![PRESS RELEASE : Responding the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies MS Reacts [November 2022]](https://www.ukpol.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/welshconservatives-150x150.jpg)
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:
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.”
The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 16 November 2022.
Commenting, on the Prince of Wales’ visit to the Senedd today, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:
“It was a pleasure to welcome the Prince of Wales to the Senedd today to discuss the future of our great nation and the role he will play in it, as well as the causes he champions around mental health and the environment towards which there is a great deal of positivity.
“After the King and Queen’s recent visit, it is fantastic to see the bonds between Wales and our Royal Family becoming stronger still. There is a huge amount of goodwill towards the Prince and Princess in Wales, and I know there will always be a warm welcome for them whenever they visit.
The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 15 November 2022.
The Welsh Conservatives have called on political parties across the chamber to work together to tackle dangerous cladding in Wales ahead of an opposition debate Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking before the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:
“Once again, Labour ministers say one thing but are actually delivering very little to support people living in flats with dangerous cladding.
“As a result of Labour’s inaction, owners and tenants are facing the very real financial and mental strain as a result of rising service and insurance costs. These people feel scared, isolated and let down by the Labour Government.
“Political parties across the Senedd must come together and ensure those affected by this horrific scandal in Wales have the same rights and protections as those in England enshrined in Welsh law.”
The Labour Government in Cardiff Bay received almost £60 million from the UK Conservative Government to tackle cladding remediation and building safety. Earlier this year it emerged that not a single penny of that was spent on building safety in Wales.
Only two months ago, Victoria Wharf, a development in Cardiff that has cladding concerns has experienced 2 fires in the space of 30 days.
In an interview with the BBC, one resident in Cardiff described how her service costs have increased from £3,000 to £7,800.
The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 14 November 2022.
Labour’s health minister has escalated the levels of government intervention in Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board.
In a written statement, Baroness Morgan decided to keep quality governance at targeted intervention levels, but escalate quality related to performance and long waiting times to targeted intervention, and raise planning and finance to enhanced monitoring.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:
“It is a shame that after recent progress on de-escalating maternity services from special measures, it has become apparent that in chasing one result, the minister has taken her foot of the pedal and seen things get worse in other parts of Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board.
“Everyone should be concerned that the government are directly intervening because of quality performance and long waiting times because this has very real consequences for patient safety and staff well-being.
“Sadly, the issues facing the NHS are Wales-wide, with most health boards in some state of intervention, record-long waiting lists, the slowest ever ambulance response times, and Britain’s worst A&E waits.
“What we need more than just action is explanation for why this is the case – otherwise, Labour will never get a grip on the NHS and stop breaking all the wrong records.”
She also confirmed North Wales’ health board will remain at targeted intervention to incorporate Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, focusing on the vascular service and emergency department, stating “it is clear there are still a number of serious challenges the health board needs to overcome”.
The press release issued by Welsh Conservatives on 14 November 2022.
Education Minister, Jeremy Miles has accepted the 5% uplift for teachers’ pay, recommended by the Welsh Pay Review Body. He complained, however, that the UK Government has not made additional funding available to pay teachers more.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Minister, Laura Anne Jones MS said:
“Jeremy Miles’ insistence on passing the buck at every turn when it comes to Wales’ education has grown tiresome. With education devolved for nearly 25 years and the levers of power firmly in Labour’s grasp, the Minister has no one to blame here but himself.
“Labour constantly complain of a lack of funds, but have proceeded to waste taxpayers’ money on their vanity projects. £100 million to expand the Senedd, almost £200 million on cancelled road projects and £20 million on their Universal Basic Income scheme to name a few.
“And let’s not forget for every pupil in Wales, there is actually a funding deficit of £1,000 as pupils should be receiving an additional 20% than their counterparts across the border.
“It is time Labour finally take responsibility, they have been running the education system for a quarter of a century.”
The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 14 November 2022.
Commenting on the news that renters in Cardiff are being hit hard by soaring rents as a result of the housing shortage, Shadow Minister for Housing, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:
“Once again, we are seeing the devastating impact of a quarter of a century of Labour run Wales.
“Let’s not forget that this is a housing crisis of Labour’s own making with fewer than 6,000 houses being completed per year before the pandemic, less than half the number required.
“Rather than focus on issues that matter to hard working people, Labour ministers have wasted time and effort on vanity projects and the relentless scapegoating of landlords. This must end.
“Labour need to act fast and get a grip on their housing crisis in Wales, ensuring there is sufficient housing stock for families across Wales and end their relentless attacks on landlords and second homeowners.”