By Veronica German AM, on March 16th, 2011
To mark Wales Tourism Week, Veronica German AM has this week urged the First Minister in Plenary to support her calls for Caerleon heritage site to continue receiving funds to enable further investigation on the area.
Last spring students being trained in how to use mapping equipment discovered evidence for a Roman city outside the walls of the barracks. The area almost doubles the size of the known city of Isca and includes what is believed to be the largest single Roman building north of the Alps. It could be a granary or warehouse – or a palatial riverside villa. Since then, many academics have described it as the most significant Roman find in Wales in 100 years.
Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, look after the site at Caerleon and have funded the previous series of geophysical surveys and digs. This funding has not been renewed for the 2011 season.
Veronica German, Welsh Lib Dem Assembly Member for South Wales East, commented:
“A team from Cardiff and UCL have been working on the site for five years and have made some fascinating discoveries using geophysics. The scale of the find is truly impressive and it really ought to be investigated further. The fact remains that these kinds of investigations need significant funding.
“The site is an exceptional case in the United Kingdom as everywhere else where there were Roman Legionary Cities, such as York and Chester, the sites are under modern cities, making them practically inaccessible to archaeologists. This illustrates the importance of Caerleon to the UK’s heritage: it really is a special case.
“There is obviously a public interest as only recently a video animation of the site was watched by more than 500,000 people on the internet. It makes sense to continuing investing in Caerleon as it really could be a massive asset in terms of developing heritage tourism in the area.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 16th, 2011
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales East, Veronica German, has pledged to support the NSPCC Cymru/Wales ‘I stand for children’ campaign which aims to make child protection a priority for the next Welsh Government.
Ms German said: “As a candidate in South Wales East, I am supporting NSPCC Cymru/Wales’ new campaign to ensure protecting children is a political priority: I Stand for Children.”
The NSPCC’s campaign is calling on candidates to commit to three child protection measures:
• Ensuring that funding of frontline children’s social services is protected
• Tackling child neglect
• Ensuring that children are effectively protected from abuse in all sports settings in Wales
NSPCC head of service for Wales, Des Mannion, said: “We need to make sure that the next elected Assembly Government keeps child protection high on its list of priorities. By signing up to our campaign, candidates in this next election can help.
“The public can also help by visiting our campaign website and letting their candidates know what they want done.”
More information about the NSPCC Cymru/Wales ‘I stand for children’ campaign can be found at www.istandforchildren.com/wales or www.istandforchildren.com/cymru
By Veronica German AM, on March 15th, 2011
Responding to the Health Minister’s statement to withdraw the organ donation opt-out LCO, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister, Veronica German said:
“Withdrawing the order was a logical step given last week’s referendum result however an Organ Donation Opt-Out Bill should be a priority in the next Assembly term. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are fully committed to introducing a bill that would give hope to many people waiting on transplant lists so that they can live a healthy and normal life.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 15th, 2011
The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be using their opposition debate this week to call on the Labour-Plaid Government to increase the use of personalised budgets for social care patients and scrap the ‘one size fits all current’ model.
Veronica German AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister, is calling for a radical change in social care to end the ‘one size fits all’ approach that ensures that many in Wales do not receive care packages appropriate to their needs. Instead, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will make a tailored social care a priority in their election manifesto, using ‘personal care budgets’ to ensure that individuals can choose their own care package.
Personal care budgets give people, and their carers, greater choice and control over the social care they receive. Users can tailor services to meet their specific needs. Welsh Liberal Democrats have also pledged to reform the regulations to give patients greater flexibility over what they can spend their care money on.
Veronica German AM, Shadow Welsh Liberal Democrat Health Minister said:
“Social care is a vital service for many older, disabled and vulnerable people. It embraces the most intimate care and support for people at times of greatest need. How well we look after each other says a great deal about the strength and character of our society.
“Often people in Wales find the social care system confusing, inflexible and not suited to their needs. That’s not good enough. Welsh Liberal Democrats want to offer more choice, control and flexibility over care.
