Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 14 November 2022.

More than 1,100 unemployed people facing hidden barriers to entering the labour market have been helped to start their own business thanks to a Welsh Government grant scheme, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

They include unemployed single mum Sami Gibson, who was determined to build a better life for herself and her child.

Sami had dreams of setting up her own business but faced several barriers – she had no laptop or internet connectivity and was living in a remote rural location.

Thanks to support from the Welsh Government’s Business Wales service, Sami has set up a new business called Roots, which grows and sells herbs and other plants sustainably. Roots also creates blends such as stuffing herb mix with wild bilberries, a nasturtium salt, and pizza sauce herbs.

Sami was awarded a Barriers to Start Up Grant worth £2,000, which she used to purchase equipment and marketing materials for her start-up.

Sami said:

“Thanks to invaluable support from Business Wales, I now trade regularly at markets and I have a thriving website for sales.”

The Barriers to Start-up Grant for over 25-year-olds is a revenue grant to help economically inactive and unemployed individuals over the age of 25 to start up a business in Wales.

It particularly targets individuals facing barriers to starting their own business or to enter the employment market. It is part of a package of support that includes one-to-one advice and webinars to build confidence in business practices and develop plans for starting a business.

Of the successful applicants in the latest phase of the grant scheme 57% were female, 26% were disabled, and 13% identified themselves as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.

The fund supports the Welsh Government’s aim of eradicating the gap between the employment rate in Wales and the UK by 2050, with a focus on fair work and raising labour market participation of under-represented groups.

Speaking at the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said:

The Welsh Government is determined to create a fairer and more prosperous Wales, where people are supported to fulfil their true potential.

We are working hard to create good-quality jobs in communities across Wales. That includes supporting people into work, regardless of their individual circumstances or the barriers they face to employment.

We are also focused on supporting more people to start their own business, fostering an even more vibrant SME sector, and prioritising enterprises built on sustainability and the industries and services of tomorrow.

I am delighted this grant initiative has already helped so many people, including those from groups under-represented in the labour market, and those in and out of work with long term health conditions.

As well as assisting individuals aged over 25 to start up a business, the Economy Minister approved £5m over three years to support young people into self-employment with advice and financial support to deliver on the Young Person’s Guarantee. The Young Person’s Start-up Grant for those aged under 25 went live in July 2022 and is administered by Big Ideas Wales. This grant will run until 2025.

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 13 November 2022.

The UK government has been urged to increase the amount of funding available for NHS pay.

Ahead of the Autumn statement, Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan have written to UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay to ask for additional funding to help avert strike action this winter in the NHS.

The letter reads:

We wanted to write to you in advance of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 17th November to once again make the case for additional funding for our hardworking NHS staff.

In recent weeks the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and the Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Local Government have written to His Majesty’s Treasury to make clear the need for additional funding for public services.

The Royal College of Nursing have announced a sweeping legal mandate for industrial action across the UK. In Scotland, they have joined several other unions representing NHS staff in gaining a legal mandate for industrial action with ballots expected to confirm a mandate in the rest of the UK.

The risk to the NHS of industrial action this winter is profound, and we all need to do all we can to avert industrial action in any form. The NHS across the UK continues to feel the effects of the pandemic as it recovers and remobilises, and any action is likely to have catastrophic effects in all parts of the UK.

We are experiencing a cost of living crisis and the anger of NHS staff is entirely understandable. Sky rocketing inflation combined with high interest rates, a direct result of the havoc caused by the UK government’s mini-budget, means that we are simply unable to come close to matching the expectations of NHS staff across the country. While the support provided by the UK government on areas such as support for energy bills is welcome, it has not gone nearly far enough.

Media reports suggest that the Chancellor is considering reimposing austerity on the people of the UK again, for which there is no mandate, through extensive spending cuts. That would be a disaster for our public services, including the NHS, at a time when they need more investment, not less.

We would therefore implore you to work with us to make the case to the Chancellor in advance of his Autumn Statement for increased funding for the NHS and the devolved governments as a whole, primarily to pay our hard working NHS staff a fair pay rise in the face of the cost of living crisis this winter, and avoid what could be catastrophic industrial action in the NHS.

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 11 November 2022.

The Welsh Government has proposed that more categories of properties will be excepted from paying the council tax premium on second homes, managing the impact of new local tax rules to distinguish between second homes and self-catering accommodation.

There will also be additional guidance on the discretion local authorities will have in the application of the premiums.

It follows ongoing discussion and engagement with councils, communities and the tourism industry.

The tax changes, which will be in place from 1 April 2023, are intended to develop a fairer housing market and ensure owners make a fair contribution to the communities in which they own homes or run businesses. The changes provide a clearer demonstration that the properties concerned are being let regularly as part of genuine holiday accommodation businesses.

The criteria for self-catering accommodation being liable for non-domestic rates instead of council tax is increasing from being let for at least 70 days in any 12‑month period to being let for at least 182 days.

The change announced today will mean two further categories of property will be exempt from council tax premiums if they no longer meet the letting criteria. It will apply to all properties that are restricted by planning conditions which mean that they can only be used as short-term holiday lets or which prevent them from being used as someone’s main residence.

