Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 22 November 2022.

The Union flag is not being flown outside Carmarthenshire Council. It was raised following the death of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th of September, alongside the Welsh, Carmarthenshire and Ukrainian flags. The Union flag has since been taken down again and one of their four flagpoles remain bare.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Local Government Minister, Sam Rowlands MS said:

“We should be striving for actions and symbols that unite us, not divide us. Yet this decision is the petty nationalism that divides us.

“Given the fact that there is a bare flagpole in prime position in the town, the councillors of Carmarthen should fly the Union flag with pride and celebrate our partnership of nations.

“It is ironic that they won’t fly the Union flag, but will fly the Ukrainian flag, a nation that we are rightly standing shoulder to shoulder with and delivering record support to as one United Kingdom.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

The Welsh people’s priorities have been abandoned in favour of vanity projects and inaction, say the Welsh Conservatives, a year on from the Labour Government’s Cooperation Deal with Plaid Cymru.

 

Last year, Adam Price abdicated his party’s role as a genuine opposition to sign an agreement with Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford, while enjoying privileges given to parties both in and out of government.

However, it’s clear that over the last year the public services Welsh people care about most have been ignored, while the deal has focussed on issues that matter more to the Cardiff Bay bubble, Labour and Plaid.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:

“One year on since the Cooperation Agreement, Labour and Plaid have brought in one disastrous proposal after another, from default 20mph speed limits to tourism taxes to creating more politicians in Cardiff Bay , that are not only far removed from the wishes of the Welsh people, but their needs too.

“The priorities of voters have been completely ignored, with NHS waiting lists sky-rocketing beyond anything seen elsewhere in Britain, the blocking of a Wales-specific Covid inquiry, and school standards, public transport services, and pay packets all diminishing.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives would do what the Welsh people want and need: Bin this plan for more politicians and instead focusing on growing wages, tackling waiting lists and building the roads we need so we can get Wales moving again.”

Areas of the agreement under particular criticism include:

• Making 20mph the default for Welsh roads: Roads across Wales will become 20mph, costing £32.5m to implement and draining the economy by 4.5bn, despite little public support and removing the choice from local decisionmakers.
• Tourism Tax: Putting 1-in-7 jobs at risk, this charge on overnight stays in Wales, universally condemned by the tourism industry, has been found by the Labour Government’s own analysis to lead to less money being spent in areas that implement it.
• Water Regulations: Plaid betrayed rural voters by u-turning on their opposition to NVZs, which will see onerous and costly new rules imposed on farmers across Wales to tackle isolated and localised pollution.
• Universal Free School Meals: Under plans to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils, taxpayer money will be used to feed the children of millionaires instead of being used to support those on the lowest incomes.
• Rent Controls: Despite overwhelming evidence abroad and in Scotland that rent controls reduce supply, create a black market, reduce housing quality and, even, increase rent for new entrants, the deal includes a White Paper to introduce them.

The Welsh Conservatives argue that the Agreement wilfully ignored the most significant issues facing Wales:

• NHS waiting times: These have continued to grow, meaning Wales has three-quarters of a million people on a treatment waiting list (1-in-4 for over a year, and 60,000 for over two), the worst A&E waits in Britain, and its slowest ambulance response times on record.
• Covid-19 Inquiry: Mark Drakeford, unlike Nicola Sturgeon, chose not to commission an inquiry to look at how their government handled Covid, deciding to obscure his own shortcomings in a UK-wide investigation.
• Schools: The deal makes no mention of lifting Wales from the bottom of UK PISA rankings.
• Pay: The agreement does not address Wales having the lightest pay packets in Britain.
• Transport: The pact did not end the roadbuilding freeze or improve rail capacity in Wales.

While ignoring these issues, the two governing parties are intent on pursuing creating 36 more Senedd members, a broadcasting authority, and a Constitutional Commission. Both broadcasting and the constitution are reserved to Westminster.

The parties are also behind on making progress on the headline policies in the agreement:

• Building safety: A second phase of the Welsh Building Safety Fund to help those living in properties with cladding has still not started.
• Flood Review: This is yet to report on flooding in winter 2020/21 preventing any action on recommendations and delivering on flood capital investment and resilience.
• Net Zero: The commitment to commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035 has not yet begun. It only appointed a Chair in August.

