Archive for the ‘News’ Category

It has been a long day at Westminster.

First we had the announcement in relation to the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The impacts are severe as we expected but what is even more shocking is the mess that we were left by the previous Government.

1. In total Labour left us a £38bn black hole over the next ten years. To repeat, they had committed to spend £38,000,000,000 more than the money in the defence budget over the next ten years.

2. The top fifteen (15) spending programmes are currently £8.8bn over budget with the delivery programme for these commitments facing a delay of 32 years UNDER THE LABOUR PLANS!

3. Last year alone the Labour Government increased their spending commitments on defence equipment by an incredible £3.3bn in one year and yet made no additional funding available.

So the background is horrendous to say the least. However, the announcements at least attempted to make sense of the chaos left to the Coalition by the Labour Party – but there was a heavy price to pay.

The loss of the investment at St. Athan in South Wales was a serious blow to my colleague Alun Cairns, the Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan and there are some unpalatable changes in all three services. However, as a result of this review there are important positives which we need to highlight;

Royal Navy

• There will keep a continuous at sea nuclear deterrent
• Seven attack submarines and 19 Frigates and Destroyers will be maintained
• All three naval bases will be retained

Army

• All 36 Infantry Battalions are to be kept
• There will be a new structure of five deployable Multi-Role Brigades
• There will be no changes to Army Units involved in Afghanistan

RAF

• Move to a fleet of Carrier Variant Joint Strike Fighters and a Typhoon Fleet by 2020
• New state of the art Strategic Airlift aircraft consisting of C17s, A400Ms and A330s
• No impact on operations in Afghanistan

Having attempted to digest all these announcements we then met the Minister for Culture, Jeremy Hunt, to discuss his proposed new funding arrangements for S4C. As I was attempting to get to grip with the details the story appeared on the BBC. I suspect that tomorrow will be exhausting. There will be the fallout from the Strategic Defence and Security Review and the funding announcements of the BBC and S4C coupled with the Comprehensive Spending review being revealed at 12.30.

Interesting times!

Guto

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend this dinner at the St. George’s Hotel in Llandudno on Friday night to honour those individuals and groups who work quietly but effectively to make life better for us as a society.

The event, sponsored by Trinity Mirror and Scottish Power, was excellent with an attention to detail which would not be found in many far grander televised award events. The St. George and their staff showed why we as a community should be proud of Llandudno as a tourism destination – I was incredibly pleased to see the way that Llandudno could rise to the occasion so effortlessly.

However, the real success of the evening was the quality and breadth of the award winners. These were people who had turned adversity into opportunity, tragedy into a chance to serve others and often, through sheer willpower, had managed to make a real difference to entire communities and the lives of numerous individuals.

It was humbling and gratifying to see the Aberconwy area walk away with no fewer than five awards. These were;

1. Abigail Williams, from Llandudno, in the Young Person of the Year Category
2. Friends of Queens Park, Craig y Don, in the Team Effort Category
3. Ysgol Nant y Coed, Llandudno Junction, in the School of the Year Category
4. James Singleton, Dwygyfylchi, in the Sporting Champion Category
5. Theresa Evans, Llandudno, in the Person of the Year Category

My sincere congratulations to all and to every other nominee in what was an inspiring evening. As the deputy editor of the Daily Post said;

“we often read about the bad things in society on the front pages of our newspapers but occasionally it pays to recognise and acknowledge the immense good work that is undertaken each and every day in our communities”

Guto

This week saw a number of debates in the house which have a real significance to the country. Tuesday saw the first of five days allocated to the Committee Stage of the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill. With a constitutional bill of this nature the whole house sits as a committee with the aim of scrutinising the legislation. Although I have my doubts about elements of the Bill as it currently stands I was happy to support the clauses debated on Tuesday which pave the way for a referendum on the AV voting system.

It should be noted that I do not agree with AV and I will campaign against the concept next April prior to the vote in May. However, as a member of the 1922 Committee I and other members of the Conservative back benches gave the Prime Minister the right to offer a referendum on AV to the Liberals and as such I feel duty bound to support the legislation that will give rise to a vote on the matter.

I returned to the Bill in a very useful meeting of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee which was held on Thursday morning. The practical implications of the proposed changes to constituency boundaries in Wales are significant and whilst the intellectual argument against a reduction in the number of Welsh Members of Parliament from 40 to 30 was certainly not made by the Labour members of the committee I strongly believe that some of the practical challenges highlighted by the Electoral Registration Office for Newport and followed-up by myself with the two ministers give rise to a degree of concern.

It should be noted that David Jones MP put in a very combative performance as a witness whilst Mark Harper MP was informed and persuasive in his responses to many of the questions raised. This issue will come back next week in the house and I will attempt to highlight some of the concerns which have been identified by the Welsh Affairs Committee this morning.

Other notable events this week was the first appearance at PMQs for Ed Milliband and dare I say it he probably won on points. Early days though. I was also involved on Wednesday evening in a rebellion on the issue of UK funding for the EU. As a signatory to an amendment calling on the government to reduce our contribution to the EU in line with the sacrifices being asked of the British people I felt duty bound to vote against the government despite the decision of the executive not to accept the amendment. However, Justine Greening, the Minister was excellent and despite the rejection of the amendment I feel confident that we as a coalition of a combative and effective minister fighting our case in Brussels. I wish her well.

Guto

Blogging has been a little sparse over the last few months. Coping with the demands of a busy Constituency life and a Westminster life has been a considerable challenge for my family and me. However, I now have a full complement of staff in the Constituency office, a cycle of surgeries, an autumn season of public meetings and a parliamentary assistant in London. So there are no excuses now for not blogging regularly!

