Praise for pioneering anti-social behaviour team

North Wales Assembly Member Janet Ryder has praised the work of a pioneering team tackling anti-social behaviour hotspots.

The Plaid Cymru AM for North Wales made her comments after visiting the Youth Justice team at its base in Derby Road, Brynteg, near Wrexham.

 The team of four in the picture  - Fred Derbyshire, Nick Edwards, Donna Shepherd and team leader Craig Matthews - work from an office above the local AM/PM store run by Dino Paletta, also pictured, who has been backing the scheme by providing free office space.

She said: "This team is targetting areas that have the potential to spiral into anti-social behaviour and I'm very much in favour of this kind of preventative work. If we can nip problems in the bud by providing alternative outlets for youngsters as well as getting them to inter-act more with older generations then the savings in terms of community relations and the actual cost of police intervention is huge."

The team is currently engaged in a 12-week project in the Brynteg area, where a public meeting agreed on a course of action for the team, who work closely with the police, local council and other agencies.

Janet Ryder added: "Twelve weeks seems a very short timescale to make an effective intervention and, although I'm sure it is making a real difference in key communities, perhaps the programme needs to have more time to make an impact in villages like Brynteg. I would welcome greater involvement by the team on a longer-term basis to engage with children from the age of eight upwards and ensure they stay out of trouble."

Funding for the project, which is backed by North Wales Police and Wrexham Council, comes to an end in March despite the positive feedback the scheme has been receiving. Janet Ryder said: "It's hard to demonstrate that youngsters haven't got involved in anti-social behaviour as a direct result of this team - how do you prove a negative? But I believe it's an effective way to improve our communities and deserves further support."

AM marches against marble church housing scheme

North Wales Assembly Member Janet Ryder has marched with community campaigners fighting plans to treble the number of houses in their village, saying it is a "warning to us all" of what can happen when local needs are ignored.

 The Plaid Cymru AM for North Wales spoke after joining more than 100 local people who walked across fields at Bodelwyddan that have been put forward for an extra 1715 homes next to the village's landmark marble church. There are currently 800 homes in the village. Janet Ryder said: "The turnout amongst villagers on a wet and windy day reflects the concerns people have about the over-development in this area. Building on fertile green fields like these is unacceptable. I have already raised concerns in the Assembly about this and other housing developments in north-east Wales, which have far more to do with the profits of developers than local housing need.

"If this part of Wales does not have very careful planning in the coming round of Local Development Plans, we're going to see a ribbon of commuter estates and dormitory villages created along the A55 and A483 corridors. This has nothing to do with creating communities with a sustainable future and local people are right to fight this.

"The tone of the campaign group is one of measured anger. This is not a simple NIMBY - Not in my back yard - attitude because residents in Bodelwyddan understand that this is part of a bigger picture whereby the north-east is effectively being used to service the housing needs of the Liverpool and Cheshire region. It does not make sense to create new commuter estates along the A55 for people to travel back and fore to Liverpool and Manchester. That's not a sustainable community and puts huge added pressures on the local infrastructure."

The Bodelwyddan Development Action Group, which organised the protest, also held a mass meeting last week. The meeting, at the village community centre, was chaired by local resident and former Conwy Council chief executive Derek Barker, who slammed the plans. He said: "If you're looking to develop an area, you don't start off with housing. Past housing growth has had no impact on affordability because we have an area of poor wages based on tourism and agriculture. These plans are not based on local need. We need honesty from Denbighshire County Council because this will just allow Cheshire people to have a house here."

Janet Ryder added: "These proposals for Bodelwyddan are just the most extreme example of what happens when the needs of a local community are ignored and trampled on. We have a disturbing situation where planners in Flintshire, Conwy, Denbighshire and Wrexham councils are having to reflect the housing needs of a wider sub-region that includes Cheshire and Merseyside through the Mersey-Dee Alliance. I see no similar demand for councils in those areas to reflect the needs of people in this part of Wales - it's one-way traffic."

New hospital operating theatres will cut waiting lists

Plaid Cymru's North Wales AM Janet Ryder has expressed delight at news that three new hospital theatres for the area will increase operating capacity by a fifth. The three at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd near Bodelwyddan will cost £5.4 million and include two laparoscopic theatres delivering "keyhole" surgery and one new urology day care unit.

