liberal democrats « Veronica German AM – Assembly Member for South Wales East

Guaranteed rise in pensions will help 84,974 in South East Wales

By Veronica German AM, on April 11th, 2011

Due to recent changes, every pensioner will get a guaranteed rise in their state pension matching the highest of inflation, increase in average earning or 2.5%.

This means that this year 84,974 people in South Wales East will get a rise of £4.50 a week, totalling £19.9 million of extra money for pensions in South East Wales.

This is the start of pension reform under this UK Government. This week, Liberal Democrat Pension Minister, Steve Webb MP, announced that the Government will be introducing a flat-rate pension of £140.

South Wales East Regional Candidate, Veronica German, commented:

“During these difficult times, Liberal Democrats in Government are making a real difference for today’s pensioners.

“Many pensioners will remember Labour’s pitiful rise in the state pension of 75p, which was frankly insulting. This Coalition Government has given pensioners a guaranteed rise of inflation, an increas in average earning or 2.5%, which is the highest, for this year on.

“A pensioner retiring today can expect to recieve around £15,000 more in basic pension over the course of their retirement than they would have done under Labour.

“This new flat rate will particulary benefit women and will ensure future pensioners have the guarantee of a decent future, something the Liberal Democrats have been campaiging on for years and are now delivering in Government.”

Commenting further, Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb said:

“The bold commitment of triple guarantee of a rise in the state pension by the highest of inflation, the rise in earnings of 2.5% will make the pension system fairer – but Liberal Democrats in Government will not stop there. That is why I have announced announced the Government will be bringing in a single flat-rate pension of £140 a week. We will replace a complex pension system.”

NOTES:

1. The triple lock guarantee of a rise in the state pension by the highest of inflation, the rise in earnings or 2.5% was in the Liberal Democrat manifesto at the last General Election.

2. The Liberal Democrat manifesto also said that a Liberal Democrat Government would look into creating a simple, universal pension.

3. On Monday 4 April 2011, Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, published the Government’s Green Paper, ‘A state pension for the 21st Century’, which sets out plans for a single-tier state pension. A consultation will be held on when would be the most appropriate time to introduce this, with a view to do so before the end of this Parliament in 2015.

Wales needs a cancer plan

By Veronica German AM, on October 25th, 2010

Veronica German, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokeswoman, explains why Wales needs a comprehensive cancer strategy.

Article written for the Western Mail.

CANCER is a disease that affects everyone.

With more than one in three people likely to develop cancer at some point in their lives we all likely to be touched by it.

It is essential we have a cancer strategy in Wales able to cope with this life-altering disease. A recent report, published by Cancer Research UK, said we in Wales aren’t getting the cancer service we need.

The report analysed cancer strategies across the UK between 2006 and 2010. It found that Wales was seriously lacking compared to England, stating: “A more comprehensive plan should be developed to ensure consistent delivery, implementation and integration across Wales.”

When Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams asked First Minister Carwyn Jones if he planned to follow this advice, he failed to provide a satisfactory answer.

We are again falling behind England because of inaction by the Assembly Government. One example of this is in the provision of intensity modulated radiotherapy This allows tumours to be treated very accurately, which is particularly important in the pelvic area and in head and neck cancers where there are a number of organs and structures that could be easily damaged.

In England this treatment has been available for five years and 42% of cancer patients are receiving it. But in Wales only two patients a month with head, neck and prostate cancer are receiving this form of radiotherapy.

In England, the UK government has just committed £60m over four years to introduce new state-of-the-art screening programme for bowel cancer, different to the test currently available. Wales has a higher incidence of bowel cancer than England – in fact we have higher levels of male cancers than any other part of the UK and our survival rates in Wales are well below the European average.

We have heard nothing from the Labour-Plaid Government about establishing a similarly new bowel cancer screening programme here.

The Cancer Research UK report is proof that we need to establish a fully-inclusive, patient-centred, contemporary cancer strategy.

I would like to see a cancer strategy that is truly holistic and an all-encompassing service that is focused on the patient and their family from diagnosis, treatment through to aftercare and remission.

