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26/02/07
GLYN DAVIES JOINS IAN RUSH IN CHEQUE PRESENTATION TO
CANCER CHARITY
Glyn Davies, Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has joined with Ian Rush,
ONE OF Wales greatest ever footballers, to present a cheque for £500 to Cancer
Research Cymru. The cheque was the Wales team's share of prize
money at the annual Parliamentary Shield football tournament held on the same
weekend as the 2006 Charity Shield. Also in the photograph is Eric Harrison,
former coach at Manchester United under Alex Ferguson and of the Welsh team
under Mark Hughes. Eric also coached the Welsh team in the Parliamentary Shield
tournament. Glyn Davies plays in defence for the Wales team
Commenting on the award Glyn Davies said:
"The Parliamentary Shield is an opportunity for parliamentarians from
Wales,Scotland, Northern Ireland and Westminster to join together in friendly
rivalry - even if the word 'friendly' sometimes seems totally inappropriate.
Eric Harrison always tells us that only Roy Keane from his Man Utd days would
have coped with the flying elbows and flailing boots. And the prize money goes
to a cause that is very close to my heart.
We're all delighted that Ian Rush has agreed to help with our coaching for the
2007 tournament. Ian will be joining Sir Geoff Hurst, Kenny Dalgleish and Pat
Jennings as the international team coaches this year."
16/02/07
GLYN DAVIES DISAPPOINTED BY 'NOISES OFF' SPEECHES
FROM LABOUR LEADERS
Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has expressed his deep
disappointment that Rhodri Morgan and others seem to be basing their Assembly
Election strategy on a campaign of personal abuse against David
Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party at Westminster. He also expressed
surprise at the First Minister's tactics following several recent references by
Rhodri Morgan about the need for the Welsh Assembly Elections to be
decided on Welsh issues.
Commenting on Rhodri Morgan's campaigning approach to the forthcoming elections,
Glyn Davies said:
"Welsh Conservatives want the Welsh 'General Election' to be decided on Welsh
issues and the relative merits of Welsh politicians. The Welsh Conservative
Party is campaigning on its desire and capability to govern Wales better than
Labour has done over the 8 years since the National Assembly was created. I am
also very surprised that Rhodri Morgan wants to make personal attacks on David
Cameron so central to Labours appeal to Welsh voters - simply
because opinion polls show that David Cameron is an increasingly popular leader.
If we are going to persuade young people to vote on 3rd May, all Welsh Assembly
candidates, including Rhodri Morgan, have a responsibility to present their
parties and their policies in a reasonable way that is relevant to Wales. I
hope Rhodri Morgan rethinks his undignified campaign of personal attacks on
David Cameron and realises that all he is doing is undermining young people's
respect for politics and politicians."
16/02/07
GLYN DAVIES WELCOMES REPORT OF WORLD LEADER'S
CLIMATE CHANGE AGREEMENT
Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has welcomed today's
reports that the world's leading international legislators have reached a new
agreement about cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The Global Legislators
Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) have issued a declaration which
recognises that both developing and developed countries have to be involved in
any strategy to slow down climate change.
The new binding agreement recognises the need for a global carbon trading market
which is seen as an important stepping stone for a successor to the Kyoto
Protocol.
Earlier this week, the Conservative Party in the National Assembly instigated a
debate on a motion which declared that tackling climate change is the most
important priority for the current and next Assembly Governments.
Commenting on today's agreement Glyn Davies said:
"We now know that the human race is destroying planet Earth - and that we all
have a responsibility to stop it happening. We also know that unless both
developing countries like China and India, join with developed countries like
the US, to map out a future strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the
future of the world is bleak.
An international agreement by all of the world's major polluters is an important
step forward, making the prospects of an effective Kyoto Protocol Mark 2 much
more likely. Kyoto runs only up to 2012 and we need a continuation protocol in
place well before then. It is greatly encouraging to see serious commitment
from China and the US to tackling climate change even if it is better late than
never.
Britain needs its Climate Change Bill to be based on effective short term
targets if we are to take our responsibilities seriously. And I hope that Wales
will have binding carbon reduction targets as well. At present, the Assembly
Government, and the First Minister in particular, seem determined to avoid any
Wales-specific targets at all. The time when worthy commitments are sufficient
has long gone."
12/02/07
ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND COUNTRYSIDE COMMITTEE
CHAIR OUTLINES CURRENT POSITION ON 'TIR MYNYDD' DISCUSSIONS
Chair of the National Assembly's Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee
Glyn Davies has published a statement which outlines the current position in
respect of discussions in Committee about the future of the Tir
Mynydd upland farming grant scheme.
Glyn Davies issued his statement following last weeks Environment, Planning and
Countryside Committee meeting.
Statement
"Last November the Assembly Government's Draft Final Budget proposals were
defeated in the National Assembly. One of the key reasons for opposition to the
Budget was a proposal to reduce the budget line for Tir Mynydd, an
upland farming financial support scheme.
Following cross-party negotiations, the Final Budget was approved in December
with a proviso that the Environment Planning and Countryside Committee would
consider 'reprioritisation' of the overall Tir Cymru budget line with a view to
increasing the budget available for Tir Mynydd from the £22 million currently
proposed for 2008. This would involve significant 'knock-on' changes to the
2007-2013 Rural Development Plan, which is due to be submitted to the European
Commission in July
The position was confirmed in a letter from Rhodri Morgan to Ieuan Wyn Jones,
Leader of the Opposition. It was proposed that any changes to the RDP, proposed
by the Committee, would be tabled for debate in a Plenary
Session of the Assembly in March (before the Assembly elections on 3rd May).
