Assembly Government needs to speak up for people of Merthyr

By Veronica German AM, on April 5th, 2011

The Merthyr Liberal Democrats first became aware of Covanta’s proposals for an incinerator in 2008 and immediately organised a public meeting in the town centre.

From then on we have been trying to raise awareness of this issue.

This is not what some might describe as Nimbyism (‘Not in my back yard’). This is making sensible arguments against proposals that are too large and clearly contradict Welsh Assembly Government policy.

For example, the Government’s policy on waste states that any incinerator needs to function at 60% efficiency (or better) in order to be environmentally acceptable. To achieve this, incinerators must generate electricity and fully utilise the heat as heating for homes and for industry. These proposals suggest this will not be the case.

The size of the plan would demand that Assembly Government accept this single incinerator to deal with all the residual waste in Wales. That would require waste to be moved from all aprts of Wales. This is also against Assembly Government policy.

The incinerator planning process is an example of democracy not working. The consultation with local residents has been poor. It is startling the number of people I have spoken to who weren’t aware of the proposals, or at least were not aware of the size of the development planned.

I must question the Assembly Government’s role in these proposals.

Only recently I quizzed the First Minister on his Government’s involvement in the proposed incinerator. He informed me that it was “not a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government” !

In the past the First Minister has said that he would not be able to intervene because his Government was not a statutory consultee in the IPC’s (Infrastructure Planning Committee) application process. However, on the IPC website, it clearly states that the Assembly Government is a statutory consultee at both the pre-application and examination stage of the process.

The fact is that the Assembly Government could have influence if it wanted to. Carwyn Jones needs to explain why his Government has decided to stay silent on this.

The IPC suggest it may be useful for the local authority to receive comments from local people to help them compose a Local Impact Report. I believe there is a strong moral obligation for Merthyr Council to do this and I suggest that residents send their views to the Leader of the Council.

The incinerator would create a handful of jobs, but this would be incredibly short sighted: A recent report showed that increased recycling could provide more than 3,000 new ‘Green Jobs’ in the Heads of the Valleys. The research said that recycling creates 10 times as many jobs as incineration and the region could have a green, successful and thriving future. This is the direction the region needs to be heading, rather than the unsustainable incinerator.

First published in Merthyr Express.

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First Minister is turning his back on Merthyr and the incinerator

By Veronica German AM, on March 30th, 2011

Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales East, Veronica German has today questioned the First Minister on his government’s involvement in the proposed Covanta Incinerator in Merthyr.

Speaking in the Assembly today Ms German asked if he could explain why the First Minister had stated that his government was a not a statutory consultee on this planning application.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) website clearly states that the Welsh Assembly Government is a statutory consultee at both the pre application and examination stage of the process.

When asked, the First Minister stated that it was “Not a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government”.

Ms German Commented:

“I am amazed that the First Minister can so easily turn his back on the people of Merthyr.

“It comes just days after a protest outside the Senedd by protesters from Merthyr, the Rhymney valley and Blaenau Gwent.

“They do not understand why their government are not willing to state their position on this proposed development, particularly since it seems to conflict with the government’s strategy for waste.

“The fact that the First Minister refuses to even comment is shameful.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats are determined to fight this inappropriate proposal all the way.”

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Veronica German AM attends ‘No Incinerator’ action day

By Veronica German AM, on March 21st, 2011

Veronica at the action day with Cllr Bob Griffin

Welsh Liberal Democrats Veronica German AM and Councillor Bob Griffin last weekend took part in a ‘No Monster Incinerator’ action group day in Merthyr town centre.

Over the course of the day, 600 local residents completed and signed the IPC (Infrastructure Planning Commission) registration forms in protest against the incinerator.

Ms German, Assembly Member for South Wales East commented:

“I am pleased with the support local residents are giving to the campaign against the proposed incinerator. In fact, people felt so strongly on this issue that they were actually queuing up to register their objections to the plans. Recent community public meetings have been packed, illustrating the strength of feeling of local residents.

