Well you know that you are getting old when you watch a rugby international and you can remember seeing the players when they were toddlers – as indeed I remember Ken and Vicky Owens when they were round at their grandparents’ house – former councillors Ken and Lorraine Maynard. Now you will all instantly recognise the name Ken Owens as a member of Wales’ great international team who produced that amazing win at Twickenham last week, but, unless you read the Carmarthen Journal last week, you may not know that his sister Vicky also played in the Women’s Wales v England match later that same evening.
And that is just one example of how, although we have made huge progress in terms of attitudes and opportunities, in sport alone women have got a long way to do go in terms of finance and kudos, as anyone who has tried to get sponsorship for women’s teams will tell you, as indeed my former colleague from Gowerton School Anne Ellis OBE, Wales and GB hockey captain, frequently has. So whilst some people may question whether there is any need for international women’s day on 8th March, I would say it is a timely reminder that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Posted: 7th March 2012
Cllr Bill Thomas addressing the petitions’ committee
Nia, who chairs the Llanelli Flood Forum, met the Assembly petitions committee when they came to Burry Port to make further enquiries about the petition they have received about the cockle mortality in the Burry Inlet. Cllr Bill Thomas spoke up on behalf of the petitioners and gave the Assembly’s petitions committee the full facts and figures about the problems of sewage spills into the estuary, and reiterated the demand for a further independent inquiry.
Nia commented
“ You could see that they were genuinely concerned that the Assembly could find itself liable to pay hefty fines for breach of European directives, and they understood the demand for a further independent enquiry. I was also pleased to hear that members of this committee who are also on the Assembly’s environment committee will raise it as a possible topic for enquiry by that committee.”
Nia speaking to reporters
Posted: 6th March 2012
Nia speaking up for Prince Philip Hospital at the public meeting on 16th February
At the packed public meeting about the future of hospital services, Nia Griffith MP pledged to do everything possible to persuade the Hywel Dda Health Board to keep the widest possible range of services at Prince Philip Hospital.
“That’s why, “she said, “when they tell us that they cannot recruit doctors, we must challenge them to do better, to strengthen links with local medical schools and to put together packages that will attract doctors. That’s why, when they speak of plans to ferry people miles away, we must stress the additional strain on the ambulance service, the dire cost in added risk and human suffering and the sheer economic cost. That’s why we need to challenge them when they say “one for Ceredigion, one for Pembrokeshire and one for Carmarthenshire” – it should be TWO for Carmarthenshire, one in Llanelli and one in Carmarthen, because Carmarthenshire is twice the size of the other counties, and we have the biggest concentration of population here in Llanelli. “
Posted: 6th March 2012
Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Wales, is calling on the Tory Chancellor George Osborne to take action in the March budget to cut the cost of petrol and diesel at the pump to help hard-pressed families who are already feeling the pinch from rising prices and increased taxes.
Nia Griffith explained
“We are seeing petrol and diesel prices at record highs with diesel prices at some garages in rural Wales practically reaching £1.50 a litre. These prices are really hitting people hard, putting even more strain on household budgets which are already being squeezed by rocketing prices and the VAT rise. The Tory Chancellor George Osborne should take concerted action in the coming Budget to ease the squeeze and boost jobs and growth. A temporary cut in VAT would give immediate relief to hard-pressed motorists by taking almost 3p off the price of a litre of petrol, meaning a saving of some £1.35 on an average tankful of petrol, and it would help get our economy going too.”
“People in rural areas are particularly badly hit with greater distances, higher prices at the pump and limited public transport – and getting about is an essential part of everyday life, not a luxury. That’s why I am also very disappointed that the Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan, has made no attempt to get rural Wales included in a pilot discount scheme the UK government is introducing this month on remote Scottish islands. Drivers in those areas will benefit from a 5p a litre tax discount on fuel. It’s about time the Secretary of State realised how much fuel prices are affecting people across Wales.”
Posted: 6th March 2012
Cllr Mary Wenman, Cllr Jean Hire and Pirate Captain Daniel Evans
Nia was met by young pirates clashing swords when she arrived at the Pirates and Princesses Funday at Burry Port Memorial Hall on Sunday. Children and helpers were dressed as pirates or princesses at the event which included activities such as children’s games, raffles, lucky dip and face painting. The event is one of a series of events organised by the Burry Port Park Appeal Committee, who have been working for nearly two years now to raise funds to upgrade the equipment in Burry Port Park.
During the afternoon Cllr Mary Wenman, a founder member of the committee was able to announce that the work installing new play equipment will be starting later this Spring.
“We are delighted to say,“ she said “ that work will be beginning in April or in May at the latest on two play areas in the park – one for the tots and one for the teens.”
