
BASW Cymru appoints a new consultant social worker for race
The British Association of Social Workers Cymru (BASW Cymru) announced Singeta Kalhan-Gregory as the first consultant social worker for race.
This role, funded by the Welsh Government, is part of the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and aims to deliver change for minority ethnic communities.
Ms Kalhan-Gregory will work with various bodies and authorities to enhance awareness, expand knowledge, and evaluate service delivery.
With nearly three decades of social work experience in different regions and sectors, she is well-equipped for this role.
She is also a seasoned counsellor and psychotherapist.
Ms Kalhan-Gregory said: "I am deeply honoured to join BASW Cymru and contribute to their work in promoting anti-racist practice and driving transformative change in social work across Wales."
BASW Cymru national director, Professor Sam Baron, said: "Singeta brings a wealth of experience and expertise that will significantly influence BASW Cymru and the social work profession right across Wales.
"As a consultant social worker dedicated to delivering Wales' anti-racist agenda, this role is of utmost importance."
Chief social care officer for Wales, Albert Heaney CBE, said: "I look forward to working closely with Singeta to support social workers from minority ethnic backgrounds."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
China's civil servants banned from dining out in Xi's austerity drive
BEIJING, June 17 (Reuters) - Some Chinese civil servants have been ordered not to dine out in groups of more than three after deaths linked to excessive alcohol consumption at banquets, according to interviews and social media posts, as Beijing's austerity push ramps up. Revised austerity regulations released in May targeting Communist Party members and public sector workers now bans lavish banquets, "white elephant" infrastructure projects, luxurious car fittings and ornamental plants in work meetings. Analysts say the renewed push is a sign of President Xi Jinping's longstanding preoccupation with anti-corruption and Party discipline, suggesting previous controls were not effective. "The drinking culture among civil servants is indeed quite serious but they haven't found a good solution yet so can only implement a 'one size fits all' policy," said Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore. "While Beijing wants to boost consumption, clean government - which is Xi's fundamental priority - has a price." The measures come after three widely publicised cases of cadre deaths since April linked to excessive drinking at banquets. Dozens of officials have been punished in connection to the deaths in Hunan, Anhui and Henan provinces, where they attempted to conceal details of the banquets and privately compensate the families of the deceased. But new dining guidelines promoted by some localities this week go even further, asking cadres to be wary of social gatherings, not treat bosses or underlings to meals, and avoid "forming small cliques", according to a social media post by a Communist Party body in Anhui province. "When dining with ordinary colleagues, groups of under three are usually fine," read the post, titled 'does it violate regulations to dine with colleagues after work'. "Avoid dining in high-end places, do not constantly meet the same people, do not take the opportunity to form 'small cliques'." The guidance triggered a rare outpouring of complaints on social media from one of the most tightly-controlled groups in China, who increasingly feel that their personal lives are subject to excessive and arbitrary restrictions. "Eating alone is hedonism, eating in a pair is engaging in improper male-female relations, eating in a trio is forming small cliques," read a comment from a user in Hunan province with over 3,500 likes. "Three of us colleagues went out for hotpot at lunch and each of us were punished with a warning," wrote a civil servant in Shandong province. "This is overcorrection, the essence of the guidelines is not wasting public money on lavish banquets but at each level of bureaucracy it gets enforced more harshly," wrote a user in Guangxi region. A civil servant in Sichuan province said her colleagues were ordered to always go straight home after work. Another cadre in Anhui province said her office recently started implementing daily breathalyser tests, while one in Shaanxi province said she was told to get rid of her office plants. Another civil servant in Gansu province was asked to study a list of 20 types of dinner gatherings to avoid, while a state-owned enterprise worker in Wuhan was ordered not to eat lunch with colleagues from other departments or bosses. "Our leader stressed that even if I invite someone in our canteen, spend little and pay the bill, that's not allowed", citing Party discipline, she said. Some cadres in Anhui even reported cold calls from local discipline inspectors asking them to recall the rules from memory or be reported to their supervisors. However, three civil servants in Beijing, rural Guangdong province and Chongqing told Reuters their workplaces did not have excessive implementation. Others told Reuters they welcomed the regulations, as they hated being peer-pressured into drinking with their bosses. The rules supplement the "eight-point regulations", a code of conduct intended to curb rampant corruption in China's vast bureaucracy, which Xi launched soon after taking power in 2012. The number of cadres nationwide punished for violating the 2012 thrift regulations ballooned from 9,292 in February to over 16,500 in April, the latest month for which figures are available. (This story has been refiled with changes to the byline and the dateline)


Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Powys' 'best students leaving county to continue education'
THE brightest pupils are leaving Powys to continue their post-16 education outside the county an education chief has confirmed. At a meeting of Powys County Council's Learning and Skills scrutiny committee on Monday, June 16, councillors and lay members received a report on school standards and improvement. The report also included data on GCSE and A-Level exam results which show that Powys is performing well below the standards of the past. When it comes to A-Level results, Powys come in below the all Wales average in five of six results categories. On the A*(star) to E grade table Powys come in joint 19th place with only 65 per cent getting all three grades. This is well below neighbours Ceredigion Council who come top of the class with 77 per cent. Cllr Gareth E Jones (Powys Independents) said: 'Have you done any work around the significant number of learners that are going out of county for their post-16 education to Hereford, Shrewsbury and Merthyr. 'What impact do those learners going out of county have on the overall performance of post-16? 'My guess would be that better quality learners go out of county and if they had stayed our overall performance may be better.' Head of school improvement and learning Anwen Orrells said: 'You would be correct in assuming that the more able are the ones that are leaving.' She said that the council knew how many post-16 pupils were out of county but didn't have details of their results from last summer. Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat) stood down as council leader last month but has stayed on in the cabinet to start off the post-16 education review. The preferred option already backed by council officers could see all English medium school sixth forms vanish – in favour of two specialist sixth form schools to be based in Brecon and Newtown. While Welsh medium secondary schools would also join forces and have one separate sixth form operation across potentially three campuses. This preferred option has already come in for heavy criticism with many believing it would accelerate the exodus of pupils our of Powys. Cllr Gibson-Watt said: 'If ever we needed evidence of some radical reform in post-16 this paper sums it up. 'If you look at the details of the decline in performance it is quite shocking. 'We have to create a system that allows them to stay in county. 'We're in a situation where only 65 per cent are getting A* to E grades. 'Let's be frank, an A-level grade below C is not much use to anyone in life, particularly to get into higher education. 'I remember Powys was consistently in the top three counties for GCSE and A-level outcomes and here we are languishing in the bottom quartile.' Between 2010 and 2019 sixth forms across the saw a 33 per cent decline. falling from 1,445 to 978 in 2019. This means that funding from the Welsh Government based on pupils numbers has dropped from £6.5 million to £4.4 million

Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
MS update on bespoke bus network for Wrexham and Flintshire
Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales An ambitious vision to deliver an integrated transport network for North Wales – with frequent metro services at its heart – was unveiled by the Welsh Government in Wrexham recently. Network North Wales is a bold, passenger-focused programme of work to better connect communities – with more rail and bus services and greater integration. I outlined our plans at Wales' first ever Public Transport Summit, which was held at Wrexham University. They aim to maximise opportunity and unlock the economic potential of North Wales. Far too many people – particularly young people – are being cut out of the jobs market because they can't access reliable transport. Utilising the recent designation of Flintshire and Wrexham as an Investment Zone by the UK Government, we've worked very closely with Transport for Wales, Flintshire Council and Wrexham Council to develop a bespoke bus network which will link local people with centres of employment like Wrexham Industrial Estate and Deeside Industrial Park. The Welsh Government's vision will drive economic growth in the region. We are already introducing new legislation to regulate the bus network, which will be redesigned to help people into work. Network North Wales will also see metro-style train services on the North Wales mainline, the Marches line (Chester-Wrexham) and a new, direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool. Immediate changes are being delivered, with a raft of further improvements planned over the next 12 months, three years and through to 2035. Longer-term objectives include reopening closed stations, creating new stations and exploring the role of new transport modes such as tram trains. If you're a constituent of Clwyd South and need help or advice, email or call 01978 869058. I also have a surgery in Rhosllanerchrugog on July 18, so please get in touch with my office for details and to book an appointment.