Latest news with #PlaidCymru
South Wales Argus
10 hours ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Senedd rejection for renewed calls for M4 relief road
Sam Rowlands described the M4 relief road as a golden opportunity, not only to ease congestion for motorists but also to boost the economy. The Conservatives' shadow finance secretary said the Welsh Government spent £135m of public money on the project before it was scrapped in June 2019. He accused then-first minister Mark Drakeford of breaking a pledge on the £1.6bn relief road and going against an inquiry's finding that the costs would outweigh the benefits two to one. Mr Rowlands told the Senedd: 'At every step of this journey, there's been indecision and money wasted. At the end of it all, it's been the Welsh people who've had to suffer as a result. And nothing has been done to ease congestion around Newport ever since.' Peredur Owen Griffiths, Plaid Cymru's shadow transport secretary, criticised the Tories for calling for a new road through a site of special scientific interest. Calling for a more affordable and environmentally sustainable solution, he raised the lengthy and costly completion of the Heads of the Valleys Road improvements. He told the Senedd: 'After 23 years of roadworks and around £2bn later, [the] Welsh Government will now pay more than £40m a year for 30 years to a private firm before the road will be publicly owned in 2055.' Mr Owen Griffiths, who represents South Wales East, criticised the Welsh Government for being 'too slow' to put forward a genuine alternative solution to M4 congestion. John Griffiths welcomed £445m from the UK spending review for rail in Wales, including three new railway stations planned in his Newport East constituency. Mr Griffiths called for urgency in taking forward the recommendations of the Burns commission 'after far too much delay'. Natasha Asghar said her constituents in South Wales East are regularly faced with bumper-to-bumper traffic and long delays on the route which is not fit for purpose. 'These never ending clogs are not just a nightmare for those stuck in them, they're also a major economic roadblock,' she said. 'The constant gridlock and unreliable nature of the M4 is undoubtedly making Wales a less attractive place to do business.' Senedd members voted 32-12 against the Tory motion following the debate on June 18.
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Calls to Welsh Government to speed up cancer diagnosis
Plaid Cymru deputy Senedd leader, Delyth Jewell, said: "Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Wales. "That's because 80 per cent of people get diagnosed too late to receive life-saving treatment, and half lose their lives within three months. "We have to see more people getting their diagnosis earlier to save so many more precious lives." Minister for children and social care Dawn Bowden acknowledged the 'heartbreaking' late diagnosis rates, and said the government is focusing on rapid access to diagnostic treatment. She said: "We're working with the NHS to determine the long-term service model for pancreatic and liver cancer surgery." The minister agreed to meet with Ms Jewell and Pancreatic Cancer UK to discuss improvement strategies. Pancreatic Cancer UK's head of devolved nations, Dawn Crosby, said: "It is vital that the Welsh Government keep up this momentum with more action, more investment, and more attention."
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Bluetongue rules 'devastating', warn opposition politicians
Bluetongue restrictions placed on livestock moving from England to Wales will have a "devastating" impact on farmers, opposition politicians have 1 July all cattle, sheep and goats being transported across the border will need to test negative for the disease before they can be moved into bluetongue has spread across large parts of England, it has yet to reach Wales this year and the Welsh government says its policy is aimed at holding the virus back "for as long as we can".However, the farming industry has warned the implications of the decision could be "catastrophic" for cross-border trade. The matter was raised during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday by Plaid Cymru MP for Caerfyrddin Ann Davies, who said Welsh farmers were "taking hit after hit"."Over 550 farms on the border and key livestock markets rely on summer trading," she said, adding that the "disruption" caused by movement restrictions will be "devastating".Davies called on the UK government to "work with the Welsh government on a scheme to compensate for losses".In response, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner - standing in for the prime minister - said the UK government would make sure "that we support Wales and support Welsh farmers". Spread by midges, bluetongue presents no threat to food safety or human health, but can be fatal for livestock, including sheep and cattle.A restricted zone (RZ) in England - limiting the movement of animals - has continued to expand over recent months as the disease has UK government has now decided to designate the whole of England as an RZ from 1 July, meaning an end to movement controls within England, prompting the Welsh government's restrictions, announced by Wales' Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies, will see farmers have to obtain and pay for pre-movements tests and licenses for animals being moved from England to Wales. 'Altar of stupidity' The matter was debated in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday when Irranca-Davies told Members of the Senedd (MSs) that he had taken the "finely-balanced decision" to impose the limits because he "cannot and will not in all good conscience simply invite bluetongue into Wales".Welsh Conservatives MS Andrew RT Davies said "this is a bit like telling a retailer, in the run-up to Christmas, that they can't get any of the goods that they need to help their customers get their presents".The decision "puts the livestock industry here in Wales on the altar of stupidity," he Cymru's rural affairs spokesman Llyr Gruffydd said Irranca-Davies had made "the wrong call"."I have to say, 'where have you been?' We've known for months and months, if not years, that bluetongue is on its way," he Liberal Democrats' leader Jane Dodds told the Senedd that "for farms on the border, many of which I is severe concern, severe stress on farmers".