Nia Griffith MP then added, “I’d like to say a really big thank you to Mary and all the committee members for their hard work in finding funding for the new play areas in the park, and thank you all for coming out to the events like today’s because that has been vital in showing the funders that there is a real need for play facilities in Burry Port Park.
The manager of the local co-op, one of the sponsors of the pirate picnic boxes for the event, also dropped in to see how things were going.
Posted: 27th February 2012
Last week we heard the very worrying news that Britain could lose its treasured triple A rating, the very justification the Chancellor has used for his overly severe austerity measures. Furthermore the experts explained that the threat of losing this prized rating is because there is no growth in the economy – something that Labour has been warning of for some time – the Chancellor is cutting too fast and too deep, choking off any economic growth.
You only have to ask local businesses to know that cuts and job losses mean that people simply have no money to spend. I hope last week’s warning will be a wake-up call to the Chancellor to change course, because we have only seen the very beginning of his planned cuts. Figures I’ve obtained from the House of Commons Library show that the Chancellor plans to take over £6 billion out of the Welsh economy in the next three years, including nearly £800m cuts in tax credits – cuts which will hit lower and middle income households hardest – leaving people struggling to make ends meet and cutting back even on very basic items such as food and heating.
Making hard-working families in Wales pay for the fallout from the banking crisis is not only blatantly unfair, it is economic madness as low income households spend their money most immediately back into the local economy – madness which will undermine the best efforts of the Welsh Government to create jobs and provide help for business. That is why I am calling on the Chancellor to listen to the experts, to change course, before it is too late, before more businesses go to the wall. Let’s have a proper strategy for growth.
Posted: 22nd February 2012
Nia listening to Margaret Smith and Ray Lewis at the hospital consultation day
- Nia questioning hospital chiefs about ambulance resources and improving staff recruitment strategies
Speaking up at the recent public information day held at the Selwyn Samuel Centre, Nia questioned Hywel Dda Health Board’s Director of Medical Services and Director of Planning about over-stretched ambulance resources and improving recruitment
She said, “You have said that it is not money but rather the difficulty of attracting qualified staff that is driving the centralisation of services. What about developing closer links with the new medical school in Swansea, and really trying to offer doctors attractive packages to encourage them to come here?
And what calculations have you made about the additional costs of acquiring and running more ambulances to transport patients to Glangwili or Withybush, if services are no longer offered at Prince Philip Hospital? What about using the money instead to pay for more specialists in Prince Philip Hospital.”
Posted: 20th February 2012
Pupils and Staff from Trimsaran School at Parliament.
Pupils and teachers from Trimsaran School have recently enjoyed a tour around parliament, having a chance to go into both the House of Lords, where they saw where the Queen sits for the State Opening of Parliament, and the House of Commons, where they could actually stand in the very places where the Prime Minister and Ed Miliband, the leader of the Opposition stand when they are speaking.
To thank Nia for her time in showing them round, they gave her a picture of the Gwendraeth Valley that they had made themselves, and Nia responded by saying
“What a lovely surprise! I am absolutely thrilled with this picture. I will put it up on the wall in my office in Westminster to remind me of home.”
- Trimsaran School Pupils giving Nia a picture of the Gwendraeth Valley that they had made themselves.
Posted: 20th February 2012
While it may seem as if Christmas decorations have only just come down, the February half-term has already come and gone. School pupils struggling through A Level Winter modules or fighting off cough and colds have had a chance to recharge their batteries. School life for children and teenagers can sometimes be a mad dash between rugby and swimming and choir and homework; it’s important that every so often they get a chance to stop and rest.
The February parliamentary recess- Westminster’s version of half-term- gives MPs a chance to work in their constituencies – and I have had a very busy schedule including two very important public meetings about the hospital. But half-term is also an opportunity to take stock of the year so far. The economic outlook is again bleak as the impact of Tory cuts and disastrous economic policies continue to restrict economic growth and dominate concerns at Westminster.
However, some events in January were worth celebrating: Ed Miliband’s principled stand against huge pay-outs to bankers which has resulted in the Chief Executive of RBS handing back his bonus. We now need to pursue reform the financial sector. As the Labour Party looks forward to the rest of the parliamentary year, we will continue to push this Tory coalition to stop putting their top banker friends first, and instead focus on fairness for all.
Posted: 20th February 2012
Speaking up in the House of Commons during an urgent question session called by Labour to hold government ministers to account over their latest statement on solar feed-in tariffs, Nia asked the Energy Minister Greg Barker,
“Given the shattered consumer and business confidence following the fiasco before Christmas, has the Minister conducted any analysis of how many people will take up Feed-In Tariffs on a 13.6p return?”
She went on to question whether people would find it financially viable to install solar panels when the government reduces the feed-in tariff to just 13.6p from this summer – such a low rate of return would make solar panels unaffordable for many people.
Posted: 20th February 2012
