Latest news with #Welshgovernment
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Demolition of Porthcawl's Coney Beach funfair could start in 2026
The demolition of a seaside attraction in Porthcawl could start as early as November 2026, according to the local to tear down Coney Beach Amusement Park to make place for a new waterfront development could take place between November 2026 and March 2027, it was revealed in a Bridgend council scrutiny comes just days after the announcement that the iconic funfair would close in October this year after more than 100 years, with many locals "devastated" by the proposal - by Bridgend council and the Welsh government - plans to see the development of around 1,100 new homes along Porthcawl's seafront, including a variety of shops, cafés, and restaurants. A potential timeline for the plans was revealed in the meeting on 14 July, with a final planning application expected to be handed in by January 2026, and a decision made by the following June, the Local Democracy Reporting Service approval of the application and the demolition of the funfair, the construction of the first phase of the waterfront development could then start from March 2027. The plans, which could be one of the biggest regeneration schemes of its kind in Wales, will see developments in the Salt Lake, Coney Beach, and Sandy Bay areas.A consultation was initially held in February, and its closure has sparked mixed opinions from both council members and residents in the area, with the owners of the park describing it as "the end of an era". Speaking at the meeting, councillor Richard Collins of Maesteg West said he felt excited by the potential of the members praised the amount of open space and distribution of play facilities within the plans. There was also support for a continuous promenade to enhance walkability, improved beach access, and the modernising of flood concerns were raised over the number of homes proposed, along with fears about a loss of public parking spaces and the impact it may have on tourism throughout the construction process.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
About 25,000 children sexually abused, report shows
The Welsh government is consulting on a long-term strategy for tackling child sexual abuse. An estimated 25,000 children and young people are being sexually abused each year in Wales, with online abuse growing fast. The government said the new ten-year plan aimed at preventing and responding to child sexual abuse is the first comprehensive long-term strategy of its kind in the UK. Children's Minister Dawn Bowden said "the voices of people" affected by sexual abuse will be central to the strategy and how it is delivered. She said she had already engaged with key stakeholders but wanted more individuals, organisations and communities "to share their views and help shape this vital work". I was shut down on grooming gangs, says Welsh Tory leader Grooming gangs survivor wants Wales' own inquiry Spike in child sex exploitation crimes - charity The consultation on the draft strategy runs until September and the government said it then intends the strategy to run until 2035. It said recent research showed approximately 25,000 children in Wales experience some form of sexual abuse each year, but only a fraction of these come to the attention of police or social services. Proposals include encouraging adults who experienced sexual abuse to share their stories and making sure that professionals working with children, families, and adults in Wales understand the long-term impact of child sexual abuse. There are also calls for increase visibility and recognition of support services for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and the setting up of "regional lived experience groups" specifically for adolescents, including those in rural parts of Wales. Welsh ministers said the other UK nations have implemented shorter-term action plans but Wales was the first to develop "a decade-long strategic vision". They said the strategy acknowledged that the scale and nature of child sexual abuse had evolved considerably in recent years, particularly in online spaces. In producing the plans, the government said it had worked with groups such as adult victim-survivors, the NSPCC, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse and Barnardo's to ensure that it was "grounded in lived experience and expert insight". In a statement, Dawn Bowden, the minister for children and social care, said: "By developing the UK's first ten-year strategy in this area, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to protecting children and supporting survivors throughout their lives. "The voices of people who have been affected by sexual abuse are central to this strategy and how it is delivered." Welsh ministers also said they will be "fully engaging" with the England and Wales inquiry into the sexual exploitation and abuse of children by grooming gangs. They had been criticised by the Conservative leader in the Senedd, Darren Millar, who accused them and other Welsh politicians of trying to "shut me down" over his calls for a Wales-wide inquiry. 'I was groomed and abused as a child - but I ended up with convictions' Casey report pulls no punches - but will it lead to meaningful change? Key takeaways from grooming gangs report
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Couple feel vindicated by critical report into maternity care
