December
Glyn Davies

12/12/06

"NO, IT'S NOT AN IKEA DELIVERY VAN - IT'S THE START OF A RECYCLING REVOLUTION" SAYS TORY AM

 Glyn Davies AM for Mid and West Wales has welcomed one of Cae Post's new Kerbside Collection Vehicles to his home at Cil Farm, Berriew.  The new specialist 7.5 tonne Kerbsider vehicles have been designed to Cae Post's own specifications.  They will be used to develop a 'high participation' model of recycling from rural properties around Welshpool area in Montgomeryshire.  Cil Farm is one of the properties taking part in this first project of its kind.

 Commenting on the new rural recycling project, Glyn Davies who is Chair of the Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee, said:

 "Powys has a very good record for promoting recycling and I am pleased to be a part of a pilot project to promote recycling amongst the more isolated properties in rural Wales.

 The new yellow and blue vehicles may look like IKEA delivery vans but, in fact they are specially designed collection vehicles with separate sections for different recycled materials.  Another innovation is that electronic tags are fitted to all boxes to keep householders informed about how successful their recycling efforts are. This joint project takes recycling to another level and I am really pleased to be involved.

 Cae Post is a very successful 'Resource Recovery Centre' based at Trewern, near Welshpool which employs many disadvantaged people - and Cae Post is well placed to make a real success of this new joint project with Powys County Council.  I hope other councils in Wales will follow where Powys and Cae Post are leading the way."

11/12/06

 GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES PLAID LEADERS LATEST U-TURN

 Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has welcomed comments made by Ieuan Wyn Jones, Assembly Plaid Cymru leader, on yesterday's BBC Politics Show, suggesting that Plaid Cymru are open to consideration of a 'non Labour coalition' as an Assembly Government after the Assembly election in May.  This statement seems to be yet another new position for the 'gymnastic' leader of Plaid Cymru and at complete variance with his description of such an arrangement as 'unrealistic' only last Tuesday.

 Commenting on Ieuan Wyn Jones latest comments about working with other parties, Glyn Davies said:

 "Ieuan Wyn Jones has become the 'Hokey Cokey King' of Welsh politics - he's in, he's out, he wobbles all about.  It was 'High Noon' last Tuesday when he seemed ready to press the red button and take over as First Minister of a 'Caretaker Government' - but by 3pm he thought any sort of partnership which didn't include Labour is 'unrealistic'.  And then by Sunday he's ready to consider an Assembly Government composed of parties other than Labour - which can only mean some form of arrangement with Conservatives.

 Personally, I greatly welcome Ieuan's latest u-turn - and hope he's finally settled on an opinion.  Every opposition party will be approaching the Assembly Election with the aim of maximising the number of votes and seats that they win, hoping to form a government on their own - but equally, none of us should rule out the possibility of a non-Labour coalition.  I am pleased that the Plaid Cymru leader has now said publicly that he would be prepared to consider the possibility of a non Labour Government. The people of Wales will now have a genuine choice between a 'Labour' Government and a 'non-Labour' Government next May.   I just hope that the Hokey Cokey King doesn't shuffle into a new position yet again."

GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES LAUNCH OF 'GOOD FARMING - BETTER ENVIRONMENT' REPORT

 A new report entitled ' Good Farming - Better Environment' is to be launched by Carwyn Jones, Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside, at the National Assembly  tomorrow (Tuesday).

 The report has been prepared jointly by the Environment Agency, NFU Cymru and the Farmers Union of Wales.  The launch is being held in the Senedd and is to be hosted by Glyn Davies, Chair of the Assembly's Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee. There will be speeches from the leaders of the three commissioning bodies

 Commenting on the launch Glyn Davies said:

 "Good farming means good management of our environment and our landscape.  Throughout our history farming has adapted to what the nation needs and is always in a state of continuous change.  When I was a young farmer, my main objective was the production of food.  Today, protection of the environment has become a much more important part of farming policy.  And tomorrow, farming will have to play a major part in mitigating the impact of climate change.

 I greatly welcome the constructive joint working between the two farming unions who represent the industry in Wales and the Environment Agency which has responsibility for delivering environmental protection policy.  'Good Farming - Better Environment' is a great example of a joint initiative which will map out how farmers can continue in their traditional role of guardians and managers of the Welsh countryside."

08/12/06

TORY AM CONDEMNS PLAID CYMRU ANTI ARMY STANCE

 Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has criticised the growing anti army position being taken by Plaid Cymru in Wales and accused Plaid Cymru of undermining the reputation of Wales within the UK and pursuing policies which would cause great damage to the Welsh economy.

 Over recent days Plaid Cymru has conducted a high profile attack on the Army's 'presentation' activities and its recruitment process in Wales.  And now Dafydd Iwan, Plaid President, has announced that his Party's policy is to remove all army activities, including training from Wales and handing land used for training ranges back to previous owners.

