Archive for the ‘Blogs’ Category

One of the first meetings I had as the MP for Aberconwy was with the Betsi Cadwalader Hospital Trust in order to discuss the issues surrounding the Minor Injuries Unit at Llandudno Hospital. Having highlighted the closure of the unit at night during the campaign and the fact that a permanent closure would save a significant amount of funds for the Trust I was aiming to demand a re-think. Six weeks later I continue to have doubts about aspects of the plans but I do accept that many aspects of the changes proposed are medical led decisions. The consultation process was also clearly transparent and in some ways a model of what a medical led consultation should include.

Before any readers assume that I agree with the proposals being made let us put the issue in context;

1. A steering group to look at the future of LH was set up in 2007. The first meeting was held in July 2007 and the second in October 2007. The papers are available.

2. A review was undertaken by Frank Burns during the period May – Dec 2007. He made 50 recommendations concerning the future of the hospital. The report is also an open document and available to all.

3. A project board was established in June 2008 to consider his report. There were eight working groups established to consider the themes within the report. This included representatives from the League of Friends, CHC and LHAGS.

4. The final report of the Board was published in March 2009. Within this it is recorded that the work group concluded that MIU should close after midnight. It was the project board that decided to investigate nurse led service after midnight with medical support from the GP out of hours services. The board resolved to take advice from Prof. Mike Harmer on the future role of the MIU. The options that he was to be asked to consider were:

• Nurse led with support
• Developed as an out of hours centre – GP’s out of hours contract to be renegotiated in October 2010 and felt that perhaps there was some room to do something creative her.
• Develop as a new build.

5. After the publishing of the report – the Llandudno Hospital project was set up in January 2010. The aim was to consider recommendations of the Burns report and provide detailed plans for;

• Unscheduled Care
• Elective Treatment & Diagnosis
• Rehabilitation
• Women’s Health
• Mental Health

6. To achieve this aim there was to be a project team, a stakeholder group (to include LHAGS), expert support group and a communications group (to include LHAGS).

7. At the meeting of the Stakeholder Group on 24th March 2010 it was AGREED that MIU could not safely be managed without appropriate numbers of qualified staff. It was suggested that doctors were paid more for working at Llandudno but the consultants present said it was a national problem – rather than money. I have investigated this issue since my meeting with the Trust and can confirm that the issue of a shortage of trained doctors / consultants is a current national problem which is worse in Wales at this moment in time.

8. It was AGREED that no emergencies would be admitted after 6pm.

As you can imagine, the paperwork provided by the Trust in support of their decision in relation to the MIU was substantial. I have read and sought advice on many aspects of the recommendations. I continue to be unhappy about issues such as access times and the availability of ambulances in the Llandudno area if the MIU closes as a 24hr facility and as such I have requested a further meeting with the Trust to seek detailed assurances on these issues.

However, it is clear from the paper trail that the proposal to reduce the hours at the MIU has been fairly well documented since 2007 and it is misleading to suggest that this is a bolt from the blue. Even my comments in April alluded to the fact that the cost savings that closure would bring were being investigated in detail prior to the first closure of the MIU overnight at that time.

I have also spoken with or had my staff speak with members of LHAGS and the League of Friends and they have confirmed that the process in their view has been open and transparent. One individual specifically stated that they were “delighted that all the decisions are being made by clinicians and practioners rather than “pen pushers”.

Coupled with confirmation from a Consultant in Cardiff as to the levels of Doctor and Consultant shortage in Wales I have to admit that the case appears to be medically driven rather than financially inspired. And yet….

I remain concerned that the practical impact of the downgrade of the MIU will be a huge blow to the town, the population and the hospital. I will be holding a number of ‘open surgeries’ and ‘public meetings’ during August and September and would ask interested parties to come along and highlight your own concerns. Having read the background papers and copious minutes from numerous meetings I feel that there continue to be questions in need of a response from the Trust and as such will report back following my further meetings with the Trust team dealing with the specific MIU proposal and the wider re-development of Llandudno Hospital.

