Last week I sent in my response to a consultation on train services, to be more precise the consultation on the Great Western franchise, namely the trains that we have to use if we want to travel beyond Cardiff and Newport to Bristol and London. I am sure that many of you who use the trains like me will have bemoaned not just the high prices but the miserable waits on Swansea station, the infrequency of services and the overcrowding. With only a couple of through trains a day, you have to change somewhere, so my typical journey, for example, back from London to Llanelli takes four hours, two hours from London to Cardiff ( 150 miles) and two hours from Cardiff to Llanelli ( 60 miles) – largely because of the 25- 30 minute wait at Swansea.) An improved service is vital for the economic development of our area, and, if we are to encourage more people to use the train, thus keeping down road congestion and reducing our impact on the environment, then we need electrification not just to Cardiff but to Swansea and West Wales, more through trains, or, failing that, better connections and trains which stop at all our local stations including Kidwelly.
Posted: 4th April 2012
Nia has demanded answers on the cash for access scandal. Speaking up in Parliament, she said that people had been very shocked to see the video footage of the Conservative Party treasurer Peter Cruddas, in which he says that for £250,000 he could get someone dinner with the Prime Minister David Cameron, and a chance to influence policy. She said that nothing short of a fully independent inquiry would even begin to repair the very serious damage done to the office of Prime Minister, with Cameron’s reputation now in tatters.
Posted: 2nd April 2012
Nia is backing ‘The Big Switch’ campaign for consumers to get a cheaper deal on their energy bills.
The Big Switch, launched by consumer champion Which? and 38 Degrees, is a new way for people to buy their energy. This will be the first time in theUKthat a very large number of people will join together as a group to negotiate a deal with energy companies.
Nia is urging constituents to join the more than 200,000-strong group who have already signed up to The Big Switch, and to use their collective power to try to cut their energy bills and help shake up the market.
Which? has invited all energy companies to take part and will be negotiating with them to secure the cheapest deal. Energy companies will be asked to submit a market leading deal and take part in a reverse auction. If a deal is secured, Which? will contact everyone who signed up with a personalised savings estimate. Which? will handle the switching process, making it as quick and easy as possible.
Nia said:
“Soaring energy bills are contributing to the cost of living crisis afflicting millions of families. Labour believes that community action, including collective purchasing, is essential to reforming our energy market, and I am pleased to support the Big Switch campaign.”
Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint said:
” When people come together, they will have more power to negotiate cheaper energy bills with the big energy companies. Our energy market needs reform – and people power is the first step.”
Posted: 21st March 2012
In just a few weeks’ time, changes to tax credit rules mean that many low-income couples with children will have to find more hours’ work, or face losing a staggering £3,870 per year in tax credits.
The Government doesn’t seem to realise that it is really difficult to find extra hours of work, or alternative jobs at the moment because there are just no jobs and many employers are cutting hours.
The Government is punishing families who are trying to do the right thing and going out to work. It is taking nearly £4,000 from them, which is an enormous amount for anyone to lose, and will mean families struggling to afford the basics. It is unbelievable that the Government plan to do this to low-income families at the same time as considering abolishing the 50p rate of tax to help people earning over £150,000!
The Government’s own figures show that after 6 April many of these families would be better off on benefits than in work, which is madness, so that’s why I am calling on the Government to abandon this change, for the sake of all the families involved.
Posted: 21st March 2012
Nia Griffith MP has criticised the refusal by Maria Miller, the UK disability minister, to take up the offer made by Welsh Government Minister Leighton Andrews AM to accept devolved responsibility for the Remploy factories in Wales, so his department can call in the necessary expertise over the next three years to improve their viability, and Nia has demanded a debate on strategies for making Remploy factories viable.
Commenting on the government’s planned closures, Nia Griffith said
“Just at a time when we need more manufacturing jobs, it is madness to close factories and leave the employees join the back of the ever lengthening queues of workers chasing a diminishing pool of jobs. The products are excellent – with more investment in marketing, there is the potential to develop Remploy factories into very successful businesses, and 
that is exactly the approach Leighton Andrews is proposing. When I visited the Fforestfach factory last year we saw a prototype fireplace that a big DIY chain is interested in, as well as office and hospital furniture. Within a few months of that visit, Geraint Davies, MP for Swansea West where the factory is situated helped fill the order books by promoting their products to the University, and the local Health Board. Just think what proper investment in marketing could do.”
Posted: 21st March 2012
Cllr Steve Lloyd-Janes, Keith Davies AM and Nia are trying to find a solution to the problems encountered by the residents of Talycoed, just opposite the motorway junction in Hendy.
In spite of lobbying, County Council officers have been reluctant in the past to consider the painting of a yellow keep clear box at the junction, because the Welsh Assembly’s Trunk Road Agency had judged the proposal as not ideal.
“We highlighted this problem to the agencies concerned some time ago and it is disappointing that the problem has still not been resolved. In my opinion, doing nothing is not an option as drivers coming out of Talycoed have to dart between traffic as it is drawing up to the traffic lights and filter into the motorway slip road. That’s why we have held another site meeting with the County Council, and have now asked for representatives of the Trunk Road Agency to meet us on site as soon as possible.“
Posted: 16th March 2012
Jane Hutt AM, (2nd left) Finance Minster in the Welsh Government , joined Nia to speak at an international women’s day event at the Morfa social club. Pictured here with Labour’s county council candidates for Glanymor Jo Yeo and Louvain Roberts and Mayor Linda Stedman
Nia with members of the Llanelli Credit Union and the Polish Welsh Mutual Association
Learning about saris
Posted: 16th March 2012
Opening Felinfoel Post Office with Nigel Parry and postmaster Sumanan Suntharamoorthy
Nia Griffith MP officially opened the new post office in Felinfoel on Friday. Commenting on the opening, she said
“I am absolutely delighted that as a result of our persistent lobbying to get Post Office bosses to replace the Felinfoel Post Office, Mr Sumanan Suntharamoorthy, a very experienced postmaster, has agreed to locate the post office in his shop Chalky’s, on Maes Golau, Felinfoel. There’s no doubt that people in Felinfoel want a post office – you will remember that after the previous postmistress retired, we collected a petition containing some 1254 signatures and we had a packed public meeting. Sumanan is well-respected in the community and having the post office in his shop means that there will be longer opening hours for post office services, and I am now going to approach the council about improving the parking facilities in front of his shop.”
Posted: 12th March 2012
Supporting Abigail’s charity event
Nia joined civic dignitaries in Dafen at a coffee morning to help raise money for the Royal British Legion and the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal. The event was organised by Miss Abigail Davies, and is one of many events that she has organised for these and other similar charities, such as Help the Heroes.
Posted: 12th March 2012
Nia and Keith Davies AM with the Acute Response Team in Prince Philip Hospital
Nia has had the privilege of meeting the Acute Response Team (ART) who are based at Prince Philip Hospital and work across the county ensuring patients receive treatments at home without which they could instead have to face a lengthy hospital stay.
Commenting on the visit, Nia said:
“I had no idea about the Acute Response Team, and the amazing job that they do, providing specialist treatment at home to patients who otherwise would have ended up staying in hospital. Last year they treated 420 patients, including a single mother who needed on-going injections to treat a serious medical condition, who would have had serious difficulties in sorting out childcare if she had had to spend long periods in hospital. It is a welcome addition to the range of services available, but clearly it does not replace hospital beds which must be there for more complex cases.”
Posted: 12th March 2012
