Tag: 2022

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 12 July 2022.

Legislation to lower the default national speed limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from 30mph to 20mph has been approved by the Senedd today.

Wales becomes the first UK nation to make the move – helping to save lives, develop safer communities, improve the quality of life and encourage more people to make more sustainable and active travel choices.

The new slower speed limits are currently being trialled in eight communities across Wales and will be rolled out nationally in September 2023.

The new legislation will not apply a blanket speed limit on all roads, it will simply make the default limit 20mph, leaving local authorities, who know their area best, to engage with the local community to decide which roads should remain at 30mph.

Currently, just 2.5% of Welsh roads have a speed limit of 20mph, but from next year this is expected to increase to approximately 35%, helping to create safer roads and communities across Wales.

Speaking after the vote, Minister for Climate Change, Julie James said:

“I am delighted that the move to 20mph has received cross-party support across the Welsh Parliament today.

The evidence is clear, decreasing speeds not only reduces accidents and saves lives, but helps improve people’s quality of life – making our streets and communities a safer and more welcoming place for cyclists and pedestrians, whilst helping reduce our environmental impact.

We know this move won’t be easy – it’s as much about changing hearts and minds as it is about enforcement – but over time 20mph will become the norm, just like the restrictions we’ve introduced before on carrier bag charges and organ donation.

Once again Wales is leading the way for other UK nations to follow.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 3 August 2022.

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language will today provide a preview of the actions which are part of the Welsh Government’s plans to safeguard communities where Welsh is the main language and where there are large numbers of second homes.

The interventions include encouraging homeowners to give local people a fair chance when selling their property. The Minister will also announce a new Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities, Comisiwn Cymunedau Cymraeg, which will bring together experts to make policy recommendations to protect and strengthen Cymraeg as a community language.

The Minister will discuss these actions today at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron, ahead of the publication of the final Welsh Language Community Housing Plan (WLCHP) in the autumn.

The Minister will share details of the proposed schemes including a voluntary ‘fair chance scheme’, to help sellers make decisions about how they sell property, by allowing properties to be marketed locally only, for a fixed period. The Welsh Government will also work with organisations such as estate agents to address the housing needs of those communities.

The WLCHP will also include support for social enterprises and community housing co-operatives, as well as steps to protect Welsh place names.

As part of the Programme for Government and Co-operation Agreement commitments to tackle the negative impact second homes and a lack of affordable housing can have, the Welsh Government has extended the discretionary powers for local authorities to increase council tax on second and long-term empty homes by up to 300%.

Last month, the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru announced further plans for new planning laws, a licensing scheme for visitor accommodation and proposals to change land transaction tax in areas with large numbers of second homes, as part of their Co-operation Agreement.

Jeremy Miles said:

“For the Welsh language to thrive, we need sustainable communities and good job opportunities in the areas where it is widely spoken.

Through our Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan, and the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities we’re announcing today, we and our partners will work together with communities where Welsh is the main language and help them develop plans which protect their identity and our language.

This isn’t about imposing solutions, so everything we do will be in line with local communities’ aspirations.

The Commission will help us develop future policies to sustain the language in those communities traditionally considered its heartlands. This isn’t about setting up a new body, it’s a group of experts in a range of fields who will give us a completely candid view about how the economy, policy decisions and demographics are affecting the Welsh language.

I’ve said many times that the Cymraeg belongs to us all, as does the responsibility for its future. We’ll have to be brave and tackle things together that might be difficult. I’m sure that some of the things the Commission will tell us will be challenging, but that’s important – that’s what will help us find the most effective answers!”

Dr Simon Brooks, who previously published Second homes: developing new policies in Wales for the Welsh Government, will chair the Commission.

The members of the Commission are:

Talat Chaudhri
Lowri Cunnington Wynn
Cynog Dafis
Meinir Ebbsworth
Delyth Evans
Dafydd Gruffydd
Myfanwy Jones
Shan Lloyd Williams
Cris Tomos
Rhys Tudur

Dr Brooks said:

“As a Commission, we’ll examine the linguistic reality of Welsh-speaking communities today in order to make policy recommendations which will help safeguard them for future generations.

The Commission will produce a comprehensive report, bridging policy areas from education to the economy. By looking at these together, we want to help develop answers to the challenges facing our Welsh-speaking communities as a whole. Cymraeg belongs to us all and developing Welsh-speaking communities is crucial to its future as a living language.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 1 August 2022.

The Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee is warning that people in Wales are being left behind with ‘sub-par, unreliable broadband’ that risks ‘excluding people from modern life’ due to barriers in receiving high-quality superfast internet.

The Committee’s latest report examined broadband connectivity in Wales and found that, despite improvements over the last few years, many people are still unable to access adequate internet speeds.

Although superfast broadband availability in Wales is now at 96%, figures from Ofcom show that take-up in Wales is only around 63%.

Mountainous Wales

The report found that the provision of superfast broadband across Wales was uneven, with urban areas being the first to benefit from better connectivity but many rural areas still being unable to access a decent internet connection.

Ofcom estimates that around 15,000 premises cannot get a broadband service of at least 10Mbps download speed and 1Mbps upload speed from fixed or fixed wireless networks in Wales.

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit is a £5bn project designed to address this issue across the UK with the ‘Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme’ created to support rural areas with the installation costs of high-speed broadband.

But because of the mountainous Welsh topography there is a higher proportion of difficult-to-reach properties in Wales compared to other parts of the UK.

And according to Lee Waters MS, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change who gave evidence to the Committee, “UK funding has failed to reflect the true cost of deploying in the Welsh landscape”. To address this issue, and despite it being a non-devolved area, the Welsh Government provided top-up funding to the UK Government scheme to “plug the gap” in Wales.