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
Wrexham ‘unable to resist speculative developments'
Counsel general Julie James was quizzed about Wrexham's LDP – a key document guiding future developments, which has been mired in controversy with councillors twice rejecting it. In December, Mark Jones, a Plaid Cymru councillor, led a successful Court of Appeal case – with the court ruling that the council did not have to adopt an LDP. The Welsh Government was denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, with Ms James telling the Senedd on Tuesday that ministers accept and respect the decision. But she warned: 'Wrexham has no plan in place. And the difficulty for Wrexham then is that, in resisting speculative developments, not having a plan in place is a real problem…. 'Legal threats' 'The real issue here is how we can work with Wrexham Council to get a plan that will enable them to resist speculative development and have the kind of development that they and we both want in a timely fashion. 'At the moment, there's no quick route to that but we are very happy to work with the council to get into that position.' During counsel general questions in the Senedd on June 17, Mabon ap Gwynfor pressed Ms James about the precedent and implications arising from the case for all 22 Welsh councils. The Plaid Cymru Senedd member said: 'Take away all of the noise surrounding the issue, the fact that the ruling was in favour of the councillors and against large developers and this government makes it clear that local democracy should be respected. 'Other LDPs that were heavily amended by this government were challenged by councillors but ultimately adopted because councillors were told that they had to adopt them or risk being taken to court.' 'Three options' Ms James told the Senedd that Wrexham now has three choices: 'They can ask the Welsh Government to withdraw the plan and start again. 'They can leave the current LDP as an emerging plan and continue from there, to go back through the process, or they can ask us to adopt the plan for them. It's a matter for them to decide which of those to do. MOST READ 'We've always taken the view… the council should adopt its own plan, and not step in across them to do that although the Welsh Government has the power to do that, just to be clear. Much of the discussion with Wrexham was about the fact that we didn't want to do that.' Ms James added: 'We accept the court has decided the rules are different to the way we've been interpreting them and that's something that has to be taken into account going forward. We'll have to look again at what those rules look like and how to adjust the system for that.' She shut down suggestions other LDPs could be revisited, saying all other plans have been adopted 'so there isn't an option for them to unadopt the plan at this point'.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Politics
- Wales Online
Wales' First Minister says 'lessons need to be learned' over grooming gang abuse
Wales' First Minister says 'lessons need to be learned' over grooming gang abuse The Conservative group leader in Wales said sexual exploitation of children had been 'happening right under our noses here in Wales' Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan has said "lessons need to be learned" over the sexual exploitation of children an opposition politician claimed had been "happening right under our noses here in Wales". Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar asked questions to the First Minister about the issue on Tuesday, June 17. He had previously raised the case of a Welsh survivor of child sexual exploitation who goes by the pseudonym Emily Vaughn. She has previously shared her story to raise awareness of the impact of abuse on victims By the age of 20 Emily was raped more than 1,500 times after she was transported from Wales to Telford where she was sexually abused on a regular basis for six months which you can read about here. Her story was used by the Welsh Conservatives to add weight to their calls for a Welsh-specific inquiry in a previous discussion in the Senedd. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. The Senedd voted against those calls in January but Plaid Cymru's amendment – which called for an all-Wales audit – was unanimously agreed and you can see the details of that here. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has now announced an England and Wales-wide inquiry following a report from Baroness Louise Casey who led an audit into abuse and exploitation. Her report was published on Monday, June 16. Article continues below Senedd Conservative group leader Mr Millar said the Casey report made numerous references to Wales "including exploitation of children by a gang in Wrexham and the case of a 13-year-old girl who was sexual abused by three men yet was on a child protection plan just for neglect rather than sexual exploitation". He told the Senedd: "The evidence is clear: sexual exploitation has been happening right under our noses here in Wales and concerningly Baroness Casey also referred to more than 1,000 under-18s receiving support at sexual assault referral centres here in Wales in just 2023-24 alone and that appears to be more than twice the rate of under-18s presenting at such centres in England. That is alarming.". Mr Millar said he had asked the Welsh Government to publish its correspondence with the police, local authorities, social services, and other stakeholders in January. He said: "It took five weeks for the Welsh Government to issue a simple three-sentence response. "It didn't publish the information, it issued what I regarded as a dismissive three-sentence response, and the Casey report also suggests that the Welsh Government has failed to provide information that she also requested and it warned that fear of being accused of racism has deterred authorities from acting both here in Wales and in other parts of the UK. "So, will you guarantee, First Minister, that there will now be full co-operation with the national inquiry?" Mrs Morgan replied: "Obviously we'll be looking at the recommendations to ensure that there is full co-operation. I have written to the home secretary to ensure that Welsh issues and any recent events as well as historic events will be investigated and analysed by this inquiry. It is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed so I think that lessons need to be learned. "We mustn't shy away from collecting data on the ethnicity of perpetrators. "I think that abuse is abuse and it must be condemned, irrespective of where it comes from, but what we will do is to ensure that we comply and we work with the inquiry to make sure that we do everything we can to stop this hideous approach and that the things that are happening to young girls in our community stops." Article continues below
