Leighton Andrews

Cymorthfeydd: Ydych chi'n poeni am gostau gwresogi'ch cartref?

Bydda i'n cynnal digwiddiad i helpu pobol gyda gostau gwresogi 25ed Tachwedd yn Nhonypandy. Darllenwch mwy:

Download Nest_Flyer_Front_L Andrews WELSH

Miners get Freedom of RCT

The Mardy Lodge banner being lifted prior to yesterday's march to the Rhondda Heritage Park where the freedom of the borough was given to South Wales Miners. Ivor England, a well-known Rhondda miner who worked below ground for 33 years, spoke movingly on behalf of the miners. There is a clip from this morning's Good Morning Wales on the BBC Wales website with more, and Allen Bevan has posted some pictures on his Facebook page.

Hospital Update

Health Minister Edwina Hart has told me that the review of the problems with the hospital flooring should be completed by the end of the month.

More here and here.

Llwynypia Hospital

The Echo reports today on the delayed opening of Llwynypia Hospital - and how I have asked the Health Minister for an independent review. More here.

Treorchy Male Choir Helps the Heroes

A lot of people in the Rhondda are supporting the Help for Heroes campaign in a variety of ways.

The Treorchy Male Choir is launching a single now as well.

Rhondda Leader column

We have announced more help for small businesses during the recession. The Assembly Government is allowing businesses across Wales to opt to limit business rate increases to only two per cent this year, as opposed to the five per cent increase originally planned.  The remaining three per cent will be payable over the next two years.

The changes will mean that up to around 100,000 businesses in Wales could benefit - with an overall saving in the region of £24million this year.

The necessary regulations should be in place by July. RCT Council will then write to all businesses in the area offering them the option to defer payments. Until then businesses will need to keep paying their business rates in the normal way.

These proposals are in addition to the Assembly Government’s previous decision to offer £20m in rate relief to small businesses in Wales and to temporarily increase rate relief on empty properties in 2009-10. These measures came into effect from the start of April…..

The Welsh Assembly Government has also announced an extra £8.93m for Further Education colleges and sixth forms in Wales.

The investment will create at least a further 2,500 places for students at a time when more youngsters and adults are looking for training places.

The figures include £3.54m for South East Wales.

A number of staff at Coleg Morgannwg have made representations to me about the tight funding situation and I am pleased to see that the Welsh Assembly Government has been listening to the sector.

Investing in learning for young people and adults is a top priority for Welsh Labour. When there is an economic upturn, those who have participated in the post-16 sector will be ready to deliver and meet the fresh demands of the Welsh economy…..

Plaid MEP opposes jobs for South Wales

As I say in my Rhondda Leader column this week, you would think that in an economic crisis like the one we have now everyone would be welcoming the prospect of new jobs coming to South Wales.

That’s why the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government is working hard on the plans to bring the Defence Training Academy to St Athan. Two years ago the campaign chaired by Rhondda’s Labour MP Chris Bryant saw off the competition from England, and the UK Labour Government awarded the contract to Wales.

There are a potential 5000 long-term jobs and 1000 jobs in the construction phase of this project.

Many people in the Rhondda have worked at St Athan over the years. The commuting distance isn’t far and it has provided well-skilled jobs with good rates of pay.

The Defence Training Academy means a big investment in South Wales. That’s why the Labour-led Assembly Government is supporting it.

That’s why I find it astounding that Plaid Cymru’s MEP for Wales, Jill Evans, is campaigning against these jobs coming to Wales. She and her friends would rather celebrate Plaid Cymru members who carried out an arson attack on a RAF base in North Wales in the 1930s than support jobs for Rhondda workers. Indeed, she went to North Wales to celebrate that attack and to oppose the Defence Training Academy coming to South Wales just a few months ago.

She said at the protest:

"We will not accept anything at any price, such as St Athan, for the sake of jobs alone.”

More recently, Plaid Cymru members launched a website calling for Wales to be independent.

They want to cut Wales off from the rest of Britain.

They threaten jobs coming to Wales.

Over recent years they have said that Wales should be an independent country, like Iceland.

Well, we know what has happened to Iceland in the current global economic crisis.

It is bankrupt.

An independent Wales would be bankrupt very quickly, cut off from UK and international investment.

Such policies would wreck the chances for international investment and good jobs coming to Wales.

70 years on

The Spanish Civil War is generally reckoned to have finished 70 years ago today.

At a recent European event in the Rhondda, I spoke in part about Rhondda engagement in the Spanish Civil War.

The sound quality of the recording isn't great I'm afraid, but it is here