 Commenting on Plaid's position Glyn Davies said:

 "I am truly appalled by the current policy positions being taken by Plaid Cymru towards the British Army's presence in Wales.  The first duty of any Government (or political party aspiring to government) is defence of the nation. Plaid Cymru are presenting themselves as the friend of our enemies.  The idea that the massive army training presence in Mid Wales should be removed is completely daft, would create huge economic problems and makes absolutely no sense to anyone.

 I am totally supportive of the Army's presence in Wales and will do whatsoever I can to retain a presence at least at the current level.  I cannot believe that any serious political party could say what the President of Plaid Cymru has said.  I challenge Ieuan Wyn Jones to publicly disassociate his Party from the comments of his President.

 I am also keen that the Army should continue to accept any invitations it receives to make a presentation of its work to Welsh schools.  Wales has a proud record in defending our national interests over many, many decades - and I am absolutely astonished that a fellow Welsh politician should be talking down our soldiers in the way Plaid Cymru is doing."

05/12/06

 GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES REPORTS OF PLANNING LAWS RELAXATION IN ENGLAND

 Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has welcomed today's reports that the Westminster Government is considering a relaxation of planning controls in England.  For over 30 years Glyn Davies has called for a radical relaxation of the planning regime in Wales and has blamed the inflexible system of development control as hugely damaging to the lives of Welsh people.

 Commenting on today's publication of the Barker Report Glyn Davies, who served as Chair of a Local Planning Authority for 6 years in the 1980s, said:

 "Our planning system is like cholesterol blocking up the veins of our nation, inflicting pain on individuals and sclerosis on business.  Wales, and rural Wales in particular, is crying out for a totally new approach and I hope we will learn from the new Westminster approach which will apply in England.

 Young people cannot find places to build new homes for themselves.  Businesses are left floundering as planning departments leave applications for new development gathering dust.  Our villages are being ruined as every back garden and every green open space is turned into a potential building plot - while vast tracts of land, no longer needed for food production, are beyond consideration for new homes.  The planning system is a straightjacket, imposed on local Councils by the Assembly Government, - and is the cause of the problem it purports to be trying to solve.

I hope the that today's announcements are more than 'spin' and that some common sense will be injected into our planning system - at long last."

01/12/06

GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES MINISTERS ADMISSON OF SERIOUS DELAY IN EU APPROVAL FOR WALES RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Glyn Davies, AM for Mid and West Wales, has welcomed the public admission by Carwyn Jones, Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside, that disputes in the EU will mean serious delays in the approval of Wales Rural Development Plan (RDP).  The RDP is worth £769 million for the period between 2007-13 and was supposed to begin at the beginning of next month.

 Yesterday, at the meeting of the Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee in Builth Wells, the Minister acknowledged that the plan is unlikely to be approved until either a) 'the summer' or b) 'after May' or c) 'even the autumn'.

 Commenting after the Minister made his comments Glyn Davies, who is also Chair of the Committee said:

 "I have been warning for months that the Government's Rural Development Plan would be late.  I have warned that the disagreements between the Council of Ministers, the Commission and the European Parliament would cause serious delays.  And now the Minister has had to concede that the RDP might not be approved until 'even the autumn' of next year - despite an official start date of Jan.1^st 2007 - just one month from now.

 I have been concerned about what I see as complacency within the Assembly Government about the approval process.  Even now I am concerned that fundamental disagreements between the main institutions of the European Union will lead to further problems in the approval process. It is only the UK Government that supports the proposed budget arrangements for financing the RDP - while other member states, the Commission itself and the Parliament all remain implacable opposed to it.

 It was also concerning to hear the Minister put part of blame for the delays on opposition parties in the National Assembly for forcing a rethink of his proposed cuts to the upland support scheme 'Tir Mynydd'.  The budget approval timetable has no bearing on this delay and the Minister's comment does smack of 'getting in his excuses early' for some future problems that should have been anticipated."

GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES MINISTER'S COMMENTS ON METHOD FOR CALCULATING BOVINE Tb COMPENSATION

Glyn Davies, AM for Mid and West Wales, has welcomed comments made by Carwyn Jones, Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside, about the method he will use to calculate Bovine Tb compensation levels.  The Committee meeting was held at the Royal Welsh Showground this week, two days after the close of the hugely successful Winter Fair.

 The Minister put forward a number of options to change the system of compensation and promised to consider the views of the Committee before bringing forward proposals to change the current system, which has led to unacceptably high levels of compensation for animals culled as a Bovine Tb control measure.

 Commenting after the Meeting Glyn Davies, who is also Chair of the Committee said:

 "The Bovine Tb Compensation Scheme for farmers whose animals are slaughtered as a disease control measures is a highly sensitive issue.  I accept that there has been over compensation in the past - which no one can accept.  Taxpayer's money should always be spent fairly and with justification.

