Welsh Government offered some income tax control

The Welsh Government will be offered some control over income tax subject to a referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron has said this morning.

See the full story on the BBC news website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-24763988

Wales's Finance Minister Jane Hutt has welcomed the UK Government's announcement.

 

She said: "This is excellent news for Wales, and a significant milestone in our story of devolution.  It gives the National Assembly and the Welsh Government new responsibilities and significant opportunities to boost jobs and support the Welsh economy.

 

"These changes mean that, in the next few years, Wales will be in a position to tackle the improvements required for the M4, and to shape its own taxes, including the much needed reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax.  A future Assembly will also be able to call a referendum on the devolution of rate-varying powers for income tax."

While the details are to follow, the UK Government has committed to legislate for the new powers within the lifetime of the current UK Parliament.

Councillor acts on smoke incident

* One of Cllr Phil Thane's pictures of the smoke over Llangollen.

A Llangollen councillor made a formal complaint to the county council after smoke billowed across part of the town on Thursday morning.

Cllr Phil Thane, a member of the town council, took several pictures of the incident which he says led to smoke “filling the valley” at one stage.

And he passed on the details of it to the Denbighshire’s pollution and public health team.

Later in the day, a council officer replied to Cllr Thane, saying the source of the smoke had been contacted and warned about such burning.

Safety advice for Halloween and Bonfire Night

Denbighshire County Council’s Trading Standards Section and North Wales Police say they will be working to try and make Halloween and Bonfire night as enjoyable as possible for local people.

A spokesperson from Denbighshire Trading Standards Section has said: “October 31 and November 5 are dates that have long been associated with parties and family fun, but for some they can be nights to forget.   

"On Halloween elderly people can be left frightened and intimidated by youngsters calling at their home asking for trick or treat - particularly when the callers are in costume.

"Similarly, families can find their evenings disrupted and their pets driven to distraction by the blasts and bangs from fireworks exploding on Bonfire Night.

"Nuisance behaviour at Halloween had been a recurring problem in years gone by. In relation to anti-social behaviour Halloween has often been a bigger problem than Bonfire Night.  

"This is because of the shock some elderly and vulnerable people get when they find someone dressed in a terrifying outfit on their doorstep or from people persistently knocking on their doors.

"We don't want to stop anyone enjoying themselves, but we would ask that they bear in mind the elderly and vulnerable people in our community who may not want callers knocking on their door late at night.

"We would ask the youngsters who got out trick or treating to make Halloween as pleasant as possible for the households they call on, by being polite and courteous to those they meet. Parents should ensure that their children are suitably advised as to possible ramifications involving elderly residents. A message they may wish to employ is to imagine they are visiting their own grandparents.

"Many of the problems associated with Bonfire night would not take place if certain residents just stopped to think of being more neighbourly.

"There are several organised displays in Denbighshire, scheduled for Bonfire night and we would recommend people attend those rather than have their own fireworks party in their back garden, for both safety and social reasons.

"However, if people want to hold their own event we would ask that they inform their neighbours well ahead of time, by calling in person or by popping a note through their letterbox. Many complaints spring out of people not telling their neighbours that they are planning to hold a firework display at their home and most importantly when the fireworks were going to be let off.

"The residents then have a chance to make arrangements in relation to any pets they may keep, or to make plans to go out if they don't want to listen to the noise.

"We would also ask that people, no matter how experienced, please take all the usual safety precautions, accidents happen when you become lax about the danger that you may be in.

"Fireworks are explosives and should be treated with great care and respect." The council and the police have issued the following safety advice:

1.        Only buy fireworks marked BS 7114 and from reputable outlets.
2.        Don't drink alcohol if setting off fireworks.
3.        Keep fireworks in a closed box.
4.        Follow the instructions on each firework.
5.        Light them at arm's length, using a taper.
5.        Stand well back.
6.        Never go near a firework that has been lit. Even if it hasn't gone off, it could still explode.
7.        Never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them.
8.        Always supervise children around fireworks.
9.        Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves.
10        Never give sparklers to children under five.
11.        Keep pets indoors.
12.        Don't set off noisy fireworks late at night and never after 11pm.
13.         If having a bonfire, prior to lighting check carefully for wildlife and when finished dampen it down fully. Never light or store fireworks near the bonfire.

Anyone that chooses to use fireworks in an anti-social and irresponsible manner could find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Under the Fireworks Act there is a now a curfew preventing people from letting off fireworks between 11pm and 7am.  I

If people are holding a fireworks party on November 5, the last rocket must have gone off by 11pm or they could find themselves liable for prosecution.

It is now illegal for children under 18 to buy or in fact be in the possession of fireworks.

Denbighshire Trading Standards will be undertaking inspections and test purchases to each premise which sell fireworks to ensure compliance with firework legislation and age restricted products.

Twenty Club cancels Rebecca

The Twenty Club has had to cancel its production of Rebecca, due to have been staged at Llangollen Town Hall next week.

A group spokesman said tonight (Wednesday): "With sadness, due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to cancel our production of Rebecca' originally scheduled to take place next week.

"This is the first time that this has happened in the club's 67-year history and needless to say everyone involved is hugely disappointed.

