Araith via Leighton Andrews
Dyma fideo o araith yr Eisteddfod. Here's a video of the Eisteddfod speech.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Ar y Maes via Leighton Andrews
I enjoyed the debate today with Dafydd Iwan on the Maes, and was able to outline how regeneration strategy will support the Welsh Language. There as been good coverage overall on the BBC principally.My full speech follows. I am too tired to translate it into English tonight:Mae’n anodd I wahanu polisi Blaid Lafur o’r polisi Clymblaid. R’o’n I’nDirpwy Gweinidog dros Tai ar ol yr etholiad diwethaf – am saith wythnos.Pan on i’n Weinidog dros Dai, cyn y Clymblaid, dwi’n cofio ymatebI ddadl Plaid Cymru ar y pwnc Tai Fforddiadwy. Dwedais i gallwn ni weld consensws graddol ar faterion taiEsboniais I yn y dadl bod y Llwyodraeth yn- Cefnogi mwy o fuddsoddiad i helpu tuag at ddarparu chew mil a hanner (6,500) o daifforddiadwy newydd ychwanegol- annog pobl...
Mayor for the Valleys via Leighton Andrews
In case there is any doubt, I agree with my colleague Huw Lewis that this is a daft idea, as I told the Chair of the Institute of Welsh Affairs on the Maes today. I see that the Western Mail managed to take one of my sentences from the foreword to the IWA publication and make it look like I welcomed the idea. Well, I welcome all discussion on the future of the Heads of the Valleys, but I don't think this is an idea that will go very far.Just a quick note on Huw's comments. The original budget for the Heads of the Valleys was £10 million per annum: last year under Huw and I between us the programme spent over £16 million and in the previous year under Andrew Davies the programme spent over £15 million. So we are well ahead of the original budget.But Huw must remember that the Heads of...
Community Mutuals via Leighton Andrews
The Co-operative Party blog picks up on the launch of RCT Homes as a community mutual, the Co-operative Party's model for public housing.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
ITV Wales via Leighton Andrews
There used to be quite a good programme about politics on ITV Wales called Waterfront, presented by Jo Kiernan and then Lee Waters. It was replaced a year or so back by a less interesting programme called Sharp End. Now ITV Wales has pulled the plug, meaning that there is even less competition for the BBC in political reporting.This is what we have all feared.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
RCT Homes via Leighton Andrews
We launched RCT Homes yesterday, the community housing mutual - or housing cooperative - which tenants in Rhondda Cynon Taff voted to set up. Its £170 million investment programme will involve the installation of an estimated 5,000 new kitchens, 4,000 new bathrooms and 6,000 energy-efficient boilers. Other improvements will include extensive re-wiring, the installation of new central heating systems, improved security measures and work on roofs, chimneys and walls as well as a promised £1m a year on environmental enhancements.The Community Housing Mutual model was developed by the co-operative movement in Wales with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.Earlier this year I launched a report that highlighted the unprecedented opportunities the introduction of the Welsh Housing...
Assembly Diary via Leighton Andrews
Last week the First Minister published the Assembly’s legislative programme for next year, building on the One Wales programme for government. One Wales set out our vision of a fair and just Wales, where everyone can live free from poverty and discrimination. We made a commitment to develop Wales-specific solutions to tackle child poverty. Our next step is to bring forward an Assembly Measure to provide greater support to children and families experiencing poverty. It will include a number of initiatives such as a duty on public agencies to demonstrate their contribution to ending child poverty and to provide free childcare places and other early years’ services in specific areas. As regards older people, One Wales made clear our commitment to help people to be independent and...
AM’s photos via Leighton Andrews
The BBC has some of the photos displayed in the AM's photographic exhibition in the Senedd, including this rose from my garden in Llwynypia.I also displayed a moodier picture I took on Pen Pych in the New Year.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Well said, Carwyn via Leighton Andrews
I am delighted that my good friend Carwyn Jones is following up issues I have recently raised in speeches such as the credit crunch and the importance of co-operatives to Welsh Labour.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Maerdy Archive Group via Leighton Andrews
I was pleased to welcome members of the Maerdy Archive Group to the Assembly - not for the first time - a couple of weeks ago, for the launch of the Community Archives Wales online records project. You can find the Maerdy Archive Group material here.The project has been supported by Communities@One, the Assembly's digital inclusion project, which is funded from my Ministerial budgets in the Assembly and from Objective One monies, as well as by the Heritage department in the Assembly.CAW is a 15-month pilot project to enable eleven groups within Communities First areas throughout Wales to create their own digital archives and share them on the CAW website. The project employs 4 members of staff. It started in January 2007 and the current phase will end in September 2008. Digital community...
