Funding row could hit Welsh policing warns PCC

* North Wales PCC Arfon Jones.

A row over how police training is funded could result in 200 fewer officers in Wales - and potential recruits choosing to sign up to work for English forces instead.

That's the warning from the four police and crime commissioners and the chief constables in Wales who are calling for urgent action over the controversial Apprenticeship Levy that's putting Welsh forces at a "huge disadvantage".

The All-Wales Policing Group has voiced its concerns in a letter to Professor Mark Drakeford, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government.

The group's chair, Arfon Jones, who is also the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, says the four Welsh forces are paying a total of £2 million and he fears they'll get nothing back in return.

The UK Government has agreed a funding deal for the levy for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland under which each of the devolved governments will receive a share of the money paid in based on their population.

In England the money forces pay into the levy go the English police college but in Wales it goes to the Welsh Government which is due to get back a total of almost £400,000,000 over the next three years.

But Mr Jones says that because the Welsh Government is not responsible for policing there’s a big question mark over whether any of the money paid in by Welsh police forces, including North Wales, can be spent on officer training.

According to Mr Jones, recruitment was being seriously hampered.

He said: "We are most concerned that the uncertainty that exists in Wales will create a situation where English forces are more attractive to potential recruits than Welsh forces.

Ultimately, this will be to the detriment of Welsh communities.

"Welsh police forces are now at a serious financial disadvantage and in future will be disadvantage in terms of training compared to our English counterparts.

"Under the English funding model, 92 per cent of the costs of training would be met through the Apprenticeship Levy, with only eight per cent being borne directly by the forces.

"In contrast, the funding arrangements in Wales mean that forces here would have to bear between 95 and 100 per cent of the costs themselves.

"Under such pressures, Welsh forces might have to lower the standard of training and it would be regrettable to break away from the uniform standards that are currently in place.

"Being force to fund the training from existing resources would inevitably have an impact on front-line policing.

"We believe the problem is an unintended consequence of how funding from Whitehall to the devolved government in Wales is calculated via the Barnett Formula.

"We are seeking an urgent resolution to this issue because an unfunded cost of nearly £10 million of the Police Education Qualifications Framework is equivalent to 200 fewer officers in Wales - this equates to 86 officers in South Wales, 45 in North Wales, 35 in Dyfed Powys and 34 in Gwent.

"This will be in addition to the reductions that Welsh forces have already suffered since 2010, which has seen a reduction of over 2,500 police officers and staff, equivalent to the entire resources of North Wales Police.

"We appreciate that Cabinet Secretaries and Welsh civil servants have been extremely constructive in the support that has been offered to date.

"However, we request the Welsh Government's support in urgently escalating this matter with the UK Government.

"We cannot have a situation where Welsh forces either fall behind England in the quality of education for officers or having to make further significant reductions in our numbers. Operationally, either choice is intolerable.

"We cannot resolve these two very unattractive alternatives in a way that safeguards the interests of our communities without the active and constructive intervention of both Cardiff and Whitehall Governments."

Success for rural surgery campaigners

Funding for a rural surgery will be partially reinstated by the Health Board following a campaign by local representatives and patients.

Corwen Family Practice were informed earlier this year that their £52,000 Rural Support Payment was to be phased out.

But the surgery gathered the support of the community it serves and appealed the decision.

Supporters collected over 600 signatures on a petition, and community leaders sent representations to the Health Board calling on them to maintain their financial support.

One of the coordinators of the campaign to ensure that the surgery retained their funds, Plaid Cymru’s Cllr Mabon ap Gwynfor, this week received a letter from the Health Board saying that they had now agreed a ‘revised transitional support package’ for the practice instead of the original proposal to cut their support.

The letter from the Board Secretary states, “The Panel agreed a revised transitional support package with a requirement that the Practice works towards achieving financial stability over a period of the next two years, with progress to be reviewed in a year’s time. The final detail is currently in the process of being confirmed between the Practice and the Health Board."

Cllr. ap Gwynfor (pictured), who represents the Llandrillo Ward, said: “This is good news. The team at the Corwen Surgery serve many thousands of people across a wide geographic area, and they go over and above what is expected of them to ensure the wellbeing of their patients.

"Losing such a significant amount of money would have been a hammer-blow to the practice, and we welcome the fact that the Health Board will instead offer a new support package.