Welsh Conservative analysis from this year found that between September 2021 and June 2022 found that the Plaid leader has used fewer than half of FMQ sessions to exclusively question Mark Drakeford on his responsibilities.

In the before the 2021 Senedd election, Adam Price said he “wouldn’t support a Labour government under any circumstances – a Labour-led government under any circumstances.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

Wales, England and other European nations will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar because of the threat of players being booked.

The Welsh captain, Gareth Bale, had planned to wear the armband during matches to promote diversity and inclusion.

Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Sport, Tom Giffard MS said:

“The Welsh Football Association, among others, wrote to FIFA in September alerting them to the decision of players to wear the OneLove armband, to no response.

“The sudden change in decision here is clearly a sign of direct interference from FIFA as a result of reservations by the Qatari authorities.

“We back the Welsh FA’s decision to not instruct Gareth Bale to wear the armband, as subjecting him to a booking would be unfair to the team and to him. This difficult decision has in fact highlighted the issue, bringing it to the forefront of World Cup coverage, perhaps even more than simply wearing the armband could have.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

Figures uncovered by the Welsh Conservatives have revealed that, of the 184 sewage pipes operated by Welsh Water without permits in Welsh riverways, only 1 application has currently been submitted to Natural Resources Wales.

Commenting on the news, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:

“While the UK Conservative Government has been leading the way in dealing with water pollution legislation, Labour ministers are, once again, falling far behind.

“For years, Labour ministers have failed to deal with the issue of pollution in Welsh rivers and now we find out that only one application has been submitted for a permit.

“It is clear that NRW is not fit for purpose under Labour’s watch. Understaffed and underfunded, this organisation clearly does not have the power required to protect Welsh waterways.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that raw sewage has been dumped into Welsh waterways more than 100,000 times in just 12 months.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

Commenting on today’s budget, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Finance, Peter Fox MS said:

“The measures announced today will instil stability in the UK economy in the face of rising global pressures as verified by the OBR. As a result of Putin’s deplorable war in Ukraine, rising inflation is sadly taking its toll on our public services.

“I am proud of the support that this compassionate UK Conservative Government is guaranteeing support to the most vulnerable in society across Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom – ensuring that benefits and pensions rise in line with inflation as called for by the Welsh Conservatives. This, along with the historic support for energy costs, will continue to ensure people in Wales are protected from the worst of the global economic climate.

“The Chancellor has been honest with the British people, laying out his plans for a path to growth, increasing the NHS budget and supporting schools in England. As a result of this decisive action, the Labour Government in Wales will benefit from an additional £1.2 billion.

“While the NHS budget and other public services in England are being protected, Labour in Wales remain the only government in Great Britain to have ever cut an NHS budget by an astonishing £800 million.

“It is clear that Labour must use this additional funding to support our NHS and boost our education system rather than continue to run our services into the ground.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

“We have a duty not to leave our debt to the next generation.

“The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have today taken decisive action to get our public finances back in order.

“In particular, the Welsh Conservatives welcome the extra £1.2bn for Wales in consequential funding.

“While we all have our role to play in this national effort to pay our way, the Government has acted to protect the most vulnerable.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

Commenting on a new report suggesting cutting speed limits on urban roads to 20mph does not significantly improve road safety, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies MS said:

“We have always said that introducing 20mph speed limits should be decided by local councils and implemented for specific places, such as outside of schools, hospitals and care homes.

“It is clear that, unlike what Labour Ministers would have you believe, evidence regarding the benefits of blanket implementation of a 20mph speed limit is not conclusive.

“What we do know is that, according to Labour ministers, this policy will cost the economy an astonishing £4.5bn.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

Last week, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies MS met with lawmakers in Dublin to discuss health, the economy, and the shared opportunities and challenges Wales and Ireland face.

In the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Welsh Conservative Leader met with members of the committees on health, trade, climate change, agriculture and tourism.

Commenting on the way back to Wales, Davies said:

“It’s been wonderful to receive such a warm Irish welcome from friends across the Irish Sea. Too often, people can be reluctant to look elsewhere to see how the problems in our communities can be tackled.