However, I will not have the time to administer the blog as I have done in the past and so for that reason I have decided to disable the comments section. However, I am always happy to engage in debate – details of public meetings are on the website or alternatively feel free to phone me or e-mail me.
My details are as follows;
London Office Number: 020 7219 7002
Constituency Office: 01492 583094
E-mail: guto.bebb.mp@parliament.uk.

Update

Well what a surprise! I have actually received quite a few e-mails stating that I should allow comments. As long as readers are happy to accept that my monitoring will be 2/3 time a week then why not!

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.

Visteon was the automotive parts division of Ford Motor Company that was spun off from Ford in 2000. Visteon subsequently went into administraion in 2009 resulting in the loss of over 500 jobs and leaving many more with either reduced or frozen pensions rights. Stephen Metcalfe the Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock has contacted me to check whether there are any constituents in Aberconwy who have an interest in this issue. If you do, would you please contact the Constituency Office so that I can pass on your details to Stephen.

We are now established in our new Constituency Office which is situated at 1 Ashdown House. Riverside Business Park. Conwy. LL32 8YX. 01492 583094. Guto has at last been allocated an office in the House of Commons which he is sharing with Simon Hart MP, Alun Cairns MP and Glyn Davies MP and was previously occupied by David Jones MP.

Regular Constituency Surgeries, by appointment are being held in Conwy and the planning is virtually complete now for roving drop in surgeries which will take place in late August. The dates and times will be posted on the website as soon as they are all confirmed.

We are also planning a series of Public Meeting s in the Autumn, similar to those that Guto held last year. These will be an opportunity for people to meet with Guto and question him on any aspect of his work as an MP. Last year, before the election, they were very successful . We hope that these further “open meetings” will prove a useful way of exchanging views and ideas.

We are going to have to make a few alterations to the website before Guto resumes blogging. Please bear with us whilst we get it sorted out. Hopefully blogging will resume during the summer recess!

Some four weeks after my appearance on 'Pawb a'i Farn' a letter was printed by the Pioneer attacking me for allegedly 'talking down' the economic situation in Mostyn Street when I was asked about the future of small shops in towns across North Wales.    

As with any such attack letter the aim was to distort what was actually said through omitting the context and the actual thrust of my argument.  I did state that the future of independent retailers across North Wales when even Mostyn Street, the premier shopping street in the premier retail destination in North Wales was suffering business closures and empty properties.  However, the aim was to highlight the fact that there was a wider issue at stake, namely the lack of consideration given to smaller retailers in terms of the planning process and the lack of government support for the sector.  I then went on to attack the failures of the Labour / Plaid administration in Cardiff to deal with the issue of Business Rates - a tax on the very retailers that we were discussing.

I suspect that the motive for the letter was the fact that I highlighted the failure of Plaid Cymru to deliver on their promise to reform the Business Rates system two and a half years after they formed an administration with Labour in Cardiff.  Will this sort of peddling of half-truths be the nature of the campaign here in Aberconwy for the next few months?  I hope not.

For those of you who are interested here is my response to the Pioneer;   

Dear Sir,

Your correspondent, G Roberts, offered a very selective summary of my comments on the S4C programme ‘Pawb a’i Farn’.  Responding to a question about the plight of small town shops in North Wales I stated that it was not just small towns that were suffering but also the main shopping street of the premier retail centre for North Wales, namely Mostyn Street in Llandudno. 

In an age when politicians are accused of being economical with the truth I’m somewhat surprised to be taken to task for stating the truth.  Small shops, often the backbone of our communities, are suffering through a combination of bad planning decisions and no support from government.  If your correspondent had been intent on providing an honest appraisal of my comments they would have mentioned the fact that I went on to discuss the negative impact of Business Rates on our shops.  This tax on business is set to increase again in April as a result of decisions made by the Labour / Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff. 

The Conservative Party have pledged to reduce the burden of Business Rates on Welsh retailers.  Plaid and Labour in the Assembly have expressly opposed such a change.  I quote Ieuan Wyn Jones, Leader of Plaid Cymru and Minister for the Economy at the Welsh Assembly;

"We are not persuaded currently that it (business rate relief) is the best use of the limited resources that we have. We still think that they are best used for things like ProAct and ReAct".

It should be noted that to date one business (1) has benefited from ProAct in Conwy whilst more has been spent under this scheme in one South Wales Council area than in the whole of North Wales.

The Welsh Conservatives aim to do what Labour and Plaid Cymru have refused to do, and introduce a business rate reduction scheme that will benefit up to 90,000 firms in Wales.  This will ensure that no business with a rateable value of less than £10,000 will pay any Business Rates.  This approach, outlined in my response to the question about small town shops on Pawb a’i Farn, was ignored by your correspondent.  I’m glad of the opportunity to correct the false impression given.

Yours sincerely,

Guto Bebb

Gobeithio i chwi oll fwynhau Nadolig a Blwyddyn Newydd braf - fe ddaru fi!

Y mae'r dyddiadur ar gyfer tri mis cyntaf y flwyddyn yn edrych yn erchyll gyda 'chydig iawn o waith a llawer gormod o wleidyddiaeth yn galw.  Ta waeth, fe fydd hi'n hwyl - gobeithio.  Os am drafod unrhyw fater neu drefnu ymweliad ar gyfer mater penodol gallwch gysylltu â mi trwy ffonio 07767 493750 neu trwy'r swyddfa sef Ceidwadwyr Aberconwy, Parc Busnes Glan yr Afon, Ffordd Benarth, Conwy.

Yr wyf ar Radio Cymru bore 'fory yn trafod yr ymgyrch cyn-etholiadol a ddechreuodd dros y penwythnos.  Hei lwc y cawn etholiad yn gynt yn hytrach na hwyrach.

Guto