Monthly Archive
YOUR CHANCES OF REPRESENTING WALES COULD GO UP IN SMOKE: ASH
Welsh triathlete and 2008 ITU World Champion Helen Jenkins has joined forces with ASH Wales to call on the Welsh Assembly Government to do more to protect teenage girls from becoming smokers.
Helen teamed up with Assembly Member Dr Dai Lloyd to meet young girls from ASH Wales’s youth tobacco control programme in Cardiff Bay.
Joining ASH Wales as a new patron, Helen said:
“I am delighted to be joining forces with ASH Wales which is leading the fight in Wales against the harm caused by tobacco use. I am astonished by the statistics of young teenage girls smoking in Wales. To learn that nearly 1 in 4 15 year old girls in Wales are regularly smoking is staggering. As a top athlete I know the importance of keeping fit and healthy. Athletes have to keep their bodies in top shape to compete at the highest level. These figures are appalling and prove that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the dangers and help them to beat this addiction.
“Young girls are storing up major health problems for themselves in future years. They are severely damaging their health, with smoking linked to heart disease, lung cancer, liver disease etc, not to mention the damage that smoking does to your skin with premature ageing. They quickly get addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes and then they are hooked, sometimes for life.”
The smoking statistics for young people in Wales tell a sorry tale:
Most smokers take up smoking between the ages of 11 and 15, and some as young as 7.
Amongst Welsh 15 year olds, 23% of girls and 12% of boys report regular smoking in 2006 in Wales.
Between 66-90% of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn 18.
Tanya Buchanan, Chief Executive, ASH Wales, said:
“I am so pleased Helen has joined ASH Wales as our new patron. Smoking is an addiction, just like alcohol and heroin addiction and we simply must do more to protect children and young people from the harm caused by tobacco. Wales urgently requires a tobacco control strategy that will detail the measures we can take to reduce childhood addiction to tobacco.”
Dr Dai Lloyd said:
“The measures in the Health Bill passed by Westminster earlier this month banning point of sale displays and vending machines allow Wales to implement these measures at an earlier stage if we wish. And we must take this opportunity to lead the fight against smoking addiction in the UK. Smokefree legislation has been extremely successful in Wales. We must use the legislation in the 2009 Health Bill to reap the benefits for the future and ensure we have a tobacco control strategy in place like other parts of the UK.”
Lauren Davies, aged 16, from Cefn Hengoed said:
“As a young person I am concerned that so many of my friends are getting hooked on smoking. It’s really motivating to meet someone like Helen who has achieved so much in her sporting career. She is an inspiration to young girls like me and I’m really pleased she is supporting us in this campaign.”
NOTES
Please refer all press enquiries to: Carole Jones, ASH Wales at carole@ashwales.co.uk or Tel 02920641101 or 07593538076
Pictured in the photo are girls aged 13-16 from Cardiff and Caerphilly.
ASH Wales is the only voluntary organisation in Wales with the sole task of tackling the ill health caused by tobacco use. Our main aim is to achieve a reduction in, and eventual elimination of, the health problems associated with tobacco use. Further information can be found at: www.ashwales.co.uk.
ASH Wales was established in 1976 as a branch of ASH UK. In 2007 ASH Wales became an independent company limited by guarantee and a charity registered in Wales.
Helen Jenkins was the 2008 World Triathlon Champion and is a Great Britain prospect for London 2012. More information is available from her official website at: www.helentucker.co.uk.
Plaid AM calls for funding for Environment Centre
Plaid AM Dr. Dai Lloyd has called for a more sustainable form of Government funding to protect invaluable educational resources such as Swansea’s Environment Centre.
His call comes following a meeting with Environment Centre Trustees and Management on Monday.
The Centre provides a wide range of resources for schools, colleges and the wider community on green issues such as waste, recycling, food and energy use; however it has warned that due to lack of funding they could be forced to cut back on this provision.
