An extra 10.6 years for living the other side of the county

Local Liberal Democrats have today hit out after new research showed that people who live in one area of Neath Port Talbot can expect to live 10.6 years longer than people living in another area.

Figures from the local Liberal Democrats have shown that people in Godre’r Graig can expect to live until they are 84.5 but people who live in Port Talbot can only expect to live until they are 73.6. That means there is a shocking difference of nearly eleven years just for living on the other side of the county.

Mathew McCarthy, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Neath commented: “These figures show exactly how badly people in some areas have been let down by Labour. Inequality should be a priority for the Labour government in Cardiff but these figures show that not everyone in Neath Port Talbot is having a fair shot at life. That absolutely has to change. For Labour, social justice is just a phrase they roll out at election time.”

Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “Recent studies have shown that tackling inequality has to be done across all parts of government – using the NHS, schools and the economy to improve people’s lives. When the Welsh Lib Dems secured an extra £20 million investment in the poorest school children it was because I knew that tackling differences in life expectancy needs to take place at the earliest age possible. Action like that is the first step to reducing the inequality that we see all too often in Wales."

LibDems pushing for more tax cuts to help low-paid

Councillor Frank Little writes: There is a real push by Liberal Democrats in government, notably Business Minister Vince Cable and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, to move more quickly to take everybody earning £10,000 a year or less out of tax. It was a Liberal Democrat manifesto proposition in 2010 to do this, but the coalition agreement merely promised to achieve it by 2015. Now, however, there is a real chance that low- and middle-income taxpayers will benefit in the 2012 budget, and that the money will be found from the wealthiest - possibly from land, which cannot move abroad.

As this news release points out, Liberal Democrats in government have already:

• clamped down on tax avoiders – targeting an extra £7bn every year
• started taxing the banks by an extra £2.5bn every year, more than Labour's bank bonus levy would raise
• stopped inheritance tax cuts for millionaires
• put up Capital Gains Tax
• reduced tax breaks on pension funds for the super-rich
• retained the 50p rate
  

Raising the tax threshold immediately would pump millions into the economy because those on lower pay will spend the extra income. It's also fair

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Local Post Offices saved by Liberal Democrats

Post Offices in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend have been saved by Liberal Democrat Business Minister, Ed Davey.

After ending Labour’s shameful Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, Ed Davey has announced that a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.

The deal gives additional certainty to subpostmasters across the UK and covers the full range of Royal Mail products available at post offices such as first and second class post, parcels, air mail, recorded and special deliveries.

It adds to other recent progress for the Post Office, with extra Government cash kicking in, new national and local government contracts won, successful piloting of new models to transform many local post offices and improvements in financial services offered.

Regional Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member, Peter Black welcomed the agreement. He said;

“After years of Post Office closures under the Labour Government, it is excellent news that Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing by ensuring that the Post Office has a sustainable future ahead of it through investment and by brokering this deal with Royal Mail.

“Post Offices are a vital part of our communities and are the lynchpin of our towns and villages. More than 20 million people visit a Post Office every week to send letters to loved ones, to manage their finances or to renew passports for holidays and hundreds of thousands of pensioners rely on them every day for their pensions.

“Labour left Royal Mail in a terrible mess and it is Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government who have stopped closures and put Royal Mail and the Post Office on a secure footing. Our plans mean that we will never see the kind of planned closures that devastated local communities under the previous Government.

“The 20 million people who use the Post Office every week don’t deserve anything less from us.”

Commenting further, Ed Davey said:

“A year ago I set out a radical plan to transform Post Office’s future, with £1.34bn of Government support and investment but without any closure programmes.

“Since then the Post Office has made good progress to become more competitive, building on its strengths.

“While it will take several years to turn round the Post Office’s finances, it’s increasingly clear the reforms are beginning to work.

“The 10-year deal struck between Royal Mail and the Post Office will give subpostmasters and others greater confidence.

“The signs are extremely encouraging for the future of the Post Office.”

Assembly Member expresses concern at rise in workload for District Nurses in ABMU Health Board area

Figures released to the Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for South Wales West, Peter Black, show a decline in the number of District Nurses in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend, whilst at the same time the number of clients dependent on their services has increased by nearly one fifth.

In Bridgend the number of qualified district nurses fell from 69.64 whole time equivalents in 2008 to 67.47 by April 2011. Over the same period the number of clients being cared for by the service rose from 4592 to 5435.

In Neath Port Talbot qualified staff went from 74.49 WTE to 67.08, with the client base increasing from 3195 to 4418. Whilst Swansea’s qualified whole time equivalent staff dropped from 94.981 to 86.481. Their client base remained relatively steady, rising slightly from 3127 in 2008 to 3427 in 2010.

Commenting on the figures, Mr. Black said: “Despite the fact that ABMU Health Board have said that they are investing in community services and changing the skill mix of staff so as to meet demand, these figures still show a significant increase in workload for District Nurses and the Health Care Workers who work with them.

“At a time when the Welsh NHS is seeking to get people out of hospital and provide more care for patients in their own homes, these trends are very worrying. My concern is that these increased workloads will take their toll on the health of District Nursing staff and increase stress levels.

