MP supports charities in conference speech

The right of charities to campaign and to provide services for people in need has been at the heart of what it's meant to be a charity in Britain for over 100 years.

That was the message from Susan Elan Jones MP (pictured) to a capacity meeting of charities at this week's Labour Party Conference.

The Clwyd South MP is co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Charities and a Shadow Wales Office Minister.

She said: "I was delighted to speak at such a well-attended meeting of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and also join in a discussion with audience members and other speakers.

 

"Charities make our local area, our country and our world a better place, and it was great to be able to discuss the future of charities at this important event." 

Community hub idea for old health centre

* The former health centre in Regent Street is empty since the opening of the new facility in Mill Street.

LLANGOLLEN’S former health centre should be turned into a business and community hub.

That’s the suggestion by a member of the town’s Cittaslow group, which fosters economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Following the recent move by the local GP practice to a new health centre in Mill Street, questions have been raised about the future of the old building, the former National School in Regent Street.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which owns the building adjacent to St Collen’s church hall, says it is now looking at selling or finding an alternative use for it.   

Mike Edwards, a board member of Llangollen Cittaslow and also a member of the Keep Llangollen Special (KLS) community group, said: “I feel this is the health board's opportunity to help the people of Llangollen by making the property available as a business and community hub (BACH) which the chair of the Keep Llangollen Special group has already constructively discussed with Simon Dean, the acting chief executive of BCUHB.

“The idea would be to provide facilities for Llangollen's multiple small independent business and residents to offer them meeting space, ITC infrastructure for co-ordinated web and social media marketing, business start-up support, training and development to help them compete in the current volatile economy.

“It could have back-office provision such as secretarial, administration, printing and photocopying. The facility could also offer help and support for vulnerable people in our community.”

He added: “KLS would like to work with all other interested community based organisations and groups, including Cittaslow and Llangollen Food Assembly, to progress this scheme and develop a business case and plan to secure suitable grant aid and financial support.

“It should be remembered that an open market sale of the property by the health board would be complicated and difficult due to existence of the church hall co-joining the former GP surgery and the car park which is understood to be owned by the Church in Wales with rights of way and useage granted and enjoyed by the church body.

“It is also understood the local social housing providers have already turned down an offer to acquire the property.

“Another relevant factor is that the building was originally provided by voluntary public subscriptions so is and always has been an asset of community significance.”

A spokesperson for BCUHB said: “The property is owned by the health board and, following completion of the new primary care resource centre, has been identified as surplus to the health board’s requirements.

“As such we will now follow the Welsh Government guidance for the disposal assets. This may include sale or alternative use subject to the appropriate approvals.”

Silver Band's fashion fundraiser

Llangollen Silver Band will be holding a fundraising and social evening at the Band Room in Parade Street on Saturday November 14 at 7.30 pm.

The event includes a sale of nearly new ladies clothes, bags and jewellery.

There will also be a buffet, raffle and drinks for sale.

Tickets are £3 and are available to purchase from the Honey Pots shop in Llangollen and from the band room on Monday evenings (7-9pm) and Friday evenings (6-8:30pm).

Tickets include entry with buffet and one drink (there will be more drinks for sale).

A band spokesman said: "We ask that those coming bring one or two items of good quality unwanted clothing, bags or jewellery to add to the sale if they can."

Ll20 hit by powercut

Update ...

The power was back on again at around 10pm.

It's understood that one event affected by the outage was the St Collen's harvest supper at the Royal Hotel.

Luckily, however, the power didn't go off until after the main course had been served.


Llangollen suffered a power cut at around 8.45 this evening.
ScottishPower emergency line says a large number of properties in the LL20 area are affected and that teams have been despatched to deal with promlem caused by a fault in an overhead power line.

New ambulance response system gets green for go

THE Welsh Ambulance Service will embark on its pioneering new clinical model pilot this week.

 

Under the new model, those patients in imminent danger of death will get a life-saving response as quickly as possible.

 

All other patients else will have a response based on their clinical needs, but it might not always equal a trip to hospital – it could be a referral to NHS Direct Wales or their GP.

 

It is hoped the new model will end the current practice of sending multiple ambulances to a 999 call in order to meet the eight-minute target.

 

The pilot was established after the McClelland review recommended that Welsh Government move away from the eight-minute target to a more intelligent set of indicators, which put a greater emphasis on patient outcomes and experience.

 

The changes will come into effect on October 1.

 

Dr Brendan Lloyd, Medical Director at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “Since 1974 our ambulance service has been measured by the time it takes to reach emergency calls.

 

“Para-medicine and pre-hospital care has developed rapidly since then, but the focus is still on how many ambulances arrive at calls within eight minutes regardless of the clinical outcome.

 

“That’s why we’re moving away from time-based targets to look more at the quality of what we do for our patients once we arrive.

“Having an ambulance arrive at a patient’s door quickly does not necessarily translate to a better outcome for the patient, but having the right type of vehicle arrive at a patient’s door and timely transport to a treatment centre does.”