Tappers Garage, Treherbert via Leighton Andrews
Tappers Garage, Treherbert, was demolished with money form the Welsh Assembly Government's Heads of the Valleys programme and it will become a community facility.Treherbert resident Sharon Morris has sent me these pictures o the murals designed by local children. I thought they deserved a wider airing.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Tower Colliery via Leighton Andrews
Until recently a number of my constituents were working at Tower - now some have moved to Aberpergwm.Tower's achievement is a shining example of the cooperative ethos of popular power and workers' control - and I was delighted to attend the reception held by the First Minister last night to commemorate the workers' achievement.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Does Mark Thompson have a point? via Leighton Andrews
BBC Director-General Mark Thompson has made several BBC Wales journalists very cross by suggesting that the BBC Wales newsroom holds back good stories from the network.But maybe he has a point.Yesterday BBC Radio Wales reported in the morning that the Israeli ambassador had said that the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly had 'disgraced himself' by his email last week. No mention of this on Wales Today. Nor on BBC Online. If they don't report significant stories properly themselves, perhaps it's no wonder BBC network news doesn't get told?You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Communities First via Leighton Andrews
I outlined the plans for the future of the Communities First programme today in the Assembly.Included in the plans is a new Outcomes Fund to boost community regeneration in some of the most deprived areas of Wales, worth at least £25 million over the next three years.The Outcomes Fund is the centrepiece of our plans for the next phase of Communities First. Communities First partnerships will be able to bid for the funding but will need to demonstrate that their proposals will help deliver key Communities First priorities. They will also need to show that they are working in partnership with local public bodies and have engaged with local people in planning local services.Plans for the next phase of Communities First will give the programme a sharper focus on stimulating practical...
Censorship Rules Overturned via Leighton Andrews
For the last month I have been campaigning against the proposed censorship of Assembly Members' websites.I have now received Counsel's Opinion and I am pleased to report that Assembly Members have won the battle against censorship of their websites by the Assembly Commission. The legal advice states that the rules set out in the Guidance would not satisfy the requirements of Article 10 of the Human Rights Act because they lack clarity and certainty. Counsel also concludes that the Assembly Commission would also be vulnerable to Judicial Review. The features of the Guidance which render it vulnerable to challenge on human rights grounds would make any decision to refuse an allowance equally vulnerable to challenge on traditional administrative law grounds in that Guidance would be open to...
Dafydd El Presidente via Leighton Andrews
I forgot to post this, from last week's Assembly proceedings:The Presiding Officer: Order. That was not guidance; it was a ruling. The reason for the ruling, which I have stuck to throughout my period of presidency so far, is to ensure the independence of local government. Ministers can answer questions on their relationship with local authorities, but we should not be second-guessing what local authorities do any more than MPs in Westminster should try to second-guess what we do..............Leighton Andrews: Llywydd, or perhaps I should say 'El Presidente’—[Laughter.] The Presiding Officer: Order. For the avoidance of doubt, I meant to say 'during my presiding period’. The Welsh word Llywyddu covers both. Leighton Andrews: And 'El Presidente’ is a translation of Llywydd into...
Juvenile Gestures via Leighton Andrews
The Western Mail has more on Dafydd El's gesture politics.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Thanks, Mohammad via Leighton Andrews
I have received a nice email back from Mohammad Asghar AM which reads as follows:Your comments are perfect, encouraging and helpful Kind Regards Asghar You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
The Presiding Officer and Israel via Leighton Andrews
It's been reported in a few places that the Presiding Officer has summarily announced he will be boycotting the visit of the Israeli Ambassador in two weeks time. The Ambassador is being invited by the Plaid Cymru AM Mohammad Asghar.I cannot be at the event because of a prior commitment, but I have emailed Mohammad as follows:I am unlikely to be able to attend the meeting with the Ambassador as I will be travelling to an evening engagement in West Wales.However, I do not want my absence to be seen in any way as part of the juvenile gesture politics provoked by the Presiding Officer. I think his response to the invitation to the Israeli Ambassador is discourteous to you, insulting to the people of Israel, and demeaning to the National Assembly. UK Government policy recognises the role of...