Guto

In a packed meeting at St. Paul’s Church, Craig y Don on Tuesday evening, Cllr. Mrs. Janet Finch Saunders was elected on first ballot to become the Association’s candidate for the Welsh Assembly Elections in 2011. This was first time that the Association had chosen a candidate by means of an Open Hustings and they were delighted with the public engagement and interest. The moderator was Rev. Tom Bonnet who was thanked by the Chairman, Cllr. Mrs. Margaret Lyon for his assistance.

On being elected Janet said “I am proud to have been elected as your candidate. I shall work tirelessly to represent the people of Aberconwy. But I can not do it alone. I need you to play your part as you have done tonight.” Cllr. Janet has been a County Councillor for the Craig y Don Ward since 2004 and a Town Councillor for much longer. She currently holds position 3 on the Regional List for the Welsh Assembly. There will be a page on the website with details about Janet, later on this month.

As interested readers are no doubt aware the Gwynt y Môr wind farm development was approved some 18 months ago despite the opposition of local councillors and the concerns of the significant tourism sector centred on the town of Llandudno in this constituency.

The announcement of the success of the consortium led by RWE Npower Renewables in attracting the funding for the project, around £2.2billion, was made a few weeks ago and whilst this was in many ways a disappointment to local protesters and businesses which argued against the development. However, there was also a realistic view expressed by many that “we are where we are” and as such there was a clear need for the area to benefit financially from the development. This potential financial benefit would come in two ways;

1. The opportunities for local businesses to benefit from opportunities to win contracts with the developers.

2. The Community Benefits Package which had been discussed by the consortium with the local authority, Conwy County Borough Council.

I have contacted the Welsh Assembly Government Department of Economy and Transport in relation to the first opportunity in relation to the potential to use the Local Supplier Development Programme to support and guide businesses in relation to what they need to do to access the opportunities arising from the development. In the same way I have, in private meetings with the Secretary of State for Wales, asked her to make representations to the Consortium in relation to the accessibility of contract opportunities for local businesses. I hope to be involved in a ‘meet the buyer’ type event in the area in due course and will keep readers posted on any development.

However, my real concerns at this point relate to the Community Benefits Package. In the original discussions between Conwy Council and the consortium there were two separate strands for support discussed. These were;

1. Tourism support package for Llandudno (subsequently changed to Conwy Council Area) worth £230k per year
2. Community Benefits Package of £1m per annum for a period of 20/25 years

The concerns I have, which are shared by constituents, is that the Tourism Support Package is now been described by the Consortium as a package of support for Conwy and Denbighshire. It was disappointing, but perhaps understandable in many ways, that the initial tourism package which was proposed for Llandudno had been changed by Conwy Council to include the whole of the County. However, this package is now being described by the Consortium as a fund for the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire.

This is contrary to the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Consortium and Conwy Council which stated specifically that the Conwy Coast Tourism Programme (originally for Llandudno only) would be separate from any discussions with other authorities along the North Wales coast. The local population feel that the Consortium have made promises in order to attempt to win the support of Llandudno residents and businesses which are now been significantly changed since public support is not now needed. This change in the Llandudno Tourism package was made know to the Council on the 14th of April.

Secondly, in the same letter dated 14th April 2010 the Consortium informs Conwy Council that the Community Benefits Package will be significantly reduced from the promised £1m to £768k per year. This is justified on the basis of detailed site design work resulting in a project with a capacity of 750mw being reduced to 576mw.

At the Welsh Select Committee I asked the Secretary of State to meet with representatives of the consortium to discuss the unilateral changes to both the Tourism Support Package and the Community Benefits Package. Furthermore I also asked the Secretary of Sate whether she was of the view that there was a need for an agreed level of compensation for communities affected by large scale developments in order to ensure that a consortium such as the one led by RWE at Gwynt y Môr would not be in a position to make promises and then change them without consultation once planning permission had been secured. On this point I was advised to raise the matter with the Department of the Environment and Climate Change which I am now progressing.