Dr. Dai Lloyd stated:
“Swansea’s Environment Centre is a great resource and does a tremendous amount of work in terms of trying to create a more sustainable Swansea. However, it is clear that funding issues are putting that work at risk.
“The educational work that they do, particularly with the next generation, is vital if Swansea is to do its bit to combat climate change. I have written to the Sustainability Minister, Jane Davidson, outlining the good work that the Environment Centre carries out, and have asked that she suggests possible avenues of funding that they can access.
“In a broader sense, it is vital that organisations such as the Environment Centre, and others who carry out good work within our communities, have a sustainable form of funding, where they can plan in advance over a period of years.
“Government and large business organisations have medium term financial plans. It is wrong that we expect voluntary and local organisations such as this to operate on a piece-meal, hand to mouth basis.”
Independent pay body welcomed by Plaid
The Chair of the Plaid Cymru group in the Assembly, Dai Lloyd AM, has today welcomed proposals to create an independent body to fix Assembly Members Salaries and allowances.
The Plaid AM said that such measures are essential in restoring public faith in politicians and expressed his surprise that conservative assembly members were opposing the proposal.
Plaid AM Dai Lloyd said:
“Plaid Cymru fully supports this measure which will put into practice part of the recommendations that came out of the Roger Jones report. Plaid Cymru wholeheartedly supports making the system as open and transparent as possible. Assembly Members are accountable to the people of Wales and therefore any decisions on their remuneration should also be accountable to the people of Wales.
“At a time when people in Wales have never felt so angry and let down by the same old politics in Westminster, it is refreshing to see a different approach in Wales, the need for change being recognised and acted upon. It is therefore startling that the conservatives here don’t want an independent body to fix their salaries and allowances. Once again the Tories are showing their true colours. It is only right that an independent body makes the decisions over Assembly Members pay, not the politicians. You would think they would have listened to the people of Wales about expenses rather than themselves.”
Plaid: Swansea to benefit from One Wales Investment
Plaid Cymru in government is doing all that it can to help the people of Wales to weather the economic storm. That was the message today from Plaid AM Dr. Dai Lloyd.
The Plaid AM was responding to the One Wales Government’s announcement that a further 10 projects across Wales, including a £3.5m investment at the Glyn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea, are set to benefit from strategic capital investment.
As well as providing high quality public services, these projects will give a must-needed boost to the beleaguered construction industry.
Dr. Lloyd pointed out that the money had the potential to create over three thousand jobs across Wales while tackling climate change, increasing the availability of affordable housing, and improving education and health services for Welsh communities.
Dr. Lloyd said:
“This is exactly the kind of action that is needed from government in these tough economic times. Plaid in government is investing money strategically in order to create jobs and to help the people of Wales to weather this economic storm.
“The £3.5m investment in the Glyn Vivian in Swansea will bring about economic benefits locally with the creation of jobs and potential contracts for local companies.
“When Plaid went into government we committed to increasing the availability of affordable housing and to addressing the educational and health needs of our communities. These Wales-wide investments do just that, including £20m for affordable housing and £8m for the children’s hospital.
“People can count on the Plaid driven Welsh government to put its money where its mouth is and do what it can to help the communities of Wales to weather the economic storm.”
Diwedd/ Ends
Notes to editors:
Allocations have been agreed for sums up to £118.3 million from the Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategic Capital Investment Fund.
The ten projects to which funding has been allocated are:
£20m for affordable housing.
£35m for the Ebbw Vale Learning Works including development of 3-16 school provision and a sports/leisure and arts centre.
£12m for the Taf Ely Learning Campus
£5.3m for school buildings in Gwynedd.
£10m for three emergency Strategic Coordination Centres.
£15m for an arts and science centre at Bangor University.
£8.5m for a new Emergency Care Centre at Prince Charles Hospital.
£8m for the Children’s Hospital for Wales.
£3.5m for the Glyn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea.
£975,000 for eco-lighting at 17 monuments.
Plaid AM joins charity calls for public funding
Plaid AM Dr. Dai Lloyd has written to Welsh Assembly Government Ministers Edwina Hart and Jane Hutt calling for state funding for a Swansea charity.