A mother who played a key part in pushing for change in a health board's maternity care said she felt vindicated following the publication of a report highlighting Channon's son Gethin was disabled due to failings made during his birth in 2019."It's been a long journey for us, battling to get acknowledgement for what has been going on at Swansea. All the way up to Welsh government level we have been fighting."An assessment of all maternity services in Wales will now have an independent chair following the head of the Birth Trauma Association said it needed to take a thorough look at the culture of maternity units. Mrs Channon said she and her husband Rob "have frequently been brushed off" and ignored, however they now feel the health board has added that an unreserved apology "goes a long way to mend bridges with families who have felt adrift".Rob Channon added: "We do have faith that the new leadership want to make change, we just have to give them time. "If they don't make changes, we will have to hold them accountable for that."Maternity services across the UK have come under the spotlight, with the health secretary in England announcing "a rapid national investigation" into NHS maternity and neonatal services, following a series of maternity scandals going back more than a who support families that have experienced birth trauma argue the same mistakes were being made, with little sign that lessons were being learned. Julia Reynolds heads up legal firm Leigh Day in Wales, and as a medical negligence specialist said the issues had not changed in years."I see cases from all of the health boards across Wales and the issues we see are similar," she said."I have significant concerns about the quality of maternity care across Wales."The review of care in Swansea found that debriefs with families and responses to complaints lacked Reynolds said after losing a baby many families struggle to deal with being told "it was one of those things"."While staff might feel they're doing the right thing by potentially offering reassurance to families, what that really does is just leave those parents without answers, and really nagging doubts.""I do believe it's a disservice to families and I think it's really important for families to have answers, to understand what went wrong and even more importantly, for those children to get that early treatment to get the better outcome." The independent review into care at Swansea Bay included testimony from women who felt vulnerable, brushed off when they raised concerns, and as a result felt guilty for not speaking up for themselves women spoke of a lack of compassion, others felt belittled, and birthing partners felt powerless or called for improvements to the complaints process in Wales to make it less rigid and more Bay health board apologised unreservedly "to all women and families whose care has fallen well below the expected standard" and was working on an improvement Welsh government also apologised, and accepted all recommendations in full. Director of the Royal College of Midwives in Wales, Julie Richards, said the written policies, frameworks and statements from the Welsh government set out positive intentions."However, they cannot be achieved without investment and proper workforce planning."Over the past number of years reports and reviews into maternity services in Wales are sadly flagging the same key issues that are impacting the delivery of safe care, understaffing, underfunding, working culture and not enough emphasis or time for crucial multi-disciplinary training."Our members are seeing a rise in more complex pregnancies, with women requiring more specialist support during pregnancy so it's never been more important to get this right." A big theme from the report into care given in Swansea Bay was that women were not listened to."It's very easy sometimes for staff to dismiss a woman who's distressed as being over-dramatic," said Kim Thomas, from the Birth Trauma Association."We hear quite a lot that women are told they're making too much of a fuss. But when they try to remain calm there's an assumption there's probably nothing wrong."It creates real problems for women. This is where listening comes in - if a woman says she thinks something's wrong, then actually listen to her."The issues were all the more pressing given the disparities experienced by black women across the mortality is almost four times higher than that of white women, with significant disparities for Asian and mixed ethnicity women too. Umyima Sunday said she experienced good care when she delivered her second child at Singleton hospital two years ago, but her labour progressed so quickly she delivered her daughter on the ward."Even in pain, I'm really calm," said the 33-year-old, who moved to Swansea from Nigeria to study a post-graduate course in public health three years ago."I would say they were looking at me thinking, 'she's not in so much pain'."But a woman that has gone through that before knows how her body reacts. They didn't really understand that I was really in pain and needed them at that time."She said that while staff were listening, they lacked urgency, meaning no one was there to guide her through contractions and when to push."I just wanted the baby out and couldn't think properly - if I had someone beside me, guiding me through the process, I would have avoided the tears I had during the process." Perpetua Ugwu, 34, also considered her labour to be "smooth and straight forward" for her second child, and "nurses and midwives attended to me very well".Though she was initially told over the phone to "exercise a little bit of patience" when she told staff labour had started."If I had waited a little longer I would have given birth at home. If I hadn't taken that step to go into the hospital I would have delivered at home, because they didn't believe that my labour was there."But I knew what I was feeling and I knew that my labour is not long, it's usually short."Her waters broke in the taxi to hospital and her baby was born around 30 minutes said if she could change one thing it would be to "take away that stereotype of black women being able to tolerate pain more."We all go through labour in different ways, but if someone complains she is feeling pain or not feeling well, the best they can do is give the person attention. Don't let them wait a little longer."