“Labour and Plaid have left Wales in the position where we are the worst nation for allowing people to pick their own social care. Although there is a direct payment system, take up is appallingly low and many are not getting the kind of personal care package that they need.
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will offer everyone receiving social care through the NHS or their local council the opportunity to use personal budgets so that they can chose the kind of care they need, when they need it.
“Too many people are stuck receiving care that is just not right for them. Under Welsh Liberal Democrat proposals we will make sure that we change social care so that it treats people as individuals, offering them the dignity and respect they deserve.
“The Labour-Plaid policy for social care remains that the man in Cardiff Bay knows best. They refuse to accept that it is social care patients in Wales who are best placed to understand what help and support they need.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 15th, 2011
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Veronica German AM has today welcomed the news that Welsh Assembly Government has confirmed that they will be providing compensation to Welsh victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
In January the UK government confirmed that payments to people in England who contracted Hepatitis C as a result of being given contaminated blood products would be significantly increased.
The Health Minister today announced that victims in Wales will be receiving the same levels of compensation as victims in England.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been vocal campaigners for justice for the victims of the scandal which saw thousands of people contract Hepatitis C and HIV as a result of being given contaminated blood by the NHS.
Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister commented:
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have lead the way in calling for the Welsh Assembly Government to provide Welsh victims of the contaminated blood scandal with appropriate compensation.
“I am thrilled to see that the Government has listened to our calls and is now providing compensation which is the same as England.
“I am also glad to see that the Government has not included a date by which to claim compensation for those who have already died.
“However this statement is only the first step. I will be campaigning strongly to tackle other injustices that have occurred because of this incident”
“Furthermore I hope that the Labour-Plaid government acts fast and provides compensation in a timely manner.
“I will keep a close eye on this situation now to ensure that we are not left in a similar situation to the continuing care claims disaster, which left thousands waiting years for reimbursement for care they should never have paid for in the first place”
By Veronica German AM, on March 2nd, 2011
Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, is encouraged to see that there has been an improvement in ambulance waiting times across Wales but has noted that there is still a great deal of improvement needed.
The new stats show that in January 2011, 59% of emergency responses arrived within 8 minutes. The All-Wales target is 65%.
Veronica German, Assembly Member for South Wales East, said:
“In December the weather conditions were absolutely horrendous, which obviously put the ambulance service under a lot of strain. Across Wales, ambulance figures for December were understandably poor, so it’s good to see that they are starting to head back in the right direction.
“I’m also pleased that the new stats show that across Wales there has been a slight improvement in urgent response times when compared to the same time last year. Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go. Ambulance staff are working incredibly hard but the increase in percentage of ambulances arriving for urgent calls is up only about 1%. There are some areas, such as Torfaen and Newport, that are actually worse this year when compared to last.
“Sadly, not a single unitary authority in South Wales East met the Government-set target. In Torfaen, only 40% of ambulances that were needed urgently arrived within 8 minutes. I welcome that this is an improvement on December, but this is still nowhere near good enough. It is clear that residents in South Wales East continue to receive inferior treatment compared to most other parts of Wales.
“It is clear that the improvement will require a joint effort by Local Health Boards as well as the Ambulance service. If ambulances are queuing up outside hospitals they cannot be sent on emergency calls. The Labour-Plaid Government have still not got a grip on our NHS which has resulted in the people of Wales not receiving the treatment that they deserve.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 2nd, 2011
Commenting on the announcement by the UK government that it will invest in electrifying the Great Western mainline from London to Cardiff and investing in new trains to run from London to Swansea, Veronica German, Lib Dem Assembly Member for South Wales East AM, said:
“The news that the UK government is investing so heavily in Welsh railway infrastructure – both track and trains – is fantastic news for South Wales and for the Welsh economy.
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have always been fully committed to the project and have lobbied government extensively for a positive announcement to be made as soon as possible.
“Passengers will benefit from faster journey times and new trains running between London and Swansea.
“Gordon Brown announced an electrification project in 2009 saying that work would start immediately but nothing happened. Not only did Labour fail to put aside any money to pay for the project, they had not carried out the detailed technical work needed.