"We apologise to anyone who had made plans to come and see the production and hope that no inconvenience has been caused.

"On a more positive note, we are able to announce the March 2014 production.

"In order to mark the centenary of World War 1 we will be staging The Accrington Pals by Peter Whelan. We hope you will all be able to attend."

North Wales ambulance response target missed again

Figures released today show that the all-Wales Welsh Ambulance response time target been missed for September.

 

The eight-minute target has not been met since May 2012.

 

The Welsh Government’s target is for 65% of ambulances to respond to Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls within eight minutes, yet figures for September show that only 62.9% of ambulances arrived within that time.

 

In England and Scotland the target for the same priority call is 75%.

 

Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, commented: “Despite the best efforts of the hard working front line paramedics, another month goes by and yet another health target missed by Welsh Labour.

 

“It is bad enough that people i n Wales have to put up with a government that is less ambitious than those in England and Scotland, but for those unambitious targets to not be met just compounds that misery.

 

“Labour MP Ann Clwyd is right when she says Wales is behind England in every instance. The First Minister and his Health Minister need to stop burying their heads in the sand and start delivering the health service the people of Wales deserve.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “September was a busy month for us, with the service taking 33,677 emergency calls, with more than a third of these - 13,200 calls - being of the most serious in nature.

“We have introduced a number of measures to improve our responsiveness and it is encouraging to see that we are now showing signs of continuous improvement.

“We would like to reassure the public that the Trust is firmly committed to delivering the improvement aims of its ‘Working Together for Success’ modernisation programme to provide the best quality of care for the people of Wales.

“We invite the public to support NHS Wales’ Choose Well campaign, so that busy emergency services are available to those who need them most urgently. For non-emergencies, please consider calling NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47 or visiting www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk for free, confidential health advice.

“We ask the public only to dial 999 for life-threatening and serious illnesses and injuries – let’s keep emergency ambulances for emergencies.”

 

The statistics can be found at:

 

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/health2013/ambulance-services-september-2013/?lang=en

Wales to spend £850,000 on marking WW1 anniversary

The First Minister Carwyn Jones, has officially launched the Framework Programme for Wales’s Commemoration of the First World War, Cymru’n Cofio – Wales Remembers 1914-1918, and announced that £850k will made available by the Welsh Government to support the educational programme to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the conflict.

 

 

The First Minister made the announcement at the official launch of the Programme at Firing Line: Cardiff Castle Museum of the Welsh Soldier.

He said: "The centenary of the start of the war in 1914 marks an important opportunity for us to remember all those who took part in the First World War and the transformational impact of the conflict in shaping modern Wales.

"There will be very few people in Wales whose lives have not been affected by the First World War’s enduring legacy, whether they are aware of it or not. That’s why we want education and community events to play a central role.

"I want the commemoration in Wales to be inclusive, with national events and exhibitions accompanied by community-based activities.

"We want to reach everyone and I encourage you to visit the new Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 website where you will find information about events, projects and funding, and signposting services relevant to activities in Wales."

In line with the First Minister’s desire for the commemoration to have an educational legacy, the £850k will be used to produce digital educational resources and enable schools to develop a suitable programme of activities to mark the centenary.

The Education Minister Huw Lewis said: "Making sure that young people understand the events and consequences of the conflict is a key objective for the commemoration programme.

"The funding we are allocating will allow the National Library of Wales to lead a major project to develop bilingual, cross-curriculum learning resources, including an innovative 'app' which will act as a Welsh guide to the battlefields.

"In addition, every secondary school in Wales will receive £1,000 to develop creative and innovative projects to commemorate the war and to encourage debate and discussion. We have left it to schools to decide how best they can do this and it may be that schools will group together to undertake collaborative projects to mark the anniversary."

The First Minister added: "Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 will develop over the years to come and will link with the wider commemorations of the First World War that are taking place in the rest of the UK and around the World.

"It will be a fitting and Wales-wide commemoration, which will pay tribute to those people whose sacrifice is justly remembered by us all."

Skates welcomes £2.4 million debt advice boost

CLWYD South Assembly Member Ken Skates has welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement it will spend an extra £2.4m to provide advice on debt, money management and housing in some of Wales’ most deprived areas.

 

Labour AM Mr Skates said the new services announced recently (October 23) by Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty Vaughan Gething will give ‘a huge boost’ to people struggling in some of the country’s poorest communities.

 

Mr Skates said: “Given the current economic climate and the Tory-led UK Government’s welfare changes, the need for advice services has increased considerably. This new funding package will allow Citizens Advice Cymru to help 36 Communities First clusters across Wales to meet this growing demand.

 

“There are two Communities First areas in Clwyd South and I am delighted a share of this £2.4m will go directly to supporting people struggling here as the ruthless cuts of the Westminster coalition continue to hit hard.”

 

Communities First is the Welsh Government’s flagship programme to help those living in the top 10% most deprived communities in the country, aiming to improve health, prosperity and access to education and learning.

 

Citizens Advice Cymru director Fran Targett said: “We are seeing a big increase in the need for help at this difficult time. People need independent, impartial advice more than ever. We welcome this funding, which will help reach some of the most vulnerable people right in the heart of their communities.”