As Chair of the Committee, I placed an item on the agenda of the first meeting
of the year, (and first meeting after the Budget Debate) to consider a timetable
for dealing with the matter. Members decided to discuss the issue at the
earliest opportunity, our next Committee meeting which was held on 7th
February. At this meeting, I invited the Plaid Cymru Spokesperson to outline a
reprioritised Tir Cymru budget (which she had already discussed briefly with
me). This proposal would have taken the Tir Mynydd budget line up to a total of
approaching £30 million for 2008. Because the Minister had concerns about
aspects of the proposal, I accepted that it was essential to allow a period of
consideration. We agreed that the matter will be further considered at the
third Committee meeting of the year on 1st March, where I hope the Committee's
position can be decided.
A vote is likely to be taken in the Committee. If the Committee decision is to
support the reprioritisation, I will write to the Minister outlining the
decision and a motion will be tabled for debate in Plenary in March, in
accordance with the agreed timetable. "
09/02/07
GLYN DAVIES CALLS FOR A FURTHRE STATEMENT ON BIRD FLU AFTER NEW EVIDENCE.
Glyn Davies, Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales has expressed concern that
the Suffolk outbreak of High Pathological Avian Influenza is now thought to have
entered Britain directly through turkey imports from Hungary.
When asking Urgent Questions of Carwyn Jones in the Assembly this week, Glyn
Davies said he had no criticism of either the Westminster or the Assembly
Governments because, at the time the most likely source of infection was
thought to be wild birds. As the likelihood of the outbreak being the result of
a bio security breakdown, the performance of the Governments becomes more open
to question.
Commenting on the announcement about the likely source of infection, Glyn Davies
said:
"The announcement that the likely source of infection in the Avian Influenza
outbreak in Suffolk is a bio security breakdown changes the position
fundamentally as far as the Government and the turkey producers position is
concerned. Ministers and Bernard Matthews can have no responsibility for wild
birds flying into Britain - but they do have responsibility for bio security at
points of entry to our country. It absolutely beggars belief that this H5N1
virus infection should have come into the country via part processed turkeys
from a site in Hungary where the infection was known to be active. It will be
necessary for the appropriate Ministers at Westminster and Cardiff Bay to make
fresh statements, explaining just how such a thing could have happened.
In some ways this latest development is good news for Britain - as it suggests
that H5N1 may not be in the wild bird population yet after all. In theory, this
suggests that the outbreak will be easier to stop spreading. Of course, we do
not know how far it has spread already. But we all want to know how on earth
this could have happened. There has been concern about bio security at our
ports for many years. There are questions that need answering urgently."
06/02/07
GLYN DAVIES QUESTIONS GOVERNMENT OVER BIRD FLU PLANS
Glyn Davies AM for Mid and West Wales in today's Plenary Session of the National
Assembly questioned Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister, Carwyn
Jones, about plans to deal with an outbreak of (HPAI) Highly
Pathological Avian Influenza H5N1 in Wales. Glyn Davies, who is also the Chair
of the National Assembly's Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee, has
been warning for over a year that an outbreak of the virus was inevitable in
Britain.
The Presiding Officer allowed Glyn Davies to put his Urgent Question to the
Assembly Government Minister following the outbreak of H5N1 in a flock of
turkeys at Holton, Suffolk over the weekend.
During his comments in Plenary today Glyn Davies said:
"We have known for at least a year that an outbreak of Avian Influenza was
inevitable in the UK - just as it is equally certain that there will be more
outbreaks in the future. Our responsibility is to make certain that we act
immediately to isolate and stamp out any outbreak.
There have been reports of uncertainties on how the Suffolk outbreak was handled
in the early stages - and reports that not all local authorities in England
were ' up to speed ' on what must be done in the event of an outbreak . We
know that it is likely that the deadly H5N1 virus is now present amongst our
wild bird population. It is crucial that every link in the chain is 100% ready
in its response to deal with outbreaks.
I also believe there is a responsibility on Governments, both at Westminster and
Cardiff Bay, to reassure people that there is negligible health risk and that
poultry products are entirely safe to eat."
05/02/07
GLYN DAVIES CALLS FOR A STATEMENT ON BIRD FLU
Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative AM for Mid and West Wales is calling for a
statement on Avian Influenza by Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister
Carwyn Jones in the National Assembly this week. He has also
tabled an Urgent Question on the outbreak of H5N1strain of High Pathological
Avian Influenza at a turkey farm in Suffolk.
Commenting on the current position Glyn Davies said:
"The outbreak of bird flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk is a great threat to the
poultry industry throughout the UK. The lack of understanding about the threat
will almost certainly lead to less poultry and fewer eggs being eaten -
which is not an entirely illogical response. The only immediate threat is to
individuals who have close contact with infected birds and even then its spread
from birds to humans is rare and unusual.
I want the Minister responsible for agriculture to make an emergency statement
to the National Assembly - it is not a matter for the Health Minister. We need
to be satisfied that everything is being done to prevent the H5N1 virus
spreading to Wales.
The reason the H5N1 strain is so worrying is that if humans are already carrying
a flu virus contracts H5N1, there may be a mutation which can be transferred
from person to person - creating a potential pandemic. Everything must be done
to stop this happening - and the people of Wales need the answer that everything
is being done."
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February 2007