“This announcement is of course good news for all of South Wales and will benefit many hundreds of thousands of passengers making the trip from Swansea to London. We will continue to push the case for electrification to be extended from Cardiff to Swansea.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 2nd, 2011
Veronica German, Assembly Member for South Wales East, has pressed the First Minister to do more to tackle inequalities in Wales so areas such a Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent are not left behind.
In First Minister’s Questions, Ms German noted that over the last 14 years the difference in life expectancy between the highest and lowest local authority has actually increased, whilst the difference between Wales and the UK has also widened.
Ms German, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister, commented:
“Despite 13 years of a so-called ‘progressive’ Labour government, the gap between the rich and the poor has continued to widen. Those areas that were poorest 14 years ago are still the poorest now.
“The Labour-Plaid Government must look at how they plan to improve the health of the poorest in Wales so as to improve healthy life expectancy. A review similar to the Marmot Review that was held in England would be a step in the right direction. The last figures released on Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) showed that in some wards in Wales people can expect to live for around 20 years healthier than someone who might live in Merthyr.
“For too long many people in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent have suffered from high levels of deprivation. Reducing health inequalities is a matter of fairness and social justice. The Welsh Assembly Government needs to be doing all it can do put an end to the disgraceful inequality that currently exists in Wales.”
By Veronica German AM, on March 2nd, 2011
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today renewed their call for St. David’s Day to be designated as a public holiday in Wales after securing a Westminster debate.
Today, Mark Williams MP will stage a Westminster Debate to call for the Government to give the Welsh Assembly the powers to declare St. David’s Day a public holiday.
Yesterday in First Minister’s Questions, Eleanor Burnham AM asked the First Minister on the representations he has made to the UK government on the issue.
In 2000 the Welsh Assembly voted unanimously in favour of making St David’s Day a public holiday, but the Labour Government in Westminster would not give the Assembly Government the power to designate a public holiday on 1st March. The Scottish Parliament voted to make St Andrew’s Day a public holiday in 2006, and St Patrick’s Day has been a public holiday in Ireland since 1903.
Veronica German, Assembly Member for South Wales East, commented:
“St David’s Day has massive cultural and historical significance in Wales and the Welsh Liberal Democrats have long believed that St David’s Day should be a public holiday.
“A St David’s Day holiday would be a great opportunity to showcase our culture and heritage, making it a global festival of all things Welsh and a showcase for investment and tourism as well as a celebration of our national day.
“There is a great deal of support for an extra bank holiday, and I hope that in Wales we will soon be able to follow Scotland in making our national saint’s day a public holiday.”
By Veronica German AM, on February 24th, 2011
Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrats Shadow Health Minister, has commented on newly released A&E statistics.
Figures for January 2011 released this morning show that across Wales A&E departments are still not meeting the targets set by the government.
In Wales 83.3 per cent of patients spent less than four hours and 94.8 per cent of patients spent less than eight hours waiting. The targets state that 95 per cent of patients should spend less than four hours in major A&E departments from arrival to admission and that 99 per cent of patients should spend less than eight hours waiting.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health and Wellbeing Minister, Veronica German, commented:
“Not once were the Government A&E targets met in 2010, I hope this will not be the case for 2011 but this isn’t a great start. Looking at the statistics for the same time last year, it would seem that there has been very little improvement.
“Frontline staff are working extremely hard and it must be incredibly demoralising every time these figures are published. This is not just a problem with our A&E departments, it a whole NHS and hospital problem as well.
“If Local Health Boards believe they require resources to look at their A&E departments to improve capacity, then they should come forward with proposals to the Health Minister. There is clearly a systemic failure in the way the NHS in Wales deals with emergency and unscheduled care and these problems need to be addressed.”
Notes:
Statistics for January 2011 can be found here: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/health2011/1102241/;jsessionid=ptRnNmxHJylVpgRQZwt2hrxcT0JSbFs7fxv5fTFH6YWQ4n0QMFQY!-670654171?lang=en
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