ITV Wales and the Daily Post provided coverage for the fact that the issue was highlighted at the Welsh Select Committee – it might be possible to embarrass the consortium into honouring the original Memorandum of Understanding!

Guto

One of the first calls for support I received after my election was from traders and concerned residents in Penmaenmawr. Since early April numerous businesses have closed in the village with other businesses increasingly worried that the loss of a number of independent traders could easily have a dangerous knock-on effect on the surviving traders. The main concern expressed by all the traders whom I met was the extraordinary increase in their business rates valuation.

Consultations with local businesses (a slow process due to Data Protection Legislation) found that the increase in business rates vary from two cases where the increase is 35% and 36% to eight cases where the increase is in the region of 50% (most are at 50.6%). There are then two outliners where the increase has been 111% and 83% respectively. All these businesses are in the central Penmaenmawr retail area and all the businesses will, as a result of the new rateable value, face a real increase in their payments despite the change in the multiplier from 48.9p in the pound to the current 40.9p. When I recall the numerous occasions when Plaid Cymru supporters indicated that the changes in business rates would be ‘neutral’ (as many winners as losers was the claim if I remember correctly)it is difficult to see how this can be the case in view of the evidence collected from 14 businesses in Penmaenmawr.

Why the uniform increase in the context of Penmaenmawr? Is it a direct result of the substantial investment that has been made in the retail area over recent years? It seems almost perverse that public money has been spent by several agencies in order to re-vitalise the commercial heart of the village and their investment is now being undermined through the decisions taken by another government agency to increase rateable values by a margin which bears no relationship to the commercial realities of operating a business in the village.

It should also be noted that two businesses within a walking distance of the centre of the village have suffered rateable value increases of 121% and 309%! Whilst not in the central retail area these businesses have also contributed to the renewal of the commercial potential of the area and there is a real question as to how such significant increases can be justified.

I’m aware that a number of businesses are appealing their valuations due to the commercial impact of such above inflation changes on their businesses. In addition to supporting fully these individual appeals I have written to the Valuation Office requesting an explanation as to why Penmaenmawr has been subject to such huge increases. I have also offered to take officers from the Valuation Office on a fact finding tour of businesses in the village to show them that neither rental charges or the level of trade have increased in any way which could conceivably justify the massive increases in rates identified.

On a final note – if readers of this blog are aware of similar circumstances where all the businesses in an area are losers from the rates revaluation then get in touch. I would be delighted to take issue with the Valuation Office with respect to any area where the vast majority of traders are losers and not winners from the revaluation process.

Guto

Aberconwy Conservative have opened up their Assembly Candidate selection to everyone living in our constituency in a US-style “Primary”. No matter who you vote for, we think you should pick the man or woman fighting to be our next Assembly Member. The event will be held on 27th July 2010 at St. Pauls Church Hall in Craig y Don at 6pm.

You do not need to be a member of the Welsh Conservative Party. To be eligible to attend and vote at this meeting you just need to pre-register by:

email: office@aberconwyconservatives.co.uk
in writing: 12 Ashdown House. Riverside Business Park. Conwy. LL32 8UB.
or by replying to this post:

Please provide your name, the address at which you are registered to vote, an email address and a contact telephone number.

The blogging has been sparse due to the excitement of the past week, massive information overload at Westminster and efforts to establish a constituency office.  As I write I feel almost relaxed for the first time in ten days but with London calling again tomorrow I suspect that things will be busy again next week.  Despite my intense schedule I am amazed at the work that David Jones MP will now need to undertake in his much deserved role as Minister of State at the Welsh Office.  Discussing a number of local issues with David on Saturday I was exhausted just listening to his intense workload for the next few weeks.  It’s a good thing that he is so clearly the right man for the job.

Due to the web designer being on holiday this site will only slowly develop into the website of your MP.  It should be sorted by the end of the month but until then blogging will be sporadic.