"It’s understood that the new package won’t be as generous as the previous deal, but it won’t be far short of their original funding and will mean that the Health Practitioners there can concentrate on what they do best, which is look after the health of the people of this area, instead of having to spend their time on developing business plans to generate more income.

“Corwen Surgery has received a funding package from the Health Board for well over a decade. It’s recognised that rural areas have greater needs especially following the closure of several community Hospitals.

"This package allows Corwen to provide a broad range of services, which patients might otherwise have to travel great distances to receive.

"We sincerely hope that the Health Board will have recognised that their original proposals to cut their funding was a mistake, and that at the end of this two year period they will agree to continue with this essential funding to ensure that people in this part of Wales receive the best possible health care.”

Skates praises schools' summer clubs scheme

Assembly Member Ken Skates has praised a Welsh Government-funded summer club for schoolchildren.

Bryn Collen and Ysgol Gymraeg Y Gwernant both in Llangollen are two of 39 schools in 12 areas of Wales taking part in the first year of the Food and Fun School Holiday Enrichment Programme.

Mr Skates (pictured) said: “£500,000 of Welsh Government funding has gone towards clubs in schools during August, including four in Clwyd South. The money is helping to provide breakfast, lunch, education about healthy eating and a programme of activities.”

Mr Skates said the school summer holidays can be difficult for low-income families as children no longer get the free school meals they do during term-time. A lack of free play schemes and activities also impacts most on disadvantaged children.

He added: “It’s important that every child in Clwyd South has the opportunity to thrive and achieve their best. That is what these lunch clubs are about and I’m pleased that the Welsh Labour Government has recognised the need for it and put funding in place.”

Celebrity chef Graham heads for Hamper Llangollen

* Graham Tinsley is heading for Hamper Llangollen.

A celebrity chef who has cooked regularly for royalty and government leaders says North Wales produces some of the best food in the world.

Graham Tinsley MBE, who has prepared dishes for the Queen and Prince Charles on at least a dozen occasions and also created St David’s Day feasts at 10 Downing Street, can’t wait to showcase it at this year’s Llangollen Food Festival.

He will be leading the trio of top culinary maestros laying on a series of crowd-pulling cookery demonstrations on the second day of the festival, which will be staged at Llangollen Pavilion on October 14 and 15.

The event, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and has been named as one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK by the Daily Telegraph and Independent newspapers.

Currently executive head chef at the prestigious Carden Park in Cheshire, Graham said: “Myself and two other big-name chefs from the North Wales Culinary Guild, which I head up, will be doing six demonstrations on the Sunday of Llangollen Food Festival, featuring starters, mains and puddings.

“What they’ll all have in common is excellent local ingredients. Without doubt, North Wales produces some of the best produce in the world which I champion at every opportunity.

“I love to use things from the smaller bespoke producers, so in the demonstrations we’ll be including such things as locally sourced meat as well as ice cream, rape seed oil, honey and beer which all come from producers based just a few miles away from Llangollen and are regular exhibitors at the festival.

“And as I use them I’ll be pointing out to the people watching exactly how good they are and which stalls they can buy them from. That’s what shows like this are all about.”

Graham, who was awarded the MBE by the Queen for his services to the food industry in 2006, added: “Wherever I travel in the world I try to tell people just how good food from North Wales is.

“For instance, I was recently in holiday in Greece and took with me some of the famous Halen Mon sea salt from Anglesey. I let local chefs try it and they were very impressed as it’s quite delicate compared to the rougher kinds they have over there.

“It’s also a lovely salt to eat and I often get people just to try some when I’m doing my demonstrations.”

Graham began his career in catering at the Midland Hotel in Manchester under the guidance of renowned chef Gilbert Lefevre.

After a five-year apprenticeship and winning a collection of culinary competition medals, he extended his knowledge of international cuisine at the five-star Atlantis Sheraton in Zurich, Switzerland before returning to England to work under the influential Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

He then spent nine years with De Vere Hotels, firstly as sous chef and then as head chef at the flagship Lord Daresbury Hotel in Warrington, Cheshire.

In 1991, Graham was head hunted to help develop and open the first four star hotel in North Wales - St David's Park Hotel in Ewloe.

The hotel was such an overwhelming success that, in 1997, he was appointed to the team that developed and opened the Carden Park Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort in Cheshire, which is where he returned to take executive charge of the kitchens six years ago.

