December 2017
Dear Resident,
Earlier this month, I was pleased to be able to judge this year's Christmas card competition for children in Montgomeryshire aged 5 to 11. The winning entry, depicting a Christmas scene, was designed by Bethan Jones, aged 9 from Llandinam CP School, and it will feature on the front of the Christmas Cards which I am sending out this month. Congratulations Bethan! I'm pictured with Bethan below.
I also attended my first Christmas Carol Service of the year at Welshpool Market organised by RABI - an organisation that supports farming families. There was plenty of talent on offer including Welshpool High School Band & Choir and the livestock even joined in!
In this month's edition of my e-newsletter, I report back about my concerns about fibre broadband availability in Montgomeryshire as the Superfast Cymru project reaches its conclusion as well as more positive news from the UK Government's Autumn Budgetregarding the prospects of a Mid Wales Growth Deal.
I'm involved in many other important campaigns which I have not reported on in this e-news, but please do get in contact with me if you would like an update on any matter not mentioned.
I hope that you have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Best regards,
Russell George
Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire
Superfast Broadband
The Welsh Government's Superfast Cymru scheme in partnership with BT Openreach to deliver a fibre broadband upgrade to communities across Wales is reaching its conclusion on December 31st.
While it has been a success in some parts of Montgomeryshire, delivering fibre broadband in areas of market failure which would otherwise be without high speed broadband, the project has been characterised by continual delays, poor communication, and lack of capacity which has left a minority of residents (often in rural areas) frustrated and wondering whether they will ever receive the upgrade which they were originally promised.
There is a distinct lack of clarity about what is going to happen to those premises who remain "in scope" for an upgrade but are yet to receive one.
The Welsh Government has admitted that the costs of addressing any premises that suffer further delays beyond the 31st December will not be met by the Welsh Government through this contract.
Therefore, the concern which I have is that the prospect of residents being left in the lurch increases substantially unless the Welsh Government intends on including these as part of its successor scheme as there may not be the economies of scale to make it commercially viable for BT to make the upgrade without Government intervention.
This is not clear at present and I will continue to keep up the pressure on both the Welsh Government and Openreach until we get clarity on this issue in an effort for high speed broadband connectivity to be universal rather than a postcode lottery.
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Mobile Phone Connectivity
Whilst it is true that mobile network operators have taken positive steps to resolve mobile "not-spots" in rural Wales through network sharing agreements and rolling out the latest 4G technology, it is simply a fact of life that without further mobile infrastructure, Mid Wales will simply continue to lag behind other regions of the UK when it comes to mobile connectivity.
This "digital divide" between us and our urban counterparts just across the border is having a detrimental effect on the Mid Wales economy and this situation is likely to continue without further Government intervention from both central and local government.
Last month, I published an extended article on mobile connectivity on my website which you can view here.
Also, I'm pleased to report that the following areas have been connected for 4G thanks to O2. It would be useful to have feedback if you live in these areas:
Llanbadarn Fynydd
Llanfyllin
Middletown
Trewern
Mid Wales Growth Deal gets a Budget boost
Last month, I referred to my work and calls for a Mid Wales Growth Deal. I was delighted that the Chancellor appeared to have been listening! The Chancellor made a commitment in the UK Government's recent Budget to kick start initial discussions to make this growth deal a reality.
I’m hopeful that the Welsh Government will now follow the Chancellor’s lead with a similar commitment in the new year as we need close collaboration between the Welsh and UK Governments.
The Chancellor’s announcement could be a real game changer for Mid Wales and I’m grateful to the Secretary of State for Wales for fighting Mid Wales’ corner and securing this commitment in the Budget.
I know that Powys County Council is also fully behind the proposal, and I was pleased to join Powys Council Cabinet members last week meeting with Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office, Guto Bebb MP. The meeting was positive with a useful exchange of ideas. Powys County Council confirmed they will do everything they can to ensure a Mid Wales Growth Deal happens to attract much-needed inward investment, trade, and highly-skilled jobs to our region.
Children's Social Services
It is welcome news that the Welsh Government is considering a package of support to assist Powys County Council in implementing improvements to the way in which children’s services are delivered in the County following a critical report from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW).
I am pleased that the Welsh Government has responded favourably to a request from the Leader of the Council and my calls for additional support to assist the Council in implementing the recommendations of the CSSIW.
I know that the Powys County Council improvement team are already working closely with experts to deliver improvements within the service to provide assurances that children will be safeguarded.
I hope that this, along with a package of support from the Welsh Government, will ensure that Powys County Council’s children’s services take the corrective steps which are necessary to satisfy the CSSIW that improvements have been made in a timely fashion, and to ensure that the local authority can move on from this difficult time, delivering the level of support which children and families expect and are legally entitled to.
Caersws Bridge
The Welsh Government is currently investigating options to address pedestrian safety concerns at the existing A470 bridge in Caersws and I would be grateful if residents in the area could respond to the consultation so that we get the right result for the local area.
Earlier this year, a short trial took place which saw the segregation of vehicles and pedestrians using a single traffic lane with footway under permanent traffic lights. The trial resulted in traffic queuing at both bridge approaches during the day, with 10-15 vehicle queues observed at times during the trial so I'm not convinced that permanent traffic lights are the way forward.
The Welsh Government consultation, which is open until 31st January 2018, is available here
Cllr. Les George and I are encouraging people to respond to this consultation.
Supporting Small Business
On Saturday 2nd December, I was pleased to be able to promote 'Small Business Saturday' alongside Newtown County Councillor, Dan Rowlands and Newtown Mayor, Sue Newham. We called into Dragon UAV Aerial Photography and Video to chat to owner Stu Trigg about his work before I went on to Mollies sweet shop and Rikki Lloyd's Family Butchers in Welshpool.
Small Business Saturday was a wonderful opportunity to champion the key role played by Powys’ small businesses and I hope that everyone will support our independent small firms by shopping locally this Christmas!
2018 Advice Surgery Calendar
I hold surgeries most Fridays in either my Newtown or Welshpool office. Please contact me if you would like to meet with me.
If you would like a copy of my 2018 calendar, which includes planned surgery dates around Montgomeryshire, please contact my office on 01686 610887 and we will post a calendar out to you.