I am certainly supportive of the move towards more community medicine and patient independence where appropriate, but we have to have confidence that there is sufficient investment in the relevant services and support staff so as to deliver that safely. I hope that ABMU can give those assurances.”

Nick Clegg on Andrew Marr show

Liberal Democrats have been accused by Labour of propping up the Conservatives and worse, but Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister reminds us:

Nearly two years ago, Liberal Democrats chose to do the right thing in the national interest at a time of crisis. We put tribalism aside and the good of the country first.

We didn’t come into politics to make cuts, but with the economy on the verge of collapse we knew we had to take the difficult decisions necessary to get the deficit under control and the country back on track.

And how did the Labour Party react?

They attacked us viciously. They refused to apologise or take responsibility for the mess they created. They opposed every cut and they indulged in cynical scaremongering.

In Sheffield, David Blunkett warned of ‘post-Soviet’ meltdown with people fending for themselves. It was the politics of fear and it was a disgrace.

But now, after nearly two years of opposing every cut, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls say they won’t reverse a single one. Yet they still say they oppose them.

Confused?

They have gone from being in the wrong place to being all over the place. From denial to disarray.

Many of our excellent councillors and members of the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies lost their seats last May because of the vicious attacks of their Labour opponents. Labour must not get away with it again.

Liberal Democrats approach this May’s elections with a track record of proud, progressive achievements in Government:

Lifting a million of the poorest workers out of tax and cutting taxes, not for the rich but for 23m basic rate taxpayers;

Making the well off pay their share by raising Capital Gains Tax, a new £10bn bank levy and keeping the 50p top rate of tax;

The most generous rise in the state pension for a generation;

A revolution in the way we support the children who need help the most when it matters the most, in the crucial early years and throughout their school lives;

More apprenticeships than Britain has ever had before;

And from this April, [in England,] the Youth Contract, an ambitious £1bn programme to make sure every 18 to 24-year-old has the opportunity to earn or learn.

You can see Nick's interview by Andrew Marr here.

Wales must not be left out of Drink Drive Rehabilitation Schemes

Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member, Peter Black has raised concerns that convicted drink drivers will have to go to England for Drink Drive Rehabilitation courses unless Ministers introduce legislation in the Welsh Assembly within the next few months.

Mr. Black has written to the Minister for Local Government, Transport and Communities asking him to commit to legislation for a Drink Drive Rehabilitation Scheme in Wales. Courses provide offenders with important insight into their behaviour and strategies to avoid drink driving in future and are often included as part of sentencing in the courts. Responsibility for such schemes will be passed from the Department for Transport to the Welsh Assembly in October 2012. To ensure that there is a seamless continuance in service from Drink Drive Rehabilitation Scheme course providers it is vital that legislation is passed by the Welsh Government before approval of existing course providers is revoked in the autumn. This is vital too, so as to protect jobs in Wales associated with these courses.

Mr. Black said: “There are a number of organisations across the UK who provide courses that drink drive offenders can be referred onto by the courts. These courses provide offenders with the ability to gain an insight into their behaviour and offer strategies to avoid drink driving in the future. It also means that their driving ban can be reduced on attendance of the course.

“As the responsibility for the administration of this scheme has been devolved to the National Assembly for Wales I am advised that separate legislation will have to be introduced by the Welsh Government if there is to be a DDRS in Wales.

“I have asked Carl Sargeant to confirm what plans the Welsh Government has to introduce this legislation in time for the revocation of approval for course providers in October.”

Kirsty targets homes, heating and the economy

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, has laid out the key issues for the party's AMs in 2012, in a statement last week. She added:

"Fuel poverty in Wales is a serious issue. Rising energy prices have had a huge impact on family budgets this winter, despite having a milder winter. Just last month, we saw the number of households living in fuel poverty in Wales rising to 41% - the highest percentage throughout the UK.

"In a civilized society, vulnerable people should not have to worry about whether or not they can afford to heat their homes. The impact on households that suffer from fuel poverty can be extreme with cold housing contributing to low attainment amongst school children, poor health and a rise in excess winter mortality rates.

"The Welsh Government failed to reach its target of taking all vulnerable households out of fuel poverty by 2010.

"The Welsh Liberal Democrats have always been committed to tackling fuel poverty but there is now an even greater urgency in dealing with this issue as it is clear that Labour Government policies do not go far enough. We will work with other parties and the Welsh Government to ensure that the number of households living in fuel poverty in Wales will be in decline.

"The Welsh Liberal Democrats will also work in this Assembly term to address the growing housing issue. The recent drop in the number of new homes being started in Wales are keeping house prices at unaffordable levels and this adds to the problems of first time buyers.

"We understand how difficult it is for young people to make it on the housing ladder. Many people feel trapped in renting accommodation because they can't raise the big deposit needed to buy their first home and they can't borrow money from the bank of mum and dad.

"We want to see a Welsh Government scheme where the government will act as a guarantor for a number of mortgages across Wales, helping first time buyers on the housing ladder."