“The incinerator might create a few jobs, but this would be incredibly short sighted. A recent report illustrated that increased recycling could provide more than 3,000 new ‘green jobs’ in the Heads of the Valleys. The research showed that recycling creates ten times as many jobs as incineration and that the region could potentially have a green, successful and thriving future. This is the direction the region needs to be heading, rather than the environmentally unfriendly incinerator.

“There also seems to be a big problem over the lack of consultation with local residents. It was startling the number of people I spoke to who hadn’t been aware of the proposals, or at least were not aware of the size of the development planned. Covanta held some meetings which according to many residents lacked any sort of detailed information. Since then, the IPC have held some meetings that were poorly advertised and also lacked any proper information. There is a sense of feeling in the local community that their voices are not being heard.”

Veronica will be meeting a group of constituents who are visiting the Senedd tomorrow afternoon after they have presented a petition to the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

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Green Jobs launch in Merthyr Tydfil

By Veronica German AM, on February 7th, 2011

I recently attended the Friends of the Earth’s launch of a report on the possibilities for Green Jobs in the Heads of the Valleys area. Here is Julian explaining the potential for Green jobs in Merthyr.

http://www.veronicagerman.org.uk/2011/01/veronica-german-am-attends-green-jobs-launch-in-merthyr/

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Veronica German AM meets local Girl Guides

By Veronica German AM, on November 19th, 2010

Veronica with Cerys and Kate

Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Veronica German, has paid a visit to Merthyr Girl Guides to discuss combating body image pressure felt by women and girls.

Girl Guiding UK and the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning together to make girls feel confident about their own body and to help them realise that manipulated images are unrealistic and untrue.

Ms German, who is Assembly Member for South Wales East, commented after her visit to the Guides’ senior section based at Pantysgallog Community Centre in Merthyr:

“Since the Liberal Democrats launched the Real Women campaign last year, we have been inundated with messages of support from people who are fed up of the constant pressure to live up to totally unrealistic ideals of beauty.

“Today’s unrealistic idea of what is beautiful means that young girls are under pressure now more than ever. The focus on women’s appearance has got out of hand. No-one really has perfect skin, perfect hair, and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than thin and perfect will do. We all need to work together to change this. And so far, the Girl Guides have done brilliantly.

“The Girl Guides have done an incredible amount of work over recent years with their annual ‘attitude surveys’ and their most recent survey showed that girls as young as ten are worried about their weight. It was great to have an opportunity to chat with the girls and hear their perspective on these matters. I was really impressed with their common sense approach.”

The Girl Guides recently delivered a petition to David Cameron calling him to introduce a law forcing magazines to inform readers when photographs have been airbrushed.

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Improved response times in South Wales East are needed

By Veronica German AM, on October 7th, 2010

Liberal Democrat Health and Wellbeing spokesperson, Veronica German, has today expressed her disappointment on hearing that August Ambulance waiting time statistics in Newport have worsened in every single category when compared to those of the previous month.

The percentage of calls resulting in an emergency response arriving within 8 minutes was down 4.5%, whilst those arriving within 9 minutes was down 5.5%, with those arriving within 10 minutes down just over 6%. The percentage of urgent journeys that were more than 15 minutes late was up by 5.4%.

There were other areas across South Wales East who also suffered from worse response times, with Monmouthshire being down in all but one category, Merthyr Tydfil having over 6% less calls resulting in an emergency response arriving within 8 minutes, and Torfaen down in all but two categories.

Veronica German, the Assembly Member for South Wales East, commented:

“Firstly I would like to make clear how much the people of South Wales East and I appreciate the hard work that staff for the ambulance service put in. Despite this, it is a great shame that response times for August have gone down as much as they have.

“Ambulance service staff have an incredibly difficult job and the work that they all put in is fantastic. Nonetheless, the new systems established don’t seem to be achieving the desired effect, as they are still facing a constant battle against hand over times. Ambulances queuing outside hospitals means they are not available to take as many calls as they should be. The ambulance service and the hospitals need to be working as closely together as possible if the people of South Wales East are going to receive the ambulance service that they want and deserve”.

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