Janet Ryder said: "Current operating theatres at Glan Clwyd are working to capacity so these are much needed new facilities being provided by the Welsh Government. The laparascopic theatres will be purpose-built and state of the art and this extra theatre space will increase capacity at Glan Clwyd by 20%. That means more operations can be performed and that will substantially reduce waiting times facing patients.

"This is another example of the Welsh Government opting to invest in the North to improve public services at a time of recession rather than follow the London parties' agenda of cutting public services at this crucial time. Now is not the time to be putting public sector workers on the dole and reducing the services we need more urgently than ever."

Wrexham tops WAG budget settlement

This went out to the local press in Wrexham:

Wrexham will receive the highest increase in Assembly Government funding for Welsh councils in the latest round of funding announcements.

The 3.1% increase for 2010-11 has been welcomed by Plaid Cymru's North Wales AM Janet Ryder. She said: "Wrexham doesn't qualify for the EU Convergence Fund and has been badly hit by job losses in the past year. Therefore it's good to hear that Welsh Government funding for the council in the coming financial year is the highest in Wales."

She added: "The picture across North Wales is a mixed one - some councils are receiving below the 2.1% average increase while others, like Denbighshire and Wrexham, are above average. Because of UK government cuts in budgets, there's no doubt that many councils will struggle to maintain services.

"What's important to note is that the Welsh Government has seen a less-than-expected block grant from London because of UK government cuts but is ensuring that cuts are minimised for local councils. This is where the frontline services are and these are the services we need to protect and safeguard. That's why the Welsh Government has ensured that councils overall are getting the same funding increase as the Assembly itself."

 Wrexham Council will receive £162 million from the Welsh Government, an increase of £7 million, but the Plaid AM is concerned that the long-term funding settlement for Welsh councils could look bleak. 

Janet Ryder launched a passionate attack on the way funding is allocated to Wales. She said: "The Plaid-Labour government in the Assembly has had to use money held in reserve to help at this vital time. That is because London governments have consistently underfunded Wales because of the flawed Barnett Formula. This formula means that Labour in London is holding back money that should come to Wales. The independent Commission chaired by Gerald Holtham identified this spending gap and said that, until the funding formula was reviewed, no further cuts should be imposed on Welsh funding. This has been ignored and that ultimately means that frontline services such as health, education and social services will feel the pinch.

 "Plaid has campaigned for many years for a fair funding formula to ensure that Wales gets the money it needs. Unless that is addressed, next year's settlement is likely to be followed by more severe cuts."

The full settlement is detailed below:

	WELSH LOCAL GOVERNMENT SETTLEMENT 2010-11
	Provisional
	Table 1a: Increase in AEF								?000s
	Local Authority		2009-10  Final AEF?		2010-11 Provisional AEF?		% increase		Rank
	ISLE OF ANGLESEY		93,595		94,531		1.00%		21
	GWYNEDD		168,441		170,197		1.04%		20
	CONWY		144,405		146,042		1.13%		19
	DENBIGHSHIRE		134,698		137,920		2.39%		6
	FLINTSHIRE		183,618		186,989		1.84%		12
	WREXHAM		157,409		162,294		3.10%		1
	POWYS		179,219		181,012		1.00%		22
	CEREDIGION		98,978		101,042		2.09%		9
	PEMBROKESHIRE		159,957		162,181		1.39%		17
	CARMARTHENSHIRE		247,315		251,678		1.76%		13
	SWANSEA		296,521		302,028		1.86%		11
	NEATH PORT TALBOT		195,419		198,861		1.76%		14
	BRIDGEND		176,092		180,723		2.63%		4
	THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN		148,613		152,161		2.39%		7
	RHONDDA CYNON TAFF		340,172		348,653		2.49%		5
	MERTHYR TYDFIL		85,654		87,343		1.97%		10
	CAERPHILLY		248,483		254,083		2.25%		8
	BLAENAU GWENT		107,958		109,593		1.52%		16
	TORFAEN		129,087		131,169		1.61%		15
	MONMOUTHSHIRE		97,790		98,904		1.14%		18
	NEWPORT		191,062		196,974		3.09%		2
	CARDIFF		382,753		394,093		2.96%		3
	Wales		3,967,239		4,048,471		2.05%
	Footnote :1. 2010-11 figures include the transfers in and out of the settlement, 2009-10 figures are therefore adjusted to include the 2009-10 value  to allow comparison at local authority level. This results in a slight difference (0.02%) when compared with the overall  increase in funding before the inclusion of transfers.