Foundation Phase via Leighton Andrews
From September, the Assembly Government is pioneering our early years initiative, the Foundation Phase. Last week Education Minister Jane Hutt announced an additional £5 million this financial year, on top of the £25 million grant already secured in 2008/09.The Foundation Phase for three to seven year olds is designed to give children in Wales the best possible start in life. It is based on learning through play, active involvement and practical activities which enhances their creativity, knowledge, skills and understanding which are invaluable for future learning.The scheme has been widely supported by teachers and head-teachers. One head-teacher has written to me to say:I constantly praise (the) Welsh Assembly Government and in particular our Welsh education system to English...
Thatcher Assembly art via Leighton Andrews
Much debate. What do you think?You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Back to work via Leighton Andrews
Following yesterday's Panorama there has been more coverage of the action needed to help people back into work.Last week, I explained how I was launching the Jobmatch programme funded by the Heads of the Valleys programme and DWP. ITV Wales ran a good report on it, which you can see here.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Poll result via Leighton Andrews
47 people voted in the poll - where were the rest of you?! A couple of hundred people view this blog daily....Results 35 against censorship, 12 for, or 74% to 25%.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Partial censorship climbdown via Leighton Andrews
We have received clarification that we are allowed to reproduce our speeches in the Assembly Chamber, no matter how party political. This means of course that we can carry party political content on our websites, so the guidance is now self-contradictory:Fair and accurate verbatim accounts of what was said by you or others in Assembly proceedings may be included, irrespective of content.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Interim victory on websites via Leighton Andrews
The Assembly Commission has now decided that the guidance on websites will not become operational until 1 September 2008.But we are warned:In the interim, those Members who use office costs allowance to support their websites should review them.I will be carrying on as before on this weblog while awaiting legal advice. By 1 September, we will of course have long had Counsel's opinion. A lengthy reply has been sent to me by the Clerk to the Assembly Commission on the points I raised here. I will be responding to it in detail next week. It demonstrates how badly thought-through the advice is, and the answers given raise yet more questions.I know of only two AMs who really support the guidance on websites - the Presiding Officer and the member of the Assembly Commission responsible for ICT,...
Censorship exposed via Leighton Andrews
Good article by David Williamson in The Western Mail on the censorship issue.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Job Match Launch via Leighton Andrews
Later this morning I will be launching the Heads of the Valleys Job Match scheme. Some initial coverage is here from the Western Mail, and here from the BBC.The scheme is based n a successfu pilot in Blaenau Gwent where 1,300 people were helped back to work iand 70% were still in work a year later.It is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government jointly with the Department of Work and Pensions and with Working Links.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You can send your views direct to Leighton via...
Censorship update via Leighton Andrews
With the backing of AMs from all four parties in the Assembly, including Peter Black's, I am getting Counsel's Opinion on the guidance on websites published by the Assembly Commission.I have also sent a long list of questions to the Chief Executive of the Assembly Commission concerning the guidance as published. The guidance is designed to restrain us from carrying 'political' material on our websites/blogs. Some examples are given below. The Guidance is quoted in italics and my questions/comments in bold:The Office Costs Allowance may be used to pay for setting up and/or maintaining a website only if its purpose is to inform or communicate with constituents about your work as a Member and/or to provide contact details. How does the Assembly Commission define "work as a Member" and...
That Absurd Assembly website guidance via Leighton Andrews
So here's how it is likely to work.You have an Assembly researcher, funded from Assembly funds. Your researcher prepares background material for a speech, using Assembly-funded resources like the library and through Internet searches.You deliver a political speech in the Chamber, based on the research. The speech is of course broadcast online and on TV, paid for by Assembly resources.You email the speech to the Western Mail, the Rhondda Leader and the BBC, using the Assembly-provided email system.Your speech gets coverage on the BBC, in the Western Mail and in the Rhondda Leader.On your website you post links to your speech in the Assembly's Record of Proceedings, and to the online versions of the BBC, Western Mail and Rhondda Leader stories about your speech.However, because your speech...
Stop the censorship! via Leighton Andrews
My colleague Huw Lewis rightly raises an internal issue which has been pre-occupying Assembly Members today - the attempts of the Assembly Commission to censor our weblogs under new guidance circulated to us all by email.This illiberal guidance is supported by the Assembly Commission member - I refuse to dignify them with the title commissioners - responsible for ICT, Peter Black, normally the self-appointed champion of liberal causes.I have had support from colleagues in all four political parties in the Assembly for my challenge to this guidance. I am taking legal advice on its application.Ludicrously the Assembly panjandrums are saying that we cannot say on our websites what we can say in the Assembly Chamber.This is madness.You are subscribed to an RSS Feed from Leighton Andrews. You...