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A hammer blow for the High Street
23/05/2013 |
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GOVERNMENT proposals to slash the number of firms offering legal aid in North Wales from 29 to four will be a hammer blow for North Wales’ high streets.
That is the view of Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, who questioned the Ministry of Justice to find out how many firms currently offer legal aid in North Wales. Answers show that there are 29 firms currently serving North Wales – and seven firms serving the Wrexham area.
Under proposals currently out to consultation, the Government would reduce the number of firms in the whole of North Wales to just four. Solicitors across the country have raised objections to the plans, and Mr Lucas has met a number of Wrexham firms who would be severely affected by the plans.
He said: “These proposals will be a hammer blow to the high street in North Wales. Wrexham has a number of small legal firms who provide legal aid who would be very hard hit if the Government forces this plan through.
“There are seven firms serving Wrexham at the moment. Under Government plans, there would be four firms covering from Holyhead to Lavister.
“It is simple common sense to see that community connections and local knowledge will be lost under these proposals – and that we will see a number of small firms simply go out of business thanks to the Government.” |
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Pull together to keep rail bid on track
17/05/2013 |
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WREXHAM’S MP Ian Lucas has urged the Secretary of State for Wales to work with politicians of all parties to keep rail improvements for the town on track.
Mr Lucas has long campaigned for improvements to the Wrexham to Bidston line. He held a conference in Wrexham earlier this year to bring together transport chiefs, rail companies, councils, AMS and MPs to help push improvements in North Wales – including the Wrexham to Bidston line – forwards.
He also held a meeting in the Houses or Parliament this week to discuss the project with an MP from the Wirral, Alison McGovern, before raising the subject with Welsh Secretary David Jones in the Commons yesterday.
In Welsh Questions, he asked: “I am delighted to hear that the Wrexham to Bidston line project is under consideration by the Secretary of State’s office. Will he convene a meeting of MPs and Assembly Members from north-east Wales, and of MPs from Cheshire, to discuss the project and what steps can be taken, using enterprise zones, to take it forward?”
Mr Jones replied: “I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman welcome that initiative. His proposal is certainly worthy of consideration. I am having a number of meetings in the immediate future with representatives of other enterprise zones, and in due course I will write to him and perhaps invite him to such a meeting.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Lucas said: “It is good that this project now has cross-party support. If done correctly, it can not only help link Wrexham to Liverpool with faster journey times, it can also help link people in Wrexham to fresh employment opportunities across the region.
“I will continue to push the Government to make sure the issue does not slip down their agenda.” |
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From the Commons: Keeping rail improvement plans on the right lines
16/05/2013 |
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Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab): I am delighted to hear that the Wrexham to Bidston line project is under consideration by the Secretary of State’s office. Will he convene a meeting of MPs and Assembly Members from north-east Wales, and of MPs from Cheshire, to discuss the project and what steps can be taken, using enterprise zones, to take it forward?
Mr Jones: I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman welcome that initiative. His proposal is certainly worthy of consideration. I am having a number of meetings in the immediate future with representatives of other enterprise zones, and in due course I will write to him and perhaps invite him to such a meeting. |
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Small firms need Green Deal help
15/05/2013 |
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SMALL construction companies are losing business because of the way a Government scheme has been set up.
Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has said Ministers need to do more to help smaller construction companies access the flagship Green Deal scheme, as a leading construction industry body suggested that they were missing out.
The Green Deal scheme was supposed to help people secure energy efficient updates to their homes, but the Federation of Master Builders say only 942 companies have received Green Deal installation approval so far and that smaller companies are finding it hard to access the market.
Mr Lucas said: “Smaller construction companies help provide the backbone to a vital sector in our economy. I believe we need to do more to boost them, which is why I helped set up a conference here in Wrexham earlier this month aimed at increasing their access to finance. The Government have talked a good game in helping businesses get easier access to finance, but the reality is often very different for smaller companies.
“Unfortunately, the same problem is now occurring for those companies hoping to access green deal business. I am pleased that the Federation of Master Builders have recognised the issue and that they are taking action – however, the Government must follow suit.
“At the moment, there seem to be a lot of bureaucratic hurdles for small businesses to clear before they can get involved in the green deal. The Government needs to take another look at their plans.” |
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Text of letter to Daily Post on Remploy
10/05/2013 |
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It is outrageous of Mark Isherwood AM to defend the Tory/Lib-Dem Government's dreadful conduct on Wrexham Remploy. First, it chose to sack 41 workers when a viable private sector proposal to keep the business open was on the table. Second, it has refused to allow the factory site to be used to employ the workers. It now lies empty and has done for nine months.
Mr Isherwood says that 34 of the 41 disabled employees "were engaging with... Personal Care Workers..." What does that drivel actually mean? The fact is those employees still do not have jobs because the UK Government told Remploy to sack them.
In contrast, Wrexham Council have provided support for a new business which will employ Remploy workers sacked by the Government and the Welsh Government are providing employment support for the workers. Wrexham people have been constant in their support for Remploy workers.
Mark Isherwood should, on the other hand, hang his head in shame, acting as an apologist for the indefensible sacking of some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Yours faithfully,
Ian Lucas MP |
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Good news around the corner for enterpsising workers
10/05/2013 |
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A NEW business set up to employ Wrexham Remploy workers who lost their jobs when the Government closed their factory is making good progress.