Over the course of 25 years he was in turn vice-captain, captain and then manager of the Welsh Culinary Team, which won a host of international competitions.

With the team he cooked for the Queen, Prince Charles and other members of the Royal Family on numerous occasions, as well as the Emperor of Japan and European heads of state at Cardiff Castle.

Following the opening of the Welsh Assembly’s Senedd in Cardiff, Graham supervised the celebratory luncheon for the Queen

For a number of years he was invited to 10 Downing Street by David Cameron to prepare memorable St David’s Day meals.

Graham said: “One of the highlights of my year for the past seven or eight years has been to do the cookery demonstrations at Llangollen Food.

“I think they keep inviting me back because I have the gift of the gab. I love talking to people as I’m cooking.

“I’m always a little nervous beforehand but once I get up on stage and start inter-acting with the public I feel great. It’s fantastic to get their feedback on what I’m preparing, to answer their questions and to give them some handy cookery tips."

According to Phil Davies, a member of the committee at Llangollen Food Festival, Graham is a firm favourite with the festival goers.

He said: "With his royal credentials, we can be assured that Graham and his team of culinary maestros will be demonstrating some wonderful dishes featuring some fantastic local produce.

"His message that North Wales produces some of the best food in the world and chimes perfectly with our ethos of providing a showcase for our brilliant indigenous producers.

"This year's 20th anniversary festival promises to be one of the best ever with a record number of around 130 stall-holders."

* To find out more about Llangollen Food Festival go to: www.llangollenfoodfestival.com

 

Call to step up road safety on Horseshoe Pass

* Safety concerns: From left, County Councillors Graham Timms, Martyn Holland and Melvyn Mile at the Horseshoe Pass summit. 

A spate of serious accidents has prompted a group of county councillors to make an urgent call for extra road safety measures of the Horseshoe Pass above Llangollen.

Cllrs Graham Timms and Melvyn Mile representing Llangollen along with Llandegla member Martyn Holland recently met at the Ponderosa Café at the summit of the pass to thrash out a solution to the situation which has seen three accidents in the past year.   


Cllr Timms said: “We can’t just sit back any longer whilst road users continue to get injured or killed. Something has to be done to make the area much safer for everyone.

“Over the last two months the air ambulance has visited the pass on two occasions to support seriously injured casualties in accidents on the bends on each side of the summit.” 

A road safety expert working for Denbighshire County Council met with the councillors at the café  to examine what could be done to reduce the casualty toll.

Statistics show that in almost half of the accidents over the last 10 years drivers losing control of the vehicle had been a contributory factor.

Cllr Mile said: “The road is difficult to navigate and many road users are unused to the bends and gradients on the pass, resulting in them losing control. We need to ensure that vehicles travel at sensible speeds for their own safety and the safety of others.”

The trio of councillors believes that one section of the road poses a particular hazard for pedestrians.

They say visitors who park opposite the café and have to cross the main road are in danger from fast-moving vehicles on the straight section of road as it passes the Ponderosa. 

Cllr Holland said he would support a reduction in the speed limit in his ward on the A542 from the top of the pass past the Ponderosa and through the bends down towards Llandegla.

“Large numbers of walkers and visitors cross this section of road to enjoy the paths across the moors, the spectacular views and to visit the Ponderosa,” he said.

“There have also been a number of accidents involving motorbikes on the bends between the Ponderosa and the Horseshoe Pass roundabout on the A542 and A5104 and North Wales Police have indicated that these have often involved speed.”

Cllr Holland also has concerns about the speed of traffic on the nearby Old Horseshoe Pass which is very narrow and again crossed by walkers and visitors.

Cllr Timms said that as a result of the meeting the county council will be deciding on ways to make the road safer for everyone and proposals will go out for consultation in the next few months.
 
The Horseshoe Pass is a popular destination for coach tours and cars. It is also a favourite with large numbers of motorcyclists who visit the area on Sundays. 

County offers work opportunities to designers

Denbighshire print and graphic designers are being offered the chance to be considered for future opportunities offered by Denbighshire County Council.

The Print and Graphic Design Framework tender, created in conjunction with Flintshire County Council, will offer local print and graphic designers the chance to be included on the framework.

Suppliers not on the framework will not be eligible to bid for forthcoming opportunities for the length of the framework.

Although local suppliers cannot be guaranteed a place on the framework due to European Procurement Regulations, local suppliers and newly formed businesses are being encouraged to access the tender and submit their bids for inclusion on the framework.

