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BBC News
30-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
People terrified by benefit reforms, says Labour politician
A Labour politician has said people in his constituency are "terrified" about the chancellor's decision to tighten the criteria for claiming sickness and disability Davies, Member of the Senedd for Blaenau Gwent, said residents affected by disability and poverty were already struggling "in making ends meet". In Wednesday's Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves announced a number of benefit changes, including tightening qualification rules for Personal Independence Payments (Pips) - the main disability benefit - claimed by more than 250,000 people in Wales."It scares the most vulnerable people in our society, and that's deeply distressing to see," said Davies. "What we need to do as a Labour Party is to address the fundamentals in the economy," he told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement."We're seeing at the moment taxation increasing because the economy is failing."People want to work and people want to live decent lives and it's the role of government, surely, to help people do that," said Davies whose Blaenau Gwent constituency has the highest proportion of disabled people in Wales, according to census data. In her address to MPs on Wednesday, Reeves said "it can't be right" to "write off" an entire generation who are out of work and improperly using are two elements to Pips – a daily living and a mobility component – and under the government's proposals, assessments for the daily living part will be tightened, a move the official forecaster – the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – says will affect around 800,000 chancellor also confirmed health-related universal credit for new claimants - which was already due to be halved from April 2026 under a package announced last week - would be frozen at its new lower level of £50 per week until 2030.A Department for Work and Pensions assessment found 3.2 million families across England and Wales would be worse off as a result of the changes, with 250,000 more people pushed into relative UK government has said the reforms are aimed at modernising the welfare system, and getting many of those reliant on assistance back into Friday, Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan refused to back the chancellor's welfare cuts, telling the Senedd she wanted to "reserve my position" until she knew what the impact would be on also confirmed she was waiting for a response from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to her request for a Wales-specific impact assessment and said she was now seeking a meeting with her.
BBC News
23-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wales' brand blurred for investors, adviser says
Wales' image has become "blurred", making it harder to attract foreign investment, according to a Welsh government adviser on the economy. Mark Rhydderch-Roberts, director of the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board, said Wales was traditionally "incredibly successful in attracting foreign direct investment" but has seen a reduction in recent Minister Eluned Morgan said growing the economy was her "top priority".The Welsh government is planning to hold an international investment summit in December to attract investors. "I think currently the image of Wales outside of Wales is quite blurred," said Mr Rhydderch-Roberts."Is it castles and dragons, is it a centre for investment?"The former investment banker said the nation was currently attracting 3.5% of the UK's Foreign Direct Investment projects, while Scotland was attracting 8.4%. "During the late eighties and nineties we were one of the best in the UK at attracting inward investment," he told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement."Since then we've really struggled. I think for all sorts of reasons." 'Infrastructure is creaking' Mr Rhydderch-Roberts said some reasons were part of UK wide issues."Our tax burden is very high, our infrastructure is creaking, our energy costs are the highest in the world," he said. "Those kind of structural factors are pretty much out of the Welsh government's control."Mr Rhydderch-Roberts is also chairman of Glamorgan Cricket which recently sold a 50% stake in Welsh Fire, its Hundred franchise team, in a multimillion pound deal. "One of the things that really resonated with investors... was that Cardiff as a events city is second only to London but, also, the Welsh brand which made us unique among the other seven franchises," he said. Mr Rhydderch-Roberts said Wales as a nation could do more to improve its branding."What are we selling here in Wales because sometimes our image is rather tarnished by 20 mile an hour speed limits for example," he said, referring to the Welsh government's controversial decision to reduce speed limits across the country. "Those kind of things... the noise in the background... prevents us from looking at the real positives."The Welsh government has confirmed its international investment summit will take place in Newport on 1 first minister told BBC Wales on Friday that she was "looking for billions of pounds of investment to come in and thousands of jobs to be delivered".
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Free school meals in Wales should be 'healthier and more climate friendly'
Free school meals in Wales should be "more cost effective, healthier, and more climate friendly", a leading academic has Kevin Morgan, from Cardiff University's school of geography, also said Wales was a "long way off" being able to source entirely local food in primary school children are eligible for free school meals in Wales. Families of older children can also apply for free school meals, with eligibility based on household Welsh government said it was working closely with councils to offer "the best possible food in schools". Prof Morgan, who has previously written a book about food in schools, hospitals and prisons, said the quality of meals being provided in Wales needed to be raised."We are the first and only UK nation to have implemented free school meals in all primary schools. Wales has won international plaudits for doing so – but we need to raise the quality of that food," he told Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement."There is no good universalising poor quality food."Prof Morgan also expressed concern about the ability to source "local food"."If we wanted to source entirely local food in schools tomorrow, it couldn't be done, not least because our horticulture sector in Wales is so under-developed," he added."That is one of the great opportunities before us now, as we are boosting the demand side of things."You need to use that power of purchase, procurement budgets, to build up that source of supply." Prof Morgan was speaking almost a decade since the creation of the Future Generations Act, which placed a legal duty on public bodies to take the needs of future generations into was introduced by the then-National Assembly for Wales in April 2015 and hailed as ground-breaking by the United Nations."Free school meals... is the best example of a tangible expression of the Future Generations Act," said Prof said he believed it was a "wonderful and laudable piece of legislation", but said it suffered from "everything that devolution has suffered from in Wales" which he called "the gap between aspiration and delivery"."We are asking local authorities and public bodies to step up to this enormous challenge, after almost twenty years of austerity budgets, where their capacity has been hollowed out," he Welsh Government said: "We want the best school food offer in the UK to give our children the healthiest start to life. Our roll out of free school meals for all primary school learners means every child is offered a nutritious meal."We are working closely with our local authorities to offer the best possible food in schools. Over the next year we are updating and improving our healthy eating regulations."
BBC News
09-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Cardiff Uni jobs threat leads to toxic culture
A "toxic" culture has been created by Cardiff University's plan to cut 400 jobs and axe courses, according to a former education Andrews, a professor at Cardiff Business School, said there was a "climate of fear in the university about speaking out" with staff morale " through the floor" since it announced plans in January to address a £31m budget has said the university had millions in cash and investments which could be used instead of adopting a "slash and burn programme".The university has been asked to comment, but previously said the proposals are subject to a 90-day consultation. "What they have done is, frankly, destroy trust and good will within the university," Prof Andrews told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement."And these are the people you need, academics here to boost the university in the future, to do the ground-breaking research that is needed."But, at the moment, everybody's focus is on their own jobs."Cardiff University announced plans to make job cuts and axe courses including nursing, music and modern languages on 28 proposals would amount to a 7% reduction in the academic workforce if signed academic schools would be merged under the plans and staffing levels cut in areas including medicine, the business school and Welsh."I think it feels very toxic," the former politician added. "I think there is a climate of fear in the university about speaking out." 'Spread the pain' The university has said its proposals are subject to a 90-day consultation, with final plans decided in the University and College Union is balloting members for strike action to fight compulsory professor, who said he has voted for industrial action, has suggested the university use some of its cash and investments - estimated at over £100m - to offset its planned cuts."That could spread the pain over a longer period, and it could, I think, protect the future of the university," said Prof Andrews, who was in charge of education at the Welsh government from 2009 to 2013. Last month, Bangor University and the University of South Wales confirmed plans to cut 200 and 90 jobs February, Vikki Howells, the minister responsible for higher education in Wales, pledged a further £19m for the higher education sector but asked universities to "consider all options", including using its financial reserves, to prevent job losses.
