Police boss welcomes cannabis on prescription move

A Senedd vote in favour of making cannabis available on prescription to ease pain has been hailed as “victory for common sense and compassion” by a police boss.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones (pictured) spoke out after a majority of Assembly Members backed calls for cannabis for medicinal uses to be legalised.

Mr Jones is a long-standing supporter of the idea and he believes public opinion has now swung in favour of legalisation.

He believes it is unfair and cruel that people living with conditions like multiple sclerosis who use cannabis are putting themselves at risk of being prosecuted.

As things stand, the UK Government has no plans to change the law and legalise the Class B drug.

The debate in the Senedd was triggered by Welsh Conservative AM Mark Isherwood, Labour AM Mike Hedges, and Plaid AMs Ms Wood and Rhun ap Iorwerth.

They argued there was "clinical evidence of the effectiveness of cannabis for medicinal purposes".

In the vote, 31 AMs backed calls for the Welsh Government to lobby their UK counterparts to reschedule the drug for medical use. Two voted against and 18 abstained, including the Welsh Government.

Even though the vote has no standing in law Mr Jones believes it is a step in the right direction.

He said: “This vote is a step in the right direction and a victory for common sense and compassion.

“I have a real sense the tide of public opinion has turned on this issue and now there is increasing pressure on the UK Government to take action.

"The debate around drug policy has moved on considerably in recent years and the view that cannabis for medicinal purposes should be legalised is not only held by me but is shared by many Police and Crime Commissioners of all political hues.

“My stance on drugs is a matter of record and was a part of my manifesto when I was seeking election as Commissioner, an election that I won with a significant majority.

“An All Party Parliamentary group has called for the drug’s legalisation for medicinal use and there is significant research that signposts that its use is of considerable benefit to sufferers from MS and other forms of illness and that at least 30,000 people use it daily in the UK.

“I fully support Paul Flynn's 10 minute rule bill to legalise medicinal cannabis which is due to have its Second Reading on February 23.

"Illness can be an isolating experience, especially if your medicine is illegal, and it is surely wrong that people seeking relief from suffering should be criminalised."

Young musicians score in Rotary competition

* Elizabeth Mwale receives her certificate from President Lyn Pinel.

* Joel Brown is presented with his certificate.

Each year the Rotary Club of Llangollen asks local young people if they would like to take part in a music competition. 

This year there were two entries, Elizabeth Mwale and Joel Brown, who both play in the Llangollen Silver Band.

Elizabeth, 15, has played the euphonium for the past eight years and she chose some challenging pieces to play. 

Adjudicator Eulanwy Davies congratulated Elizabeth on the way she played both My Grandfather’s Clock and Song for Ina.

Elizabeth also sang Il mio bel foco, and was commended for her "beautiful and mature" voice.

Joel, 14, who has played the baritone horn for the last seven years, gave two recitals, including Cavalier and Autumn Leaves. 

These again were commended by Eulanwy and after some deliberation she announced that both candidates would be put through to the next round. 

Both young people were presented with certificates by President Lyn Pinel.

The next round of the competition will take place in Poulton Hall, Wirral, on February 3.

Those members of the Rotary Club and Llangollen Inner Wheel present on the night felt the evening was a great success and wished both competitors the best of luck for the following rounds.

Budget goes up for discussion

Delivering a balanced budget and making a final recommendation for the council tax levels for 2018/19 were some of the items on the agenda for Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting in Ruthin today (Tuesday).

Members were asked to consider the implications of the local government budget settlement for 2018/19, which saw Denbighshire’s budget allocation from the Welsh Government continue to reduce.

The Council is now considering how to set a deliverable budget and the resulting level of council tax. Denbighshire is proposing to increase the council tax to a level that recognises specific pressures in social care and continues to support schools.

Denbighshire is not alone in considering how to fund an increased demand for funding education and, particularly, social care.  The proposed budget includes an increase of £1.8m (2.7%) in budgets for schools, and an additional allocation of £1.5 million (3.2%) to social care.  Pressures exist across the organisation and further efficiencies in all services have been identified to help deliver a balanced budget.

To support this year’s budget, Cabinet discussed a proposal to increase council tax by 4.75%. For the average Band D property, this would mean an increase of £56.58 which equates to £1.08 a week.

This will be discussed by Full Council on January 30 when it meets to set and approve the budget.

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance, said: “Over recent years, Denbighshire has planned for the budget cuts well in advance and this has helped us to carefully allocate our resources, maintaining key frontline services as much as possible.

“Whilst the actual reduction from Welsh Government is not as bad as first feared, we need to take into account a number of other factors, such as pressures in pay, pension and the National Living Wage, as well as price/energy inflation, 1% in fire service levy and allowances for increases to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

“The financial climate continues to be challenging and staff across the Council have found savings that will help us balance the books.

“We know that residents of Denbighshire demand that we protect the most vulnerable members of our society, while continuing to deliver the best possible services across the rest of the Council.  In order to address the increasing pressures in Social Care we are therefore recommending that the average Council Tax will increase by 4.75% allowing the council to invest an additional £1.5m in this area to support our most vulnerable residents".

“However, we also know that all our residents are finding the current economic situation challenging, which is why we must keep any increase in Council Tax down to the minimum necessary."

Council hits back over bridges survey

Denbighshire County Council has responded to a study which claims it has the second highest number of “sub-standard” bridges in Wales. 

The RAC Foundation survey, details of which were revealed earlier this week, found 361 out of 6,694 council-maintained bridges across the country did not meet Department for Transport standards for capacity and weight restrictions, which means they are not fit to carry the heaviest vehicles on the roads.

