Dear Resident
Please find below my final newsletter for 2015.
2015 has been a year in which significant decisions affecting the people of Montgomeryshire have been taken. This includes the fantastic news that construction of the Newtown Bypass will begin next month, and the UK Government’s announcement in support of Powys County Council’s original decision to reject applications in regards to the Mid Wales Connection Project.
No doubt next year will be an equally challenging time with the review of NHS services in Shropshire and the reorganisation of secondary schools in North Powys.
On healthcare, which is the issue which dominates my postbag, my priority will be to campaign for the retention of A&E services at Bronglais and Shrewsbury hospitals as well as pushing for an upgrade of existing health facilities in Montgomeryshire.
You may be aware that I have also devoted a lot of attention to campaigning for improved broadband and mobile coverage. As we enter 2016, I will continue to keep up the pressure on BT, the mobile network operators and the Government to ensure that rural Mid Wales doesn’t miss out when it comes to the rollout of superfast broadband and high speed mobile coverage.
As ever, if you have any feedback on the contents of my newsletter or if you feel that I can help in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email [email protected] or by phoning my office on 01686 610887.
Last but not least, I hope you have a blessed Christmas and New Year.
Best wishes
Russell
Health
NHS services – Shropshire
As we await the outcome of the NHS Future Fit programme, which is due to reach conclusions on changing the current model of healthcare in Shropshire by Spring 2017, there is some concern from doctors and other health professionals that services such as A&E, critical care and other specialities will be under increasing pressure over the next 18 months, especially during the winter months.
I am particularly concerned at the suggestion that one immediate measure could be the temporary overnight closure of one of Shrewsbury & Telfod Hospital NHS Trust’s two A&E departments due to lack of staff. Contingency plans are being explored for situations which might constitute a “tipping point” within an Emergency Department which would mean the service could not be maintained in its current format.
I will be seeking assurances from the Shrewsbury & Telfod Hospital NHS Trust that there will be sufficient capacity to ensure that both A&E departments at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital remain open 24 hours a day to deal with acute illness and injury.
Maternity Services at Wrexham Maelor
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has finally confirmed that it intends to maintain consultant-led maternity services at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. This is a victory for common sense and I am pleased that the Health Board has finally listened to the concerns of campaigners, clinicians and the public who opposed these plans. The uncertainty surrounding the future of these services has been extremely unsettling for staff, mums-to-be and their families and I’m glad that this matter has now been resolved.
Palliative Care
At the end of last month, I was pleased to be able to join the Marie Curie team at the Senedd to lend my support to their campaign for everyone to have palliative care when they need it. I also recently attended an event at the Royal Oak Hotel in Welshpool to celebrate the efforts of Marie Curie’s Welshpool fundraising group who have recently reached a significant fundraising milestone, having raised over £200,000 since their formation in 2011.
In Montgomeryshire, Marie Curie has around eight nurses providing care and support, typically between 10pm and 7am. The work which Marie Curie Nurses carry out to care for and support people living with a terminal illness is truly outstanding.
Powys County Council – Unfair funding settlement
The Welsh Government has recently published its draft local government settlement for 2016-17 which is set to hit Powys hard. For 9 years in a row, Powys County Council has received one of the worst local government funding settlements from the Welsh Government of all 22 local authorities in Wales. In 2016-17, as a result of a 4.1% budget cut, the largest in Wales, Powys will now have to find millions of additional savings. This cut means that the council has had a cumulative cut in its budget of more than 13%, that’s nearly £22m in the last three years.
It has been my view for many years that an urgent rethink is needed on the formula used to calculate funding allocations. The current system provides councils in urban south Wales with far more attractive financial settlements while the largest, most rural councils such as Powys are among those with the worst cash settlements. Powys has seen its allocation cut by 4.1% while Cardiff only has to find savings of 0.1%.
We in Powys deserve much better and the Welsh Government must address this inequitable funding settlement. It is now essential that the Welsh Government reforms the formula which it uses to decide how much each council receives. The current system is fundamentally flawed as it doesn’t properly take into account the challenges of delivering vital public services over large rural areas of Mid Wales.
As an AM representing this area, I shall be voting against this unfair proposed settlement. I hope that other Assembly Members representing our area will do the same.
If you would like to sign my petition which aims to reform the local government funding formula, please visit my website at www.russellgeorge.com/fair-funding
Three-weekly bin collections
From 2nd November, a three weekly rubbish collection came into force across the county. I am yet to be convinced that it will create significant efficiency savings. My view is that moving to a fortnightly collection has had a beneficial effect in encouraging recycling of waste. However, I’m not convinced at all that the move to a three weekly collection will encourage residents to recycle any more than they do at present, and don’t see how it will create significant additional efficiencies.