 I am totally opposed to the Minister's previous proposal of a compensation scheme based on a tabular valuation for categories of cattle - because it makes no allowance for the great differences in value between good and poor quality livestock.

 The Committee's view was that there should be a much more rigorous enforcement of the current valuation regime.  If any valuer is found to be over valuing, he or she should be removed from the approved list of valuers.  I accept that the regime must be applied ruthlessly - and I also accept that if this doesn't work there will be little alternative but for the Government to dispense with private valuers altogether and employ its own.

 I was pleased to receive the Minister's assurance that he is willing to give consideration to the Committee's comments before coming forward with new proposals."

GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES MINISTER'S ABILITY TO PAY 75% OF SINGLE FARM PAYMENTS TODAY

 Glyn Davies, AM for Mid and West Wales, has welcomed the announcement by Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister, Carwyn Jones that 75% of Single Farm Payments (SFP) due to farmers in Wales are to be paid out on 1^st December, the first day allowable under European Union rules.

 The announcement by the Minister in Wales is in stark contrast to the position in England where it will be well into next year until any payments at all will be made.

 Commenting on the Minister's announcement for Wales at this weeks Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee Meeting at the Royal Welsh Showground, Committee Chair Glyn Davies said:

 "The farming industry in Wales is in a far more favourable position that the industry in England.  There is not a farm industry representative in Wales who is not extremely thankful that the National Assembly is responsible for the Single Farm Payment system - and not Defra (Dep't of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) - which has made a total pig's ear of the system in England.  So desperate is the position in England that the Westminster Government has been fined over £60 million pounds for the current year - with more fines expected next year. At our last Committee meeting, a senior EU official was as congratulatory of Welsh performance as he was condemnatory of English performance.

 There may be some areas where there is debate about whether devolution has improved services to the people in Wales - but as far as the farming industry is concerned I have not the slightest doubt that the National Assembly has been a huge success."

GLYN DAVIES CONCERNED ABOUT LOCAL AUTHORITIES SLOW RESPONSE TO NEW FLOOD RISK RULES (TAN15)

 Glyn Davies, AM for Mid and West Wales, has outlined his deep concern about the impact of new flood risk planning rules (TAN 15) on the Welsh economy.  As a result of the new guidance in TAN15 very large areas of land zoned for development in current plans have been rendered not  acceptable for development because of increased flood risk.

 The Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee decided this week to prepare a report, outlining their concerns about this issue for despatch to the Minister, Carwyn Jones.

 Commenting on the Committee decision Glyn Davies, who is also Chair of the Committee, said:

 "We all accept that new development should not take place on land that is deemed at risk from flooding under the new TAN15 guidelines.  But, we also acknowledge that this new policy will create severe difficulties for developers and Local Planning Authorities in many parts of Wales. The situation demands an urgent response form Welsh Councils.

 Not enough work is being carried out, and not with sufficient urgency, to identify the scale of the problem and to bring forward replacement development land for both housing and economic development in Council's Local Development Plans.

 There is a serious threat to the rural economy in particular, unless Local Authorities get to grips with the new flood risk rules quickly and get on with the essential work of identifying new development land.

 I do not want the adoption of a sensible policy of not building where there is flood risk to become a 'not very sensible' policy which kills off any development at all."

 "IT JUST WON'T WASH, RHODRI" SAYS TORY AM

 Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has dismissed Rhodri Morgan's attempt to portray himself as the 'change Wales needs' in his highly promoted speech in Swansea last night.  In the speech the First Minister sought to catch public attention by saying that 'New Labour is dead' and to distance himself from the unpopular Tony Blair in the run up to the National Assembly election next May.

 Commenting on the First Minister's reported comments Glyn Davies said:

 "I really do not think Rhodri Morgan's ex-communication of 'New Labour' will wash with Welsh voters.  Rhodri has tied himself to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for the last 13 years and has been happy enough to bask in their reflected glory - before the British electorate sussed them out.  It just won't wash with the voters for Rhodri Morgan to now pretend that he is nothing whatsoever to do with the Labour Party's deeply unpopular UK leaders.

 Last night's speech by the First Minister was a desperate attempt to save Labour in Wales from punishment by the voters next May - and it was rather pathetic to hear him running the line, 'New Labour is Dead' simply to get anyone to listen to what he was saying.  There was also something rather distasteful about watching Rhodri spitting on the hand that has fed him so well over the last few years.  He is treating New Labour just like the WRU treated Mike Ruddock after he won the Grand Slam for them.

 Over the last few years Rhodri Morgan has been a very poor ambassador for Wales and through his bad tempered approach has reduced debate in the Assembly Debating Chamber into undignified pettiness.  He knows that Wales wants change and a fresh start to Assembly politics with a more grown up approach to debate and decision making. Rhodri Morgan simply cannot present himself as the face of change with any credibility.  It just won't wash with the voters, Rhodri"