Local AM reassures pensioners

Gwenda Thomas AM has been contacted by worried pensioners after a rumour has been gathering pace around her constituency that the concessionary bus passes will shortly be scrapped as a consequence of the UK government budget cutbacks.

Mrs. Thomas advised the concerned pensioners that the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government has had made it consistently clear that it has no plans whatsoever to scrap the highly successful and popular concessionary travel scheme.

Neither are there any plans to change the entitlement or eligibility criteria for the half a million people in Wales who currently benefit from the scheme.

‘I would like to reassure local people who benefit from the free bus pass scheme that there will be no change to the scheme – all that has happened is that the Welsh Assembly Government has simply run an audit of the reimbursement mechanism between the Assembly Government, local authorities and bus operators.’

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AM encourages Boiler Scrappage applications

Gwenda Thomas AM for the Neath constituency asks eligible pensioners to apply for the Boiler Scrappage Scheme Grant.

The grant of £ 500 towards the cost of replacing a G rated boiler with an A rated boiler is still available.

Mrs. Thomas has advised, ‘I have spoken to the scheme operators today and they assure me that applications are still being processed and that vouchers for £ 500 are still available.’

‘My staff have already directed dozens of pensioners to the scheme and I have received several phone calls from very satisfied applicants who now have new heating systems in place ready for next winter.’

This has been a hugely successful scheme across Wales with over 4500 vouchers issued so far and over 700 installers registered.

‘248 installers are registered in the Neath area so this has also provided additional work for local businesses, a welcomed boost during economically difficult times. When the vouchers are issued, details of installers are included in the pack, but always check with the free phone number supplied to select your preferred engineer.’


Notes
Please apply by telephone on 0800 316 2816 or online at www.heeswales.co.uk. If successful, you will be sent a voucher worth £500, which can then be presented to an installer registered with the scheme.’
If you are not sure if your boiler is G-rated you can check by making a note of the boiler number and contact the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512 012 who will advise you on this issue or look on the British Gas website which has a search tool to calculate your boiler rating.
The key eligibility criteria of the scrappage scheme are:

• Applicants must be 60 or over
• Non-means tested
• £500 towards replacing an inefficient (G rated) boiler

Discover Debate Decide

Gwenda Thomas AM will be distributing copies of the new National Assembly for Wales school packs, 'Discover Debate Decide' to all of the schools in her Neath Constituency this week.

'I visit many schools in my constituency each year speaking with the staff and the children, and I am always delighted to see the hard work that they have done. These packs will help teachers and children alike to engage with the Welsh Assembly particularly in the next year leading up to the elections in 2011,' said Mrs. Thomas.

'I hope to visit as many schools as possible over the next academic year and sincerely hope that the teachers will take this opportunity to use the packs and information provided to link in with the National Curriculum.'

More information can be found at www.explore.assemblywales.org / www.chwilota.cynulliadcymru.org

AM SLAMS COALITION BUDGET

Local AM, Gwenda Thomas, warned that today’s Con-Lib budget will hurt Neath and the South Wales valleys.

The budget announced today included a package of welfare spending cuts and an increase of 2.5% in VAT.

Mrs Thomas said: “By slashing public spending and raising VAT this government will punish the poorest people and the poorest regions in the UK.”

“As figures published by the Financial Times today show, the impact of spending cuts in Wales will be more than 10% worse than the national average. A spending cut of 10% in social security benefits would mean an average a loss of 3.6% for households in the Welsh valleys.”

“Only last week Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems, admitted that VAT was a ‘regressive’ tax. As a flat rate tax it means that the poor will pay more as a proportion of their income than the wealthy.”

“People may also be tempted to rush purchases of expensive items before the VAT increase kicks in next year. We should be encouraging people to budget more carefully not pushing them to spend now and worry about payment later.”

“There can be no doubt the public sector pay freeze will have serious consequences for Neath. The number of people employed in the public sector in Neath Port Talbot is substantially higher than the national average.”

“What Mr Osborne didn’t tell us today was that the Treasury are now expecting inflation to rise to 3.4% next year. If they are right on this it means the supposed pay ‘freeze’ will be actually be a 3.4% pay cut.”

“The same is true for the freeze on Child Benefit. This, on top of plans to force single mothers into work the moment their child reaches school age, the scrapping of the Health in Pregnancy scheme and the Child Trust Fund makes this one of the most child unfriendly budgets for a generation.”

“I’m certain the public will see through the laughable attempts of Mr Osborne to spin this as a progressive budget. A progressive budget does not cut corporation tax by 4% whilst slashing welfare spending by £11bn.”

“At a time when the private sector recovery is still fragile maintaining public sector spending is vital. We’ve seen the consequences of overly hasty public sector cuts in other countries; in Japan it led to a ‘lost decade’ of appalling economic stagnation. This unfair and unwise budget not only punishes the poorest but risks throwing the country yet further into recession.”

GWENDA THOMAS AM FLYS FLAG FOR ARMED FORCES

Gwenda Thomas AM has called on local communities, organisations and businesses across her Neath Constituency to help celebrate Armed Forces Day this Saturday.

The day is an annual opportunity for the nation to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to service families, and from veterans to cadets.

Labour AM Gwenda Thomas said: “I think it’s fantastic that we now have a day to formally thank our service men and women.

“I pay tribute to all our armed forces members, past and present, who have made great sacrifices to defend the UK and its interests and contribute to international peace keeping operations.

“The nation owes them all a debt of gratitude.”

For more information log on to the Armed Forces Day website at www.armedforcesday.org.uk

Poorest pensioners still benefit from Labour policies

Gwenda Thomas AM today received messages from several Neath constituency pensioners who had received notification of their £ 80 electricity bill rebate agreed between the previous Labour government and energy suppliers.



‘I have received messages via my constituency office from qualifying pensioners who had no idea that this rebate had been awarded to them,’ stated Mrs. Thomas. ‘One pensioner rang the office to check if the letter she had received was genuine saying that the extra £ 80 would be a ‘welcomed relief in these difficult times’.’



If you were 70 or over on 26th March, receiving the guarantee credit element of pension credit, were responsible for the electricity account where you live and not on a discounted tariff, you should receive notification automatically and it will be discounted on your next bill.



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More details on the scheme can be found on www.direct.gov.uk/energyrebate

June Surgery

Neath Constituency AM Gwenda Thomas will be holding her next surgery on Saturday 19th June at Resolven Library.

Mrs. Thomas will be available to meet with anyone who requires her help and assistance from 10.30 am until 12 noon.

Alternatively, if you cannot get to Resolven on Saturday morning, the AM's office in Pontardawe is open from Monday to Friday and her staff can be reached by telephoning 01792 869993.