Instead, I see this move resulting in an increase in black bins piled high on the street and an increase in environmental crime such as fly-tipping - anti-social behaviour which local authorities will have to spend significant amounts of money to address, defeating the point of moving to a three weekly collection in the first place.
This, coupled with the fact that Powys County Council has taken the regrettable decision to close the Potters Yard Recycling Centre in Machynlleth earlier this year, has resulted in justifiable concern from residents about the potential increase in fly-tipping and reduction in recycling rates, as the nearest recycling centre is now 30 miles away in Newtown or Welshpool.
Click here for details of changes to waste collections over the Christmas and New Year period.
Please click here for a 2016 calendar for your wheeled bin collection.
Telecoms
Mobile
Last month, I chaired a meeting at the Elephant & Castle Hotel in Newtown to discuss the issue of mobile coverage in Montgomeryshire. I was grateful that representatives from all four mobile network operators (EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three) as well as the regulator, Ofcom, agreed to my request to attend the meeting to explain the measures which they are taking to improve mobile coverage in the area.
After fielding questions from community leaders from across Montgomeryshire, some of whom have recently been experiencing a significant deterioration in their mobile coverage, all operators committed to improving the experience of mobile users in the area by providing additional capacity on their networks.
In some parts of Montgomeryshire, high speed 4G mobile services will also soon be available. For example, there was a commitment from EE that all of Newtown will receive 4G during January. This is a commitment that I will be reminding the operator about in the new year.
I was also pleased that some of the operators at least acknowledged the poor customer service which many mid wales customers had faced, and the operators were left under no illusions that they need to make big improvements to the way in which future coverage issues are communicated to their customers in a timely and efficient manner so that nobody is left in the dark when issues occur.
I was further pleased that Ofcom, who regulate the industry, outlined their role, and confirmed that they would issue financial penalties, where appropriate, if improvements were not made.
Last week, I also had the opportunity to raise the issue of mobile coverage with the First Minister, Carwyn Jones. At the meeting in Newtown, all mobile network operators expressed the view that if the necessary mobile infrastructure is to be rolled out across rural areas of Mid Wales to improve mobile coverage, they must be permitted to do so by local planning authorities, subject to local agreement. I have called on the First Minister to examine whether changes to the planning framework are required to increase permitted development to a height of 25m and allow a 5m increase in mast height in non-protected areas, two changes which mobile operators say will result in a significant improvement in mobile coverage.
I’m pleased that the First Minister agreed to look at the matter and I will now look to facilitate a meeting between the Welsh Government and the mobile operators in an effort to make much-needed improvements to mobile coverage in Mid Wales.
Broadband
The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has recently published a report into the Superfast Cymru project. The Committee has added its voice to mine, calling for BT to improve the way in which it communicates to members of the public on the timetable of the broadband upgrade. The Committee makes a series of recommendations which range from ensuring that improvements are made to the way in which the benefits of superfast broadband are communicated, and ensuring that the extension of the project will not lead to further delays for premises that were included in the original contract.
I wholeheartedly agree with the Committee’s assessment that more work needs to be done to provide greater clarity about exactly when people are going to receive an upgraded service and provide definitive information to those residents and businesses who are going to miss out so that they can make alternative arrangements.
The Public Accounts Committee Report is available here
Communities
Community Banking
HSBC have recently announced that they intend to close branches at Llanfyllin and Llanfair Caereinion on 12th February 2016, with the bank claiming that both branches have become “financially unviable” and no longer generating the custom needed to justify their continued operation.
The closure of the HSBC banks in Llanfyllin and Llanfair Caereinion is a huge blow to both towns and I will be meeting HSBC's Regional Director alongside our MP, Glyn Davies, to find out what hope there is of a change of heart.
It's vital that HSBC make it a top priority to discuss new arrangements with elderly customers, and to lessen the impact of this decision as far as possible if the bank decides to force these proposals through.
The closure of banks in rural Mid Wales is having a devastating effect on our town centres, and the presence of banks on our high streets is essential if they are to flourish; not just for ordinary customers but particularly for local businesses which require a daily counter service.
Small businesses, particularly those engaged in retail activity, charity organisations and elderly or disabled residents are the most disadvantaged by bank branch closures and online or mobile branch banking does not always adequately replace permanent “over the counter” facilities.
Agriculture
Basic Payment Scheme
A number of discrepancies have been reported in the payments which have been made to farmers as part of the basic payment scheme. Farming unions have asked me to remind farmers to check their basic payment scheme statement carefully via the online Rural Payments Wales (RPW) system to make sure that everything is in order.
I shall be meeting with FUW and NFU officials in Montgomeryshire over the next few weeks.
Useful Links
For the up to date information on flooding, winter gritting, traffic delays and school closures, I thought it would be useful to include the following links:
Traffic delays & planned roadworks