We need a service that doesn’t stop when the treatment stops. People are at their most vulnerable – both physically and mentally – when they are suffering from an illness such as cancer; it simply isn’t good enough to treat the body without treating the mind.

We need a service that addresses a patient’s psychological and emotional needs as well.

A Welsh cancer strategy must also offer practical advice on issues that often get ignored, such as financial issues.

Furthermore it needs to provide services for families – such as counselling and advice – to help them cope when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer.

Macmillan Cancer Support already offers a holistic service. In August the charity launched a ground-breaking counselling service for people whose relationships have been affected by a cancer diagnosis.

It is a first in Wales, and only the second of its kind in the UK, and offers free help to individuals, couples and families who have been affected by a cancer diagnosis.

I would love to see a cancer strategy that, like Macmillan, offers a holistic service.

But the sad reality is that before we can even begin to think of what we want, we have to think about what we need.

First and foremost we need a strategy that delivers the best treatments possible for the people of Wales.

The Labour-Plaid Assembly Government needs to act now and give us a cancer strategy that at least puts us on an even footing with those in England.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh-politics/welsh-politics-news/2010/10/25/veronica-german-wales-needs-a-cancer-plan-91466-27535254/

On the first week back – the report that was not

By Veronica German AM, on September 27th, 2010

The first week back of term at the Welsh Assembly has been an eventful one especially for health. It’s been difficult to avoid discussion of the McKinsey ‘report’.

Last year the Health Minister commissioned management company McKinsey and Company to examine the Welsh NHS and make recommendations based on their findings. The main remit of the report was to look ahead to the next five years and suggests ways to improve the finances of the Welsh NHS.

Unlike the English report, the Welsh Assembly Government commissioned McKinsey in such a way that its findings would not have to be published and made available to the public. The Government have referred to it as a commission and called it a ‘process’ serving to inform the Welsh Assembly Government’s decision making, rather than culminating in a final report.

This meant that the general public, as well as professionals working in the health sector, were unable to view and scrutinise the documents that these decisions were based upon.

In Wales, McKinsey’s findings were set out in a document named Delivering a Five-Year Service, Workforce and Financial Strategic Framework for NHS Wales. This document sets out the Government’s strategy for the Welsh NHS for the next 5 years.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats along with other bodies have been asking to see the McKinsey document for some time and now that it has been revealed, I can see why the government was so keen to keep it under wraps.

It lists numerous shortcomings in the Welsh NHS. It states that ‘strategic objectives are too numerous and not prioritised, so none or the wrong ones are implemented’. It points out a ‘gap between policy leads and operational delivery’. Possibly most damming of all the document states that initiatives, set out by the Government, are ‘financially unaffordable’. With a copy of the report now placed in the public domain, questions to the Health Minister were dominated by ‘McKinsey’.

Assembly debates this week have pushed into harsh light the lack of transparency in our government. Documents of this nature need to be in the public domain so that they may be publically scrutinised. Only then can the recommendations be discussed by those who are affected by them and those who have to implement them.

These views are shared by Andrew Dearden of BMA Wales. He has contributed to the document but hasn’t even seen it himself. He told BBC Radio Wales: ‘In our view, as the BMA Wales, we have asked for copies of the document, we have asked to review it because we were actually asked to give evidence, so if it was full of positive comments, I suspect it would have been made public.’

Of course, this isn’t just about a document. This is about people and a service that we all rely on every day. It seems to me that frontline staff have been completely ignored. The document even says that frontline staff ‘do not own’ strategies set out by the government. It is essential that they have a say in a service that they have to implement.

I intend to press the government on this issue. By asking questions and continuing to talk to frontline staff I will attempt to get to the root of the substantial problems the NHS in Wales is facing.

The McKinsey document has unveiled the need for serious change in the Welsh NHS. This document will have come at a substantial cost to the government. Its criticisms were substantial and worthy of public debate. Equally they are worthy of a substantive government response. So far the Health Minister is refusing to answer detailed questions about the McKinsey report. It is incumbent on her to do so.

Sadly though, I fear that ultimately it is not the Government who will pay the price, it is the people of Wales who will bear the real cost of the government’s ineptitude.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health-news/2010/09/27/veronica-german-on-the-mckinsey-fiasco-91466-27346363/