dod yn ystod cyfnod penderfynnu ar y mesurau yn y Cynulliad. Does dim pwynt i’r pwyllgor gytuno mai’r Cynulliad y dylid gwneud penderfyniadau ar yr iaith, os ydynt am gael manylion y mesurau sydd heb cael eu hysgrifennu eto er mwyn cyfiawnhau trosglwyddo’r pwerau i ni!

Dwi ddim chwaith yn cytuno gyda’r awgrym bod angen rhoi arbrofion o sut byddai mesurau yn gweithio- eu cost, a’u heffaith ar gyrff, yn ystod proses cytuno’r gorchymyn. Mae hwn i mi yn symbol arall o ymgais San Steffan i geisio rheoli’r hyn a fydd, efallai, yn ymddangos yn y mesurau. Eto, rol y Cynulliad fydd hwn. Dyma’r dyfyniad o’r pwyllgor-

‘These might include a test of reasonableness, a test of proportionality, and a consideration of the cost to demonstrate that the application of any Measure to particular bodies or organisations will, in the long term, provide a cost-effective benefit to the public in terms of the use of the Welsh language’.

Felly, dwi’n croesawu bod y broses penodol yma nawr ar ben, ond dwi’n awyddus bod y cam nesaf tuag at dynnu’r pwerau draw i’r Cynulliad yn parhau yn sydyn. Does dim awydd gen i, nag eraill mae’n siwr, i’r broses arafu i’r fath raddau na fydd cyfle i’w himplementeiddio.

Dyma barn Cymdeithas yr Iaith ar y mater, a dyma barn y pwyllgor.

I’ve wanted to blog about this in a long while- purely to make my views well and truly clear on my right as a politician elected to the National Assembly for Wales to take a vague interest in International affairs, and to discuss such topics either here on this very blog- or in the work that I do as an AM. Its safe to say that when we had a debate on Gaza at the Assembly, while the majority of people welcomed the move, I did receive some scathing emails about ‘wasting taxpayers money’,'pushing our nose into areas beyond our control’. You know the type of thing.

 This was of course ignoring the fact that we had Welsh charities helping those living in Gaza, that the Welsh Government sent medical help, and that people such as myself have Palestinian constituents, with families living out there- desperate for our support, be it through strong political statements or practical help. The debate at the Assembly happened regardless, and it was a lively and engaging debate.

The same concern with AMs discussing International issues cropped up again last week, when I dared to hint that I would be mentioning the protests in Iran and Moldova in the context of my debate on how people use twitter to engage and to mobilise mass action. How dare I contemplate talking about issues outside the control of the Assembly! How dare I waste taxpayers money like this! But again, this is a narrow minded, and introverted argument. I am a member of a party that is fighting for Wales to be recognised on a World stage, where we can be equal, and where we have stature and influence. If we shy away from commenting on International issues then we are doing our constituents a disservice. Surely they have a right to know what our opinions are on a broad range of issues? I get emails asking my opinion on ID cards, trident, asylum seekers, youth justice from constituents. Should I just not reply,  send a generic email back, saying not my problem, guv?

And of course, this matter is relevant in that the Welsh Assembly Government has offices in different countries- in Brussels and in China for example. We have trade agreements with such countries, and spend a lot of money developing links to encourage economic investment to Wales. We need to be aware of what is happening on a global stage for that very reason alone.

I am a Nationalist in that I want full powers for Wales, but I am an Internationalist in that I want Wales to look outwards, learn from what is happening in different countries, and bring those creative new ideas back to Wales. I see no rhyme nor reason why this should be contentious, only in that some narrow minded people

 ( mostly, but not exclusively, from Unionist parties) want to ensure that Wales does what it’s told from the ‘leaders’ in Westminster, and keep quiet on such issues so as not to rock the boat. Now, where’s the justice in that?

Heddi, mae stori yn y Western Mail gyda dyfyniadau gan bobl di enw yn y Blaid Lafur bod yna bosibilrwydd cryf i’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol ymuno gyda ni a Llafur yn y glymblaid ar ol i Rhodri Morgan ymddeol. Dwi’n sicr heb glywed unrhyw si o’r fath, ond does dim gwadu bod pobl yn siarad am y ras arweinyddol o fewn y Blaid Lafur, a sut fedrir effeithio ar Cymru’n Un- os fydd yr arweinydd newydd am dynnu allan o’r glymblaid ayb. Mae hwn yn drafodaeth wahanol iawn i’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol yn ymuno a’r glymblaid sydd ohoni.

Dwi’m yn sicr felly faint o gryfder sydd i’r stori yma. Mae’n eithaf chwerthynllyd bod y Demorcratiaid Rhyddfrydol wedi ymateb mor gadarnhaol i’r cysyniad o liwio’r glymblaid yn felyn o feddwl nad oedd diddordeb ganddynt nol yn 2007 i weithio gyda’r Blaid Lafur, na chwaith y glymblaid Enfys. Dwi’n credu bod y Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol yn ofni cyfaddef pa mor effeithiol mae’r glymblaid presenol- ac yntau fel Plaid gwrthwynebol- yn gwneud, yn enwedig Elin Jones fel Gweinidog. Mae hi yn fygythiad cryf i’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol yn Ngheredigion yng nhyd destun codi proffil y Blaid ar gyfer ennill y sedd San Steffan yn ol y flwyddyn nesaf.

Mae dyfyniad di enw arall yn erthygl Martin Shipton gan Blaid Cymru- yn awgrymu bod rhai aelodau o Llafur yn cydweithredu gyda’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol i ledaenu straeon fel hwn er mwyn tanseilio Ieuan Wyn Jones yn ei rol fel Gweinidog dros yr economi. Dyw e ddim yn sioc i ddweud bod Kirsty Williams am waed Ieuan bob tro mae cwestiynnau iddo yn y Cynulliad, ond eto, hyd yn oed os yw rhai aelodau o Llafur a’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol yn siarad- beth ydy’r ots? Pam rhoi hygrededd iddynt? Roedd y blaid wedi colli’r cyfle i fod mewn llywodraeth yma yng Nghymru, ac nawr, yn ol y son, yn ceisio gwthio ei hun ar yr agenda i wneud ei hun yn fwy perthnasol i hynt a helynt gwleidyddiaeth Cymru.Rwy’n teimlo’n flin drostynt mewn ffordd od.

Ta waeth, dyna fy marn bach i am y stori. Mae pethau’n newid o ddydd i ddydd mewn gwleidyddiaeth, ond yn bersonol, dwi ddim yn credu mai nawr yw’r amser i drafod newid y drefn clymbleidiol sydd ohoni yng Nghymru yn enwedig yn ngolau’r sefyllfa economaidd. Mae angen i’r Llywodraeth presenol barhau gyda’r gwaith cadarnhaol o mynd i’r afael a’r problemau, rhoi strategaethau yn ei le, a chyllid i fusnesau sydd yn dioddef ac i bobl sydd yn cael ei wneud yn ddiwaith. Hynny sy’n bwysig, nid y ‘siarad’ sy’n digwydd ar hyd coridorau’r Cynulliad, neu rhwng Mr Shipton a’r di-enw rhai…..