Dr. Lloyd recently visited the Christian Lewis Trust based on Walter Road, a registered children’s cancer charity that provides care and support for families affected by children’s cancer.
The Christian Lewis Trust receives the majority of their referrals from local health authorities, social services and education authorities. However, the trust receives no funding whatsoever from any of these sources or from the Welsh Assembly Government to help with the provision of the specialist services that they offer.
Dr. Lloyd stated:
“During my recent visit to the Christian Lewis Trust I was hugely impressed with the quality of the services being provided to children and families going through very tough times. The key issue is the need for funding to help maintain the high calibre of their services in terms of adequate premises, professional administration and to maintain professional counselling standards.
“The trust currently cares for around 80 children and over 200 children will receive therapy or counselling of some sort from the Trust each year.
“Christian Lewis Trust really is a very impressive organisation, carrying out hugely impressive and much-needed counselling support for the whole local area of Swansea and beyond. They currently operate from very small premises funded by volunteers and other charities such as Children in Need.”
Dr. Lloyd added:
“In view of the success of the Christian Lewis Trust and the increasing amount of referrals they receive, much of which are directly from NHS and social services, plainly the present premises, administration and funding are struggling to cope with the demand.
“I am calling on Edwina Hart and Jane Hutt to look into the funding mechanisms which are currently operating, to see if finances can be provided from local education authority and health budgets to help meet this growing cost.”
Plaid in government takes sting out of London Cuts
Plaid Cymru local government spokesperson, Dai Lloyd AM has said that the Plaid driven Welsh government has done all its power to help local government to protect public services from London budget cuts.
The Plaid AM said that the Plaid driven government had managed to take the sting out of London Labour cuts for local government by using budget reserves to bolster the funding settlement, but warned that London should not be expect the Welsh government to do this again in the future.
Dr Dai Lloyd called on the London parties to commit to ruling out cutting the Welsh budget any further- just as has been recommended by a report by the independent Holtham Commission.
Dai Lloyd AM said:
“Thanks to cuts to the Welsh budget by the London government, Welsh public services faced the devastating prospect of losing over £200m this year. Plaid Cymru is committed to protecting Welsh public services as a priority. The Welsh government has therefore aimed to take the sting out of these London cuts by using budget reserves to bolster the budget settlement.
“The Welsh government cannot continue to use its reserves in this way indefinitely. Welsh public services can only be protected in this way for so long. The independent commission tasked with looking at how Wales is funded, the Holtham Commission, said that the Welsh budget cannot be cut any further before a fairer funding formula is in place. It is high time that the London parties took heed of this warning. The people of Wales need guarantees that this will be the last time that the Welsh government has to use its reserves to protect public services.”
Plaid slam Tory proposal to scrap electric train plan
Plaid representatives in Swansea have slammed Tory proposals to scrap the electrification of trains between Swansea and London.
Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers broke the news at the party’s annual conference in Manchester yesterday (Wednesday).
Plaid Councillor Darren Price stated:
“The electrification of the line between Swansea and London is something that we have been campaigning for over a number of years.
“It has huge benefits in terms of cutting journey times between Swansea, London and mainland Europe, and also in introducing a greener, more environmentally friendly mode of transport.
“This announcement by the Tories is a kick in the teeth for Swansea and South West Wales.
Plaid AM Dr. Dai Lloyd stated:
“I know that Plaid’s Transport Minister at the Assembly Ieuan Wyn Jones has been pushing hard for the electrification to Swansea.
“This announcement clearly shows the Tories for what they are – a party more interested in serving the South of England than the people of Wales. The UK Government has clearly been convinced of its affordability, with plans already being developed to start the work. The scheme should not be scrapped at this late stage to simply fund the Tories’ planned tax breaks for the rich.
“It looks that Wales will once again face the brunt of the Tories’ cuts, as we did during Thatcher’s reign in the 80’s.”