On a more positive note I went to my first engagement as the Aberconwy MP on Friday attending the re-launch of Llandudno Community Radio at Ty Hapus.  A great initiative which I have been proud to be associated with for months it was a pleasure to be able to accept this particular invitation as my first in the new job.  I will also be undertaking my first constituency surgery next Friday.  Since our new offices are awaiting telephone lines any interested parties wishing to make an appointment are advised to call 01492 583743 for the time being.

Guto

A long day!  Meeting of the 1922 this evening and a warm response to the position taken by the shadow cabinet.  Will it be enough or will the Liberals back Labour?  If they do then we as a country will be in serious trouble.  What we need is a stable administration able to govern for four or five years.  A Lib/Lab/SNP/PC/SDLP/DUP agreement = problems.

We as a party have worked in the interest of the country – will the Liberals do the same?

Guto

I apologise for not writing until this evening (Saturday) but I have been catching up on sleep, dealing with literally hundreds of texts, e-mails and letters of congratulation whilst also keeping in-touch with the Parliamentary Party as the talks progress in London.

The result in Aberconwy was fantastic.  Despite the Plaid claims of being in pole position they came fourth and their so called ‘stronghold’ of the Valley gave me and the Conservatives a clear win.  It’s a pity that the media gave their claims so much publicity.  Labour performed slightly better than anticipated although I had said on numerous occasions since the New Year that they would be second but was ignored by commentators such as Betsan Powys from the BBC.

Mike Priestley campaigned and accepted the result like a gentleman and so did Ronnie Hughes.  Phil Edwards was also gracious on the night but I fail to understand why he and his agent Gareth Jones felt the need to issue so many personal attacks on me during the last week of the campaign.  Accusing an opponent of “lying” is not the behaviour of an honourable political campaign.  To do it on three separate leaflets was shameful.

However, it is clear that the most positive and hard working campaign team in Aberconwy won this election with a message of hope and a real faith in the people of Aberconwy.  For this positive campaign we received the support of a significant proportion of the electorate.  I thank each and every one who supported me and I say to all the people of Aberconwy that I am here to serve you all and I will do this to the utmost of my ability.

For the next few weeks my contact numbers will be the Conservative HQ in Aberconwy or my mobile number which is 07767 493750.  Once we have an office established the contact numbers will be published on-line.

Thank you all for your support and for everyone who contributed to the encouraging turnout of 67% here in Aberconwy.       

Guto

Good team out on Monday and again today.  The response is improving every day – great boost to me and the team.

We are now 3/1 ON with Paddy Power and Ladbrokes with Plaid and the Liberals drifting.  As a keen horse racing fan I am fully aware that bookmakers can be wrong but the odds move because punters are placing their bets.  Interesting!

It’s also great to see BBC political pundit Vaughan Roderick calling Aberconwy for the Conservatives.  Don’t place too much emphasis on this however, he called it a dead heat between me and Plaid last year and that was hardly an accurate analysis of what I was seeing on the ground.

Our Get Out The Vote efforts kicks off tomorrow – over 100 in the team and a final leaflet to be delivered to our 18,000 target voters. 

It has been a great campaign –thank you all for your warm welcome.  My next posting will be on Friday morning!  

Guto

Friday and Saturday were busy canvassing days with the focus on Llandudno all day Friday with Capelulo and Dwygyfylchi being the focus of our Saturday efforts.

The sessions in Tudno ward (Friday morning and afternoon) were excellent.  I had no idea how popular Mr Hughes is in his own ward!  We picked up pledges in all parts of the ward with many direct converts from Labour and a family with seven voters transferring their support from Plaid.  All very encouraging.  The evening session was spent mopping-up Craig y Don completing a 100% canvass of another of our key wards.

Saturday saw a team of 14 in Dwygyfylchi and Capelulo visiting households who were out when we last canvassed and also a few areas where we had not been since the autumn.  A very good response especially compared to our 2007 and 2005 canvass returns. 

Guto