But from 31 March 2022, the Welsh Government stopped topping-up the gigabit voucher scheme, which has led the Committee to call for the UK Government to raise the amount of support available for individuals and businesses to address the particular needs in Wales.

The report warned that without meaningful engagement between governments there is nothing to prevent the UK administration creating a scheme that again does not meet the needs of Wales.

Connections and Cost

Since March 2020, households that cannot get a download speed of 10 Mbps and an upload speed of 1 Mbps, can request an upgraded connection from BT under the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

This obliges BT to improve the connection for free if the installation cost is estimated to be below £3,400 for the customer. But if the cost exceeds the £3,400 cap, the customer must pay the excess.

The Committee expressed serious concerns that this would simply be unaffordable to many people -particularly in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis – and urged the Welsh Government to discuss raising the level of the cap with the UK Government.

And according to Ofcom, there are an estimated 7,000 ‘hard to reach’ locations where, even with the USO, access to a stable broadband connection wouldn’t be guaranteed.

Inclusion and Affordability

The Committee also heard that one of the many reasons for the lack of take-up of superfast broadband by people was cost. Many internet providers offer ‘social tariff’ packages which are only available to people receiving government benefits which allows them to access cheaper internet deals.

But the report highlights the worrying fact that only 1.2% of those eligible for a ‘social tariff’ had accessed the scheme, potentially leaving thousands of low-income households paying over the odds for their broadband.

The Committee proposes that action should be taken to increase the number of households enrolling on ‘social tariffs’ by making the process clearer and simpler. Lack of awareness of ‘social tariffs’ was noted as a significant issue with the Committee proposing that their promotion must be improved and consideration should even be given to the automatic enrolment of those eligible.

In light of the severe cost-of-living crisis, the report warns that there is a risk that superfast broadband access will become a luxury that many will not be able to afford.

LLyr Gruffydd MS, Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, said:

“It is extremely disappointing to hear of many people in Wales still unable to access superfast broadband. Especially since the pandemic, more and more of our lives are lived online, and it’s simply unfair that many in rural areas are expected to put-up with sub-par, unreliable broadband. Everyone in Wales, not just those in urban areas, should be able to access a high-speed internet connection – this shouldn’t be a luxury.

Many of the issues we examined are non-devolved so we urge the Welsh Government to take on board our recommendations and present the solutions in this report to the UK Government – or the failures we see in this report will be repeated.

“With living costs rising sharply, the UK Government must urgently look at raising the Universal Service Obligation cap and improving the take-up of broadband services offering a ‘social tariff’. If things don’t change, we will undoubtedly see more people excluded from modern life.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 2 August 2022.

Clearer leadership is needed from the Welsh Government to prevent drowning deaths in Wales, according to a Senedd report.

The Petitions Committee has investigated water safety and drowning prevention in Wales after a campaign by Leeanne Bartley from Ruthin saw over 11,000 people sign her petition.

Leeanne’s son, Mark Allen, died after jumping into cold water at Gorton Reservoir, Manchester, in June 2018. Since then, she has campaigned tirelessly for better water safety measures in Wales and across the UK, including the petitions calling for rescue equipment to be mandatory.

The report found that drowning prevention measures are hindered by a lack of coordination from the Welsh Government. In fact, the issue of water safety does not fall under one specific minister’s responsibility and straddles various Government departments.

The Committee has recommended a package of measures to increase awareness of the dangers posed by water and to improve water safety – including allocating a specific minister to lead this work. That would help campaigners deliver one consistent educational message across all of Wales – which experts say is crucial for preventing drowning deaths.

During the seven months the Committee was investigating the issue, at least three young people died from drowning in Wales. It shows that action is needed urgently, says Committee Chair Jack Sargeant MS:

“During our inquiry, we heard from the petitioner and other families who have lost loved ones to drowning. We’ve heard about the devastating impact such a tragedy has had on their lives, but also of their steely determination to raise awareness and prevent future loss of life through drowning.

“Their work is already saving lives – but with clear leadership and coordination from Welsh Government, these campaigns can reach even more people and ultimately, prevent deaths.

“We must do better as a country, and I hope this report will give a boost to all those working hard to do so.”

The inquiry heard evidence from Chris Cousens, Chair of Water Safety Wales. He said:

“Around 50 people a year lose their lives to water-related fatalities in Wales every year. The rate of accidental drowning per head of population here in Wales is around double that of the UK as a whole. The number of accidental drowning deaths, sadly, is also higher than the number of deaths in fires, for example, motorcycle accidents and cycling—three other very high-profile causes of accidental deaths.”

Water Safety Wales brings together individuals and organisations with an interest in water safety and drowning prevention. It worked with the Welsh Government to develop the Wales Drowning Prevention Strategy 2020-2026, with the aim to reduce the number of water-related deaths in Wales reduced to zero.

However, it was noted in the inquiry that this partnership with the Welsh Government needs to be formalised and funding arrangements secured to enable Water Safety Wales to deliver this important work.

The Committee heard about the challenges of installing, maintaining and using throw lines effectively and recognised that they are one of a range of safety measures to consider to mitigate the risks identified in water, and can in some circumstances give a false sense of security.

Leeanne Bartley says she welcomes the report and its recommendations:

“The report is even more than we could have asked for when we started the petition – I’m so thankful to the Senedd for hearing our story and listening to us and the other families that have been affected by drowning deaths.

“But there is still work to be done and I will carry on campaigning – I hope Welsh Government takes these recommendations on board and continues to work with us on water safety.”