Newport had the highest proportion of substandard bridges (30%) followed by Denbighshire (22%) and Conwy (20%).

The survey said that 36 of Denbighshire’s 161 bridges failed to meet the standards, representing a work backlog of £11 million.

Philip Gomm, the RAC's head of external communications, said bridges were not "about to collapse" but the survey highlighted how many were incapable of supporting large vehicles such as 44-tonne lorries.

"These structures, many of which will have been built hundreds of years ago, are under relentless and growing pressure from both human activity and the elements," he said.

The RAC estimated the cost of bringing all of Wales' bridges up to a good standard would cost about £98m.

_{A spokesman for the county council said: “The figure for Denbighshire includes all bridges that have a sub-standard structural / scour assessment or where inspections have identified significant (capital sized) works.  All these bridges are being monitored, and restrictions are only being applied where necessary.}

_{“The information has enabled us to identify works necessary to make sure that our bridges remain operational and we have a 10 year investment plan to address those works.}

_{“We also made a substantial additional investment in the revenue budget for highway structures last year, which is aimed at ensuring they are adequately maintained and remain operational for the foreseeable future.”}

County has volunteering opportunities

Are you interested in volunteering with Denbighshire’s leisure or youth services?

Denbighshire County Council currently has opportunities due to its current volunteers gaining employment or fulltime training.

Those opportunities are within Community Arts, GP referral, Community Sport, the Youth Service and DofE (Duke of Edinburgh Award) across Denbighshire.

If you are interested in any of these areas, or feel you have a certain skill set to offer and would like to volunteer then you are invited to attend one of the council's drop in sessions to find out more.

All volunteers are offered free relevant training, including Certificate in Youth Work, Sports Leaders, Safeguarding, First Aid and DofE Leaders. A DBS check will be completed and ongoing support in the role will be provided.

The council says it is particularly keen to offer more volunteering opportunities to Welsh speakers.

It adds that opportunities gained through volunteering in Strategic Leisure and the Youth Service have  previously led to paid employment for the leisure, children, young people's and social care related job opportunities and can widen skills and experience.

Two drop in sessions are being arranged for those interested in volunteering:

Wednesday 31st January 5-6.30pm at Ruthin Youth Centre, Ruthin Youth Centre, Ruthin, LL15 1NT and Monday 29^th January 5-6.30pm at the Oaktree Centre, Ffordlas Road, Rhyl, LL18 2DY.

* For more information please contact Sian Bennett, Health and Wellbeing Manager 01824 712710 sian.bennett@denbighshire.gov.uk

County helps chamber re-design its website

Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism has been given funding from Denbighshire County Council to redesign its website and to fund social media courses for businesses.

The chamber represents and helps promote more than 60 businesses in the town including independent traders, food producers and tourism businesses.

David Davies, chair of the chamber, said: “Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism’s website launched in 2011 and achieved excellent viewing figures.

“However, it was recognised smartphones required a more functional, responsive design to sustain engagement and last year, with financial support from Denbighshire County Council, a local website designer updated the layout, colour scheme and typeface.

“This made the website more accessible and has improved engagement. The upgrade is not just a ‘refresh’ but a key development in our social media strategy supporting businesses in Llangollen.”

Denbighshire County Council also provided financial support for two social media training courses, delivered by the  Retail Skills Academy, for members to increase and develop their knowledge of social media as part of its work to develop the local economy by supporting local businesses.

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire County Council, said: “Promoting your business online is vital to get your message out to the widest possible audience and to increase sales.

“It is great to see businesses in Llangollen engage with the Council and take advantage of the support available to help promote the town to both visitors and residents.

“As a Council we provide training and workshop sessions for businesses covering a wide range of subjects, including social media.

“Every year we listen to businesses by asking them to complete our business survey and plan training sessions around the responses.”

In 2016 Denbighshire County Council provided 40 hours of free practical training sessions to 123 businesses and 27 hours of free advice sessions to 289 businesses.

Mr Davies added: “I’d like to thank the Council for providing this support to members of the chamber. The redesigned website has seen an increase in traffic and businesses have benefited from help promoting themselves online.”

* If you would like more information on what support or advice is available for your business contact econ.dev@denbighshire.gov.uk or 01824 706896.

Corwen-based project marks £350,000 boost

<sub>A four-year project to tackle rural poverty and isolation in part of the county has received a £350,000 boost from the Big Lottery.

The cash will go South Denbighshire Community Partnership and Citizens Advice Denbighshire for their joint project, Your Place or Ours, which aims to address rural poverty and isolation through a number initiatives across the Edeyrnion area.</sub>

<sub>This will include a variety of  community events and activities, meals on wheels and dial a ride service, reducing personal stress associated with low income, gains in welfare benefits and grants, lifting households out of fuel and income poverty and pre-negotiated personal indebtedness.    

A special launch event to celebrate the grant will be held from 10am-noon at Canolfan Ni in Corwen on Friday January 26.

Sally Lloyd Davies, Community Engagement & Development Manager for South Denbighshire Community Partnership, said: “There will be an opportunity to meet with  local service providers, including Citizens Advice Denbighshire,  DVSC, Mind, Youth Service, Nat West Bank, NEST, Denbighshire Housing, Denbighshire social services and many more,  take part in taster sessions in arts and crafts, indoor sports and find out how you or your organisation can get involved.”

* For further information, email: Sally@sdcp.org</sub>