Updated guidance being issued to local authorities for consultation also confirms the discretion available in the event that holiday lets fail to meet the new letting criteria.

The move is intended to ensure the changes being taken forward are made as fairly as possible and strike the balance between the needs of communities with large numbers of second homes and holiday lets as part of a sustainable tourism sector.

As part of the Cooperation Agreement with Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Government is committed to taking immediate action to address the impact of second homes and unaffordable housing in communities across Wales, using the planning, property and taxation systems.

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said:

I recognise the strength of feeling among self-catering operators in response to the changes to the letting criteria, and I have listened to the representations from individual businesses and industry representative bodies. These changes will give more flexibility to local authorities and will ensure that the contribution property owners make to the communities where they have homes or run businesses is fair.

Designated Member Sian Gwenllian MS said:

By working together on a cross-party basis in in the Senedd, we have been able to act quickly to begin to address longstanding injustices and market failures in the housing system that have an impact on communities across Wales. Our aim is to increase the availability and affordability of housing for local people to rent and to buy. Today’s announcement is a sensible step to take to ensure that the package of measures we are taking forward can be implemented as effectively as possible – to make the biggest difference to people and communities whilst mitigating any unintended consequences.

There are a number of existing exceptions from the council tax premiums. For example, properties which are subject to a planning condition preventing occupation for a continuous period of at least 28 days in any one-year period cannot be charged a premium.

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 11 November 2022.

Construction work is underway on new £12 million sustainable employment premises at the Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site in Carmarthenshire, which will provide innovative and modern commercial space for businesses to grow in the local area, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

The Welsh Government, in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council, is building 32,500 square feet of low carbon offices, light industrial units and hybrid spaces for letting across three buildings.

With support from the Active Building Centre, the project will help transform the way commercial buildings are powered and heated.

Using innovative technology and active building design principles, the new buildings will generate electricity using on-site renewables and incorporate high levels of insulation to deliver a low carbon development with reduced running costs.

The aim is to achieve ‘net zero carbon in-use standard’, which would see the development produce enough renewable energy to meet the lighting and heating needs of the buildings.

The Welsh Government is investing £5.9 million in the project, with additional funding contributions being made by Carmarthenshire County Council and the Active Building Centre. In addition, £3.25 million funding has also been awarded to the project by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government. The main contractor for the development is Andrew Scott Limited.

The Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site has been delivered via a joint venture between the Welsh Government and Carmarthenshire County Council, comprising a large programme of infrastructure works delivered over two phases.

Speaking at the COP27 UN climate summit takes place in Egypt, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said:

The Welsh Government is taking decisive action to tackle the climate change crisis, so that we build a better green future for our country.

We’re also working hard to deliver the supercharged green industries of the future that will help create high-quality jobs for people in their local communities.

Delivering first-class business spaces is central to that vision – and it’s vital we do this in a way which contributes to our decarbonisation aspirations. This new development does exactly that, by demonstrating superb low carbon credentials.

With the support of the Active Building Centre, I hope it can become a launchpad for further low carbon employment space, promote new technologies and provide essential data on the benefits low carbon buildings can deliver.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism, Cllr Gareth John said:

We are pleased to deliver these high-quality commercial premises, which will bring much needed employment space to the area.

This investment by Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Government demonstrates our desire to continue the development of Carmarthenshire’s Strategic Employment Site.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability, Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen said:

This development is a clear indicator of the action the Council is taking to meet its net zero carbon 2030 commitment.

We are pleased to be delivering such a significant demonstrator project, which has the potential to lead the way in terms of highly sustainable commercial buildings. The fabric first design approach and innovative technologies integrated into the buildings are methods which the construction sector must adopt to play their part in reversing the climate emergency.

The Active Building Centre’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Perry said:

As a company born in Wales, we are proud to have worked on this exciting project. We hope it can be used as a framework for other sites; especially as it showcases what can and should be done to help tackle the challenge of net zero.

Designing integrated structures and energy systems to be part of the solution around decarbonisation, with active technologies built in from the start, will mean that our buildings are not just users of energy but will play an integral part in meeting the challenges of climate change.

The press release issued by the Welsh Government on 10 November 2022.

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language has announced over £7m will be invested in 11 Welsh medium education and childcare projects across Wales.

This funding will increase opportunities for Welsh medium education, which is key to the Welsh Government’s goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

The projects announced today will help bring opportunities to more pupils, from early years through to secondary schools to develop their Welsh language skills. Ysgol Llanfawr in Anglesey will receive funding for a new childcare unit, with 50 Welsh Medium childcare places to nurture a new generation of Welsh speakers.

Some projects can also support local communities to use more Welsh. Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw in Torfaen has secured funding for a floodlit 3G pitch suitable for sports and activities to take place within the school day, which would also bring initiatives to grow the use of the Welsh language to the local community in the evenings, weekends and during school holidays.

The Minister, Jeremy Miles, said:

I’m pleased to see the plans for new projects which will support children and young people of all ages right across Wales. If we’re going to achieve our ambitious goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, it is crucial we put the next generation at the heart of our plans.

My message is clear, I want Welsh-medium education to be an option for everyone and I want everyone to have the opportunity to be bilingual citizens of Wales.