WORKING FOR ALL CYNGOR COUNCILLORS Councillors Association Newsletter Opinion Through its history Plaid Cymru has prided itself that it supports power and decision making being allocated to the lowest level of government. We are a community of communities where local people should have the authority to speak and act on behalf of their people.

At present the Welsh Government is attacking County Councils as never before. Detailed targets, restrictions and heavy handed top-down instructions are every day occurrences. The most significant moves are in the world of education with a threat that the WG will in effect become the only education authority.Plaid Cymru must speak up for the interests of the community and oppose these steps to ever more centralisation Our officers, meeting with some of our AM’s to discuss our ‘Opinion’ COUNCILLOR RESIGNS OVER John Taylor, , , Phil Bevan and Chris Franks HOSPITAL PLANS Plaid Cymru’s Gwynedd Councillor Huw Edwards has Safe Routes in Communities More Labour cuts resigned from Betsi Cadwaladr Community Health Council following the Council’s decision to support the Labour has slashed the number of schemes funded via the Safe Routes in communities recommendations of the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board to programme. The Welsh Government changed the rules allowing only two schemes per authority reorganise hospital services. Councillor Edwards said: and limited to areas of deprivation. As a grant it comes from the transport budget, which in ‘I have lost all faith in the Health Council. capital terms is shrinking alarmingly. The Government wants the grant to achieve objectives Gwynedd’s Committee has opposed these that are much wider than the amount of finance allows- particularly Active Travel objectives and recommendations in two meetings. There are no details at the need to provide safe walking and cycling routes. all about provision in the community that the Board refers The Welsh Government’s forthcoming Active Travel legislation- which Plaid Cymru supports- to and that is totally unfair to the areas tht will lose their will oblige councils to provide adequate walking and cycling routes as a requirement. Counties local hospitals. The decision to move the specialist will need to map out what exists for walking and cycling and identify any gaps. neonatal unit from Glan Clwyd is equally despicable. For parents in Gwynedd and Ynys Mon the plan is A specific capital grant scheme is needed for walking and cycling routes in line with the require- cumbersome and impractical. I believe that the Health ments of the Active Travel Bill. This needs to be a separate grant to the SRIC, which should Council has behaved contrary to public opinion continue to be targeted at schools. Finance is currently available for capital investment, with and also to their own plans.’ £227m due to as a result of the Autumn Statement. We should identify routes, especially if they are not related to schools and therefore not eligible under the SRIC. Contact Councillor Huw Edwards: 01286 675607, 07818 651752 Fat Cats Purr no more.

Facts about your area The public do not like our Chief Executives and Senior Management earning Plaid Councillors should check the compendium vast sums. of performance information for the services that Caerffili fat cats shame Labour’s amazing skulduggery to award huge pay Councils deliver. The publication ‘Local Authority increases to senior management at Caerffili continues. Following Plaid pres- Services Performance, 2011-12’ is a mass of details sure the initial pay hikes were reversed but still the top tier of helpful to every councillor. Link; officers will have an extra million pounds over the next 4 years. Carmarthenshire Purrfection Here the Chief Exec’s pay last year was http://wales.gov.uk/topics/improvingservices/ over a staggering £210,000, more than David Cameron! And included publicationsevents/publications £20,000 for the elections that hadn't even been held. lasperf1112/;jsessionid=43E62D3198BB8E1C37C11 212476C4168?lang=en What else is Labour up to these days?

Banding does not work

 It is clear that banding will not benefit our schools. The incentives for school band- ing are perverse because they do not take in account local factors. We all agree that standards need to improve, but setting schools against one another is not the way to deliver that.  Plaid Cymru is calling upon the Welsh Government to drop plans for banding primary schools, to concentrate instead on collecting data on schools and helping schools that need to improve.  The Party of Wales believes the current banding system is league tables by another name and is concerned that little progress has been made in improving those schools in the bottom two bands. The failure to implement fully regional educational Councilor Sian Thomas Chair of Carmarthenshire support services – a failure which the Education Minister has acknowledged – means starts off Boxing Day Walrus Dip at Cefn Sidan Beach. key best practice and support work is not in place, condemning schools to a cycle of decline. Brrr...But she collected over £1000 for her charities. Any interesting bits you’d like included in the next issue of Cyngor, Plaid Cymru, ‘Cyngor’ please contact Siân at [email protected]

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