 

The new model will introduce three new categories of calls – red, amber and green – to replace the current system.

 

RED calls are immediately life-threatening calls – someone is in imminent danger of death, such as a cardiac arrest.

There is compelling clinical evidence to show an immediate emergency response will make a difference to a person’s outcome.

The eight-minute target will be retained for this group of calls with an initial target of 65% receiving an eight-minute response

AMBER calls refer to those patients with conditions which may need treatment and care at the scene and fast transport to a healthcare facility, if needed.

Patients will be prioritised on the basis of clinical need and patients will receive a fast, blue light response.

There will be no time-based target for amber calls, but a range of clinical outcome indicators will be introduced to measure the quality, safety and timeliness of care being delivered alongside patient experience information, which will be published every quarter.

GREEN calls are less urgent calls, which can often be managed by other health services, like GPs, or through self-care.

This category also includes calls from healthcare professionals, which will be handled in a different, planned way in the future.

 

Dr Lloyd added: “In order to meet the complex and growing demands on our ambulance service, we need to transform the way we deliver our services.

 

“This new model will make our ambulance service among the most progressive in the world.”

 

* There is a more information about the pilot on the Trust’s website.

 

You can also keep abreast of news and updates by following the Welsh Ambulance Service on Twitter @WelshAmbulance and on Facebook.

Government announces help for retailers

Economy Minister Edwina Hart has announced the Welsh Government has extended and enhanced the Wales Retail Relief scheme for 2015-16 to help retail businesses cut up to £1500 off their rates bill.

 

orth Wales South East Wales South West Wales Last year more than10,500 retailers benefited from the scheme which cut annual rates bills by up to £1000.

Edwina Hart is encouraging eligible retail, food and drink businesses to take advantage of the additional savings offered in the current financial year by the Wales Retail Relief scheme.

The Minister said: “The Welsh Government introduced Wales Retail Relief last year to help retailers across Wales, many of which were experiencing difficult trading conditions. I am pleased that more than 10,500 businesses benefited from reduced rates that helped cut their costs and improved their bottom line.

“I hope many more businesses will take advantage of the extended and enhanced scheme that we have launched this year and I would encourage them to contact their local authorities that are administering the scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government.

“Our town and village centres need successful traders and Wales Retail Relief contributes to the package of Welsh Government support aimed at developing vibrant and sustainable town centres.”

Ratepayers that stand to benefit from this relief will be occupying properties that have a rateable value of £50,000 or less, that are wholly or mainly being used as retail premises - shops, restaurants, cafes and drinking establishments.

The relief is available until 31 March 2016 and offers up to £1,500 subject to state aid limits. Business that benefited from relief last year can also apply for the current relief.

The announcement came during High Street Week, the highlight of the Welsh Government’s ‘Support Your High Street’ campaign, which encourages people to make use of the excellent shops and businesses available on their doorstep.

* Detailed guidance is available on our website here: Wales Retail Relief.

Concerns over self-catering businesses raised by AM

Speaking in the Assembly Chamber this week, North Wales AM Mark Isherwood has twice raised the concerns of North Wales businesses that  Welsh Government proposals for changes to the non-domestic rating of self-catering businesses will have “horrendous unintended consequences for truly genuine Welsh businesses”.

 

Mr Isherwood (pictured below) raised the matter in this week’s Business Statement, and the following day with the Economy Minister.   

Speaking in the Business Statement he said: “Could I ask you to bring to the Chamber the Welsh Government’s proposals for changes to the non-domestic rating of self-catering businesses in Wales before you lay your proposed Order on this, expected imminently, certainly before Christmas?

 

“You will be, no doubt, aware that the Wales Association of Self Catering Operators, the only membership body specifically representing self-catering operators in Wales, has said that any proposed measures enacted by the Welsh Government should enhance the positive contribution self-catering makes to the Welsh economy and that translating the concept of 70 days’ occupancy and 140 days’ availability into firm rules should allow for mitigation in those unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances where bone fide businesses are unable to meet either criterion for reasons clearly and certifiably outside of their control.

 

“I’ll quote one operator only, although I’ve been deluged from North Wales: ‘The Welsh Government proposals have horrendous unintended consequences for truly genuine Welsh businesses that are beyond their control. It will be the death knell for small self-catering and many other businesses in the heart of rural Wales, especially north Wales.’”

 

The Minister for Finance and Government Business Jane Hutt AM told Mr Isherwood  to write to the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport about this, but the following day Mr Isherwood raised it directly with the Minister in the Chamber.

 

He said:  “In a letter they sent to all AMs on August 31^st, the Wales Association of Self Catering Operators expressed concern about the way the Welsh Government perceives self-catering in Wales and that the Welsh Government is insufficiently aware  that self-catering in Wales is an important business sector in its own right, employing large numbers of people, supporting local suppliers and benefitting local rural economies.”

 

Mr Isherwood added:  “The Minister’s dismissive response was alarming and I will now be writing to her in the hope of a better response. As someone in North Wales with 18 properties told me ‘these are not second homes, this is a letting business.’”