BBC News
12-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
School staff earning less than minimum wage, union claims
Some school support staff are earning less than minimum wage because of the way their salaries are paid, according to a Cymru said their pay was also different depending on where they lived in added some staff were routinely asked to take classes when teachers are on planned absences, meaning they are acting well above their pay grade and beyond their skillset. One teaching assistant with decades of experience said those in the role were "treated as second class citizens, sometimes as skivvies". The Welsh government said a Strategic Education Workforce Plan will set out steps to make sure teaching assistants have the "recognition and support they deserve". Teachers in school are supported by a range of other staff, including teaching assistants, cleaners, catering staff and office workers. But their pay and working conditions are very different from their teaching colleagues, the union said, and many are on low wages which means they have had to take on second jobs to make ends meet. Julie Morgan from Bridgend has 35 years experience as a learning support officer or teaching assistant. She is also a union rep for the area, and said she was well aware of the challenges some staff faced, particularly being paid far less than the teachers they work alongside."We were a two-car family but we had to get rid of one of our cars because we couldn't afford to run the two," she said."We've just had to tighten our belts and be more careful. "Everything's gone up... compared to the teachers, we're treated as second class citizens, sometimes as skivvies." According to Julie's union Unison Cymru, teaching assistants are only paid for working nine months of the year because of school holidays, unlike teachers, which means their nine months of pay is stretched over 12 added many teaching assistants were on fixed term contracts, causing fears over job security, and pay rates were different across Welsh councils with people in different areas getting paid less than in others. Rosie Lewis from Unison Cymru said this long-term low pay situation meant some ended up earning less than the minimum wage, and has led to substantial hardship."Members are having to use food banks in the school to be able to put food on the table for their children," she said."We know of lots of schools, a couple in Cardiff for example, where they have a specific food bank for those staff working in the school. "Now to be in work poverty in that way... is a horrible situation for our members to be in." Ms Morgan agreed, and added: "When pay increments are talked about, teachers were offered 5.5%. Support staff are offered 2.3%. "Teachers are already paid a lot more than us, so that gap between teachers and us is getting bigger and bigger, and yet we work so closely together."Despite this, teaching assistants are being asked to teach classes not just in emergencies but during planned absences by teachers, the union Lewis added: "Our members are often working in a classroom with children on a very regular basis, timetabled in, when they're at a level of teaching assistant where it's not even permissible to do that on a short-term basis."She added members were "finding themselves working very regularly with children, teaching them when that actually isn't part of their role".The Welsh Local Government Association has been asked to comment on the Welsh government said: "Teaching assistants are a key and valued part of our education workforce and we want to make sure they have the recognition and support they deserve."The Strategic Education Workforce Plan will set out the next steps to achieving this including improving terms and conditions and working with our partners on a School Support Staff Negotiating Body for Wales."
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Welsh councils to charge visitors per night as tourist tax approved for 2027
Visitors to Wales could start paying £1.30 extra per night after a landmark law was passed to allow Welsh councils to introduce a tourist tax. The new law, named the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill, was passed by the Senedd on Tuesday, giving power to councils to introduce a levy on overnight stays. The Welsh government stated that the money raised from the levy would be reinvested in tourism-related expenses, such as improving toilets, footpaths, beaches, visitor centres and other activities. The law will not come into force immediately, as councils that want to apply the tax will need to go through a consultation process with their local communities, meaning the earliest possible introduction date will be in 2027. The levy will be set at £1.30 per person per night when staying in various types of accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfasts. This is 5p more than what was initially suggested when the bill was proposed back in November. If visitors are camping or staying in a hostel in Wales, councils will only be able to charge 75p per person per night. The charge will also only be applicable is the visitor is over 18 years old. The government said that the visitor levy rates have been set at a low level compared to other destinations worldwide, and exemptions have been limited to reduce complexity. Finance secretary Mark Drakeford said upon the law's passing: 'Visitor levies are used successfully all over the world. 'They ensure the pressures and opportunities tourism bring are balanced fairly between visitors and residents. We want the same for Wales. 'The levy is a small contribution that will make a big difference to our communities, helping to maintain and enhance the very attractions and services that make Wales such a wonderful place to visit and live. 'By voting to back this measure, Wales is joining many other worldwide destinations which already benefit from similar levies.' Wales has followed Scotland in introducing a visitor levy law, after the Scottish Government passed its own act allowing councils to tax on overnight accommodation if they wish to do so. Edinburgh became the first to vote in January to add a five per cent surcharge on visitors' overnight stays by 2026. Glasgow then followed, giving the green light to introduce a tourist tax on accommodation in its city by 2027. English legislation does not allow cities to create a visitor levy; however, using legal workarounds has meant Liverpool and Manchester have introduced a form of tourism levy. Tourism taxes have also been introduced in popular tourist destinations worldwide that have been impacted by overtourism, affecting natural landscapes and the lives of locals. In April 2024, Venice became the first city in the world to charge admission for daytrippers and has continued the levy between April and July this year. The €5 (£4.26) charge to enter the historic centre of Venice did little to deter visitors last year, but did bring in €2.4m for the city.