“And the Republic of Ireland is not free from its own issues, with acute housing shortages, health service pressures and a huge agricultural sector wrestling with how to become even greener in the face of climate change.

“The biggest things I’m taking away is the importance of cross party working in tackling the challenges we face, and the importance too of taking decisive action to grip our biggest issues.

“In the Welsh context, I think of the sluggish Labour response to housing and brain-drain. We need to see Wales becoming more attractive to business and we need a housebuilding revolution, but after 25 years, Labour still don’t seem to get that.”

The press release issued by Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

The ability of Wales’ Labour-run NHS to treat people and protect staff “stands upon the edge of knife” say the Welsh Conservatives as the backlog threatens to capture a quarter of the population and ambulance waiting times reach the slowest on record for the second month running.

Not only is over 23% of the population on a waiting list, but the number of people waiting over two years is now 57,284 – more than double the figure a year ago – despite such waits having been virtually eliminated in England and Scotland.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:

“When we see nearly a quarter of the population on an NHS waiting list, the slowest ambulance response times on record, and Britain’s worst A&E waits, I think it is more than fair to say that NHS Wales’ ability to treat patients stands upon the edge of a knife.

“All of this is compounded with a near-nationwide nurses strike and a secondary waiting list where an additional 460,000 people are waiting for follow-up appointments for their treatment, which is clearly affecting the wellbeing of staff as well as patients.

“I simply do not understand why Labour ministers are ignoring are calls for surgical hubs and winter war rooms to deal with these dangerously long waiting times when we see them leading to very visible progress in England.

“But should we expect anything different from a Labour Government that said it would be ‘foolish’ to publish an NHS recovery plan before the pandemic ended – an attitude that has led us to this very situation? Labour need to get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records.”

Also in September, 1-in-4 Welsh patients waited over a year for treatment, but only 1-in-20 do so in England. Meanwhile, the median waiting time for that same month in Wales was 21.8 weeks compared to 14 in England.

Additional figures showed a third (33.4%) of patients had to wait over the four-hour target to be seen in A&E last month.

In England and Scotland, the equivalent figure in both was 31%. The Welsh target to get 95% admittances seen in four hours has never been met in its 13-year existence.

Statistics also revealed that:

• Eight major hospitals saw fewer than 60% of A&E patients within four hours;
• The Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board was the worst performing area in the nation against the four-hour A&E target, seeing only 59% in four hours;
• An astonishing 51% of patients had to wait over four hours at emergency departments in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, making it the worst performing site in Wales;
• Over 11,000 patients waited over 12 hours in Welsh hospitals; and
• Adults aged 85+ spent an average of more than seven hours in emergency departments.

When it came to ambulance performance in September, only 48% of responses to immediately life-threatening calls arrived within eight minutes – the worst rate on record (beating last month’s 50%). The target of 65% of red-calls reaching their patient within eight minutes has not been reached now for over two years.

Staggeringly, two-thirds (66.7%) of amber call patients – which include strokes – took over an hour to reach, with only 19% arriving within 30 minutes.

The slowest ambulances were in Dyfed’s Hywel Dda health board area with only 39% arriving within the eight-minute target of a red-call. Only 27% came to the scene within an hour of an amber call in Cwm Taf Morgannwg.

The figures come the week after nurses voted to strike in every health abords in Wales, apart from Gwent’s Aneurin Bevan health board, home of The Grange Hospital which was recently the subject of a damaging Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report.

Yesterday, Labour’s Health Minister also claimed in questions that her six-point emergency care plan, publishes over a year ago, was helping. The stats speak for themselves.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 16 November 2022.

Commenting on the news that Labour ministers have set a new social rent cap at 6.5%. Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:

“It is incredibly disappointing that Labour ministers are having to resort to rent caps in Wales to combat rent rises which are a direct result of the Labour-made housing crisis.

 “As a result of Labour’s failures, only 6,000 houses are being built per year, less than half of what we need.

 “If Labour ministers spent half the time addressing the shocking shortage of housing across Wales as they did planning on putting more politicians in Cardiff Bay, a lot more could get done. 

 “Labour must address the root of the housing crisis in Wales and not look to paper over the cracks that they themselves have caused.”