The Framework Agreement will be awarded to successful tenderers for an initial period of two years with the option of a further two, one-year extensions.

The tender will be separated into 3 lots, for print, graphic design and banners and signage.

Suppliers will have the opportunity, and may wish to apply for inclusion on either one, two or all three lots.

Each section will be evaluated by ‘price and quality’ criteria and the highest scoring suppliers will be awarded to those lots.

The estimated combined annual spend for the three lots is £560,000.

Increasing opportunities for local businesses to secure contracts with Denbighshire County Council is part of the Council’s work on developing the local economy by creating employment opportunities and job creation, as well as sustaining existing jobs.

* Full details of the requirements, including specifications, evaluation methods and questions will be available at Sell2 Wales website - www.Sell2Wales.com and Proactis.com at https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login#

Action plan to halt rise in women's jail sentences

An action plan has been launched to reverse the shock rise in short jail sentences dished out to women in North Wales

The "worrying trend", which saw an 88 per cent increase from 40 in 2010 to 75 in 2015, was highlighted at a special summit hosted by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones (pictured)

As a result Mr Jones, the Prison Reform Trust and around 20 other agencies, have proposed a series of urgent recommendations after hearing that that proportionately more jail sentences of six months or less were handed out to women in North Wales than almost anywhere else in the UK.

All of the report's recommendations have now been accepted by the North Wales Criminal Justice Board and have been included in their delivery plan for the next year.

One of the main priorities is that there should be more out-of-court solutions like cautions, community sentences and referrals for specialist support from organisations like the North Wales Women's Centre in Rhyl.

According to Arfon Jones, there was often a link between women's offending and the fact that they had been victims of domestic violence or trafficking which could lead to a series of other issues like mental health problems, drug-taking or prostitution.

Mr Jones said: "The paucity of mental health services, long waiting times and prohibitive need thresholds are a real challenge with implications for police time.

"Many women who come into contact with criminal justice system have mental health needs and learning disabilities, and psychiatric services are currently the biggest referrer to North Wales Women’s Centre in Rhyl.

"There is good evidence to show that women’s centres are more effective than prison in reducing women’s offending.

"Recent experience from Manchester and the North Wales Women’s Centre demonstrates that these services can help turn around the lives of women and enhance existing public service provision.

"Such services are cost effective and can leverage in additional funding but in order to do so they require long-term stable funding from key statutory partners.  

"Everybody was agreed about the need to make the needs of children a real priority because women are more often than not the primary carer.

"The urgency of the situation has been underlined by new figures from the Ministry of Justice.

"They show the total number of women sentenced to custody in North Wales has continued to rise and has now reached 116 - the highest it has been since at least 2011 and a rise of almost 60 per cent over five years."

Mr Jones also paid tribute to the tireless campaigning on the issue by Howard Thomas, the former chief probation officer of North Wales.

He added: "Howard Thomas deserves a huge amount of credit for all the hard work and lobbying he has done to shine a light on this important issue."

For his part, Mr Thomas welcomed the action plan as a major step forward.

He pointed to the fact that national statistics showed one third of women prisoners lost their homes, and often their possessions, while serving their sentence and that 38 per cent of them did not have accommodation organised when they were released.

Mr Thomas said: “Being sent to prison, even if it’s only for a short period of time, has a major impact on the lives of the women affected and also on their families.

"It also makes their rehabilitation, which is of paramount importance, more difficult as evidenced by the 61 per cent reconviction rate for those serving short sentences.

"A former governor of Styal Prison commented he had never come across such a concentration of damaged, fragile and complex needs individuals. He rightly called for the immediate end to short sentences and suggested that half the women in his former prison should never have been sent there."

The Prison Reform Trust, were given a grant by the Big Lottery to carry out a programme of work across the UK called Transforming Lives aimed at reducing the unnecessary use of custody for women, particularly short sentences.

       

Senior programme officer Dr Thomas Guiney said: “Many women serve extremely short custodial sentences. The average stay at HMP Styal is seven to eight weeks and this provides little opportunity for effective rehabilitation and resettlement planning. 

"Many of those attending highlighted the role of women as primary carers. There is a clear and well evidenced link between a mother’s imprisonment and adverse childhood experiences. There is scope for greater use of out of court disposals at the point of arrest and prosecution. "