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.”

AM WARNS SUPERMARKETS OVER PLASTIC BAG GIVEAWAYS

LOCAL Supermarkets need to get their act together over the ‘mountains of carrier bags’ they give away every week - or face a Government imposed levy, local Labour AM Gwenda Thomas warned today.

Gwenda was responding to the news that the UK Government has announced that it will use powers to put a levy on single use carrier bags if retailers don’t take enough action themselves by the end of the year.

Gwenda Thomas AM said:

"The mountains of plastic bags which our local supermarkets are giving away each week are causing enormous harm in our communities.

"I am very pleased to see the Government making it clear that retailers have until the end of the year to do more, or face legislation to impose charges on these bags from early next year."

"Many of us only use these bags for a few minutes to carry our shopping home, but they can damage our environment for years to come. Discarded plastic bags are a real blight in many communities and they can take thousands of years to break down, often on landfill tips.

Gwenda added:

"The Assembly Government has already signed up to a voluntary code with supermarkets aimed at reducing the amount of single use carrier bags used in Wales, but this is just the start. The Assembly is currently asking for new powers over environmental protection and waste management, which would also make an impact in this area.

"At the same time, we all have a responsibility to cut down on the number of carrier bags we use when we are shopping. Re-usable bags are better for the environment and they could soon be better for our pockets as well."

Press Release: NEATH AM BACKS AMBITIOUS BUDGET FOR WALES

SCHOOLS and hospitals in the Neath constituency will be among the first to benefit from the Welsh Assembly Government’s spending plans for the next three years.

Neath Labour AM Gwenda Thomas has welcomed the Assembly Government’s budget – announced by Welsh Labour Finance Minister Andrew Davies – which will see investment in Welsh public services increase by an extra £3.64 billion by 2011, taking Assembly Government spending to more than £16 billion by 2010-11. This is £2 billion more than this year, and more than double the £7 billion budget when the National Assembly was established in 1999.

This programme is built on our core objectives of improving the health of the people of Wales, increasing prosperity, tackling poverty, meeting housing need, improving public services, increasing employment and enhancing skills, and regenerating disadvantaged communities.
Local schools are set to benefit from their share of an extra £32 million to deliver better early years education and to cut class sizes.

Welsh Labour’s key budget commitments also include:

• Over £1.2bn extra for health services;
• An extra £77m for early years education;
• £25m for more and better modern apprenticeships;
• Extra help for pensioners with paying council tax;
• £120m for childcare;
• £93m for improved recycling services;
• £30m extra investment for affordable housing;
• £278m to help small businesses grow

Gwenda Thomas said:

‘’This budget delivers real value for the Welsh pound. Money is going where it is needed the most.

‘’I am also pleased to see that priority is being given to increasing the availability of affordable housing, help for small businesses, help for pensioners, better recycling services, more childcare places and modern apprenticeships.

"As the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, i'm also pleased that we are further investing in our health and social services, with the health and social care budget being £5.6bn for 2008-09, increasing to over £6bn by 2010-11.

‘’The extra £32m for early years education – on top of the £45m announced in November – proves our firm commitment to cutting class sizes for our youngest children. Welsh Labour believes that investing in our children at the earliest opportunity delivers the best education results for our schools and ensures a strong future for our communities.’’