Wrexham MP Ian Lucas – who campaigned against the closure of the Wrexham premises and who has supported the workers since its closure – recently met with a number of them to discuss the new business, Enterprising Employment Wrexham. The workers, along with businessman Ivan Timmis, have set up the company which is set to open officially next month.
Mr Lucas said: “The commitment of the workers to building this new company has been humbling. Despite the way they were treated by the Government – which closed the Wrexham factory despite their being a private sector bid on the table for the premises – they picked themselves up and carried on.
“It has been a difficult road, and it is a shame that the Government would have rather had the former Wrexham factory sitting empty for nine months than use it to help build a new premises in Wrexham.
“However, with the support of Wrexham Council and the Welsh Government – plus the people of Wrexham – good news is now just around the corner.” |
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From the Commons: Probation and the public sector
09/05/2013 |
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Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab): In a parliamentary answer, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Jeremy Wright), stated that
“public sector entities will not be able to bid”
for probation contracts
“as they will not be able to carry the financial risk.”—[Official Report, 25 March 2013; Vol. 560, c. 955W.]
Will the Secretary of State confirm that public sector contracts cannot be awarded to probation trusts?
Chris Grayling: Self-evidently, the existing structure of public probation trusts cannot take risk on behalf of the taxpayer, but staff are welcome—they are being helped actively—to establish co-operative movements and social enterprises that bid for the business. That is to be welcomed. I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is a Labour and Co-operative Member, but he sits with many who are. Surely he welcomes that approach. |
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Gordon Brown praises Wrexham's Lesotho links
09/05/2013 |
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LINKS being forged between Wrexham and Lesotho have been praised by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
A long-standing relationship between Wales and Lesotho has been strengthened in Wrexham in recent years by a number of projects, including an educational exchange for pupils and teachers. Pupils and staff from one of the schools taking part, the Maelor School, recently got the chance to meet Mr Brown at Parliament where he was fascinated to hear more about the work they have been doing to build links between the two countries. Over 60 people have now taken part in the Maelor School’s Lesotho Link exchange programme.
The meeting comes at a time when other links between Wrexham and Lesotho are being strengthened even further. In recent days, the Lesothan Minister of Sport, Chief Thesele John Maseribane, has signed a five-year agreement with Glyndwr University which will link the university with a counterpart in his country and allow the institutions to share links. It has also been announced that the Lesothan Team will train in Wrexham before the Commonwealth Games – they previously trained in the area before the 2012 Olympics.
Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, who is a Shadow Minister for Africa and who has visited Lesotho himself, attended the meeting. His wife Norah is one of the teachers at the Maelor School which has taken part in the exchanges.
Mr Lucas said: “Gordon Brown has done a great deal of work in Africa since leaving office in his role as UN Special Envoy for Global Education.
“He was, therefore, fascinated to hear how educational links are being forged between schools in Wrexham and schools in Lesotho.
“All those who take part in these links treat them as an equal partnership and they really have helped forge a bond between two communities thousands of miles apart.” |
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Another wasted opportunity for growth
08/05/2013 |
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THE WORSENING economic picture is unlikely to be changed by this year’s Queen’s Speech, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas believes.
Despite a flat-lining economy and a million young people looking for jobs, the speech contained few measures to boost growth and provide employment. And Mr Lucas has warned he failure of the Government to step up to the challenge of rebuilding the economy means that living standards in Wrexham will continue to be hit.
He said: “This Queen’s speech is a wasted opportunity to help Wrexham people looking for work. The most recent figures show 475 people in Wrexham have been looking for work for over a year, but this Queen’s Speech does nothing to help them.
“Those in work are seeing rising bills and falling wages.
“We need to get people into work, and to make work pay. This Queen’s Speech was a missed opportunity to rebuild our economy.” |
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A European exit would devastate the North Wales economy
07/05/2013 |
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FOLLOWING a Conservative’s call to leave the European Union would devastate the North Wales economy, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has warned.
Lord Lawson, a former Tory Chancellor, has said he would vote to leave the EU if a Conservative proposal for a referendum becomes a reality. Among the reasons he puts forward is leaving would help the City of London, which he describes as “one of the few major industries, with substantial growth prospects, where this country is indisputably a world-class player.”
However, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has said that world-class manufacturing companies – such as Airbus – would be hit heavily by leaving the EU. Describing European co-operation as key to success in the local industrial sector, he has hit out at a Conservative focus on financial services and the South East which ignores the rest of the country.
Mr Lucas said: “Lord Lawson’s comments are the latest of a series of Conservative pronouncements on Europe in recent weeks – partly motivated, no doubt, by the local elections.
“The collective Conservative confusion over Europe, and the party’s relentless focus on the South East and financial services at the expense of the rest of the UK, will cost jobs in vital industries across Britain.
“In North Wales, for instance, Airbus – a world class company – has arisen since the 1970s out of collaboration between a number of European countries; the UK, Spain, France and Germany. More than 6,000 people are employed directly by Airbus in North-East Wales, and as Wrexham businesses can attest, the supply chain for the company provides thousands more jobs through businesses like Magellan, Tritech and Cytec. In addition, Wrexham and North-East Wales have secured investment from businesses like Sharp and Toyota in other areas of manufacturing and we are a major exporting region with our main market being mainland Europe. It is madness to exclude us from this market and the UK Government should be saying this loud and clear.
“Those of us who remember the 1980s remember that unemployment of 3 million happened twice under Tory Governments. Once more, following Nigel Lawson’s advice would see people lose their jobs.” |
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