INQUIRY INTO FLOODING NEEDED

Plaid Cymru have called for a “full independent inquiry” into the cause of the recent flooding which has devastated communities across Wales over the last two weeks.

The call comes ahead of Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price’s visit to the flood-stricken communities in Rhondda and Pontypridd this morning and a Plaid Cymru debate later today on flooding.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow minister for the environment and rural affairs Llyr Gruffydd AM said that the Welsh Government should initiate “a full and independent inquiry” into the floods caused by Storm Dennis as well as “reviewing its overall extreme weather prevention plans”.

Mr Gruffydd said that “people needed answers” and questioned what the Labour government were going to do to stop “this happening again”. Pointing out that flooding on this scale would only “get worse” and was already “overwhelming existing infrastructure”, the shadow minister said that Natural Resources Wales and local authorities needed more resources to deal with the new expectations on them.

Mr Gruffydd added that a “prevention strategy” and a “combination of the hard and natural solutions” was required in the long term to protect vulnerable communities.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price yesterday criticised both UK and Welsh government for not ensuring troops were deployed to support the flood hit communities whilst they were previously deployed in northern England.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow minister for the environment and rural affairs, Llyr Gruffydd AM said,

“As the clean-up continues, I can only pay tribute to the heroic efforts of public service workers and community volunteers in keeping people safe, clearing the roads and ensuring people had shelter.

“But people need answers. That’s why I’m calling on the Welsh Government to initiate a full independent inquiry into the causes of recent flooding - as well as reviewing its overall extreme weather prevention plans.

“What is the Labour Welsh Government going to do to stop this happening again? Because climate change is here. Flooding on this scale will only get worse. It’s already overwhelming the existing infrastructure.  Natural Resources Wales and local authorities desperately need additional resources to deal with the new responsibilities and expectations them.

“In the long term, we need a prevention strategy and a combination of the hard and natural solutions to prevent the water from reaching the river in the first place. We need a robust planning policy that keeps new housing developments out of flood plains.

“Our most vulnerable can’t keep paying the price for this.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said,

“I want to see support available to those experiencing trauma as a result of the recent flooding – especially children. People are still struggling.

“There must also be a hardship fund for those individuals affected by adverse weather and storm damage which ensures parity for businesses and homeowners, especially those without insurance.

“Time and again Welsh communities are treated as an afterthought by the two main Westminster parties. When severe flooding hits Wales again – and there’s no doubt that it will, troops must also be drafted in to help and support our communities. They shouldn’t be left behind to deal with this on their own.

ENDS

Editor’s Notes:

The proposal in full:

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes the damage and devastation caused to communities across Wales as a result of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.

2. Pays tribute to the heroic efforts of public service workers and community volunteers in responding to the effects of adverse weather and storm damage in recent weeks.

3. Recognises that climate change will make adverse weather occurrences, including instances of serious flooding, more likely in future.

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) initiate a full independent inquiry into the causes of recent flooding, in addition to conducting a review of the sufficiency of its overall adverse weather prevention plans;

b) ensure that additional support is made available to those experiencing psychological trauma as a result of the recent devastation, especially children;

c) ensure that the hardship fund for those individuals affected by adverse weather and storm damage ensures parity for businesses and homeowners, especially those without insurance;

d) clarify the status of grant support available for land reclamation;

e) explore the possibility of introducing a low cost social insurance scheme with the aim of ensuring affordable property insurance cover everywhere in Wales;

f) request a comprehensive assessment from the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales of the measures that would be required to reduce the annual risk of flooding in Wales to 1 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 0.1 per cent and to increase expenditure to this end.

A UNION IN NAME ONLY

We have a Labour government in Cardiff Bay that's in denial about the fact that it's in charge and that the buck stops with them. Despite the occasional rhetoric about defending Cymru / Wales - the lack of coherent powers not to mention any real desire to try to acquire or strengthen existing devolved powers let alone acquire any new ones - lies with the Labour Party. 

The 2006 devolution settlement deliberately excluded any control of water - one of our country's key resources (and a potential source of future revenue). It left the then National Assembly with partial control over our county's railways and effectively no real powers to develop, expand or plan for real growth of our nations fragmented railway network. We have 11% of the UK's railway network, 20% of the level crossings and 2% of the funding over the last ten years. 

The HS2 debacle  is an affront to the Welsh taxpayer, and with spiralling costs it is only going to become worse. Wales is losing out on billions of pounds of funding that is rightfully ours – it is simply not tenable for the Westminster Government to argue that this project is 'England and Wales' when not a single inch of track is in our country.

The UK government must immediately commit to honouring its funding formula and pay Wales full Barnett consequential payments of approximately £5 billion. Part of the problem is that the UK government has lied repeatedly over the case for HS2. With the cost for HS2 Phase 1 rising by 361% in the space of 3 years, there are serious questions to be answered concerning project delivery and management by HS2 Ltd and the Government.

The people of Wales deserve honesty from Westminster. While paying for a high-speed electrified railway that will only run in and benefit England, Welsh commuters are lucky to find a seat on dated diesel trains. Powers over rail must be devolved to Wales. The Government's own project accountants have calculated that HS2 will directly harm the Welsh economy. Yet again, Westminster has knowingly delivered a project that will benefit London and the south-east of England at the expense of Wales.

The overall impact of the HS2 project, as it, will actually have a negative impact on the economy of Cymru / Wales. What we need is fair funding and the powers to do the job in Cymru / Wales. A flawed half way house devolutionary settlement will no longer work. Quite simply either the union, post BREXIT is probably incapable of delivering for all, fairly and equally, something the union did not do previously, before and after devolution was implemented, it is simply a union in name only.

THE THICKENING BLUE LINE

Facing the prospect of a much thinner Blue line...

Boris’s plan to boost Police numbers, may not be quite as easy to as achieve as he thinks. Home Office officials have suggested that Boris’s promise to recruit 20,000 new police officers in England and Wales within three years - won’t work - as they estimate that some 50,000 officers will be needed, because so many officers are set to leave the service - many perhaps demoralised by nearly 10 years of Conservative government. 

From Boris’s perspective, 20,000 is such a nice round number, even if ironically the pledge to recruit more Police officers, is direct a result of the cuts to police numbers introduced by the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition. Boris's much trumpeted election promise of 20,000 extra police officers - is nice, save for the fact that we are already 19,704 police officers down since 2010 in England and Wales. 

Here in Cymru / Wales, since 2010 there are at least 500 fewer police officers are on our streets. So even if Boris could achieve his extra 20,000 Police officers he would basically take us back to were we were in 2010 - with a next gain of 296 police officers in England and Wales as a whole. 

Save of course that they would not all be coming to Cymru / Wales, so even if we got 5% of them (say 25) that would still leave down by 480. If policing was devolved and funded on a population basis as is the case with other policy areas our Welsh police forces would receive upwards of £20 million more per year. 

Policing is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland, making our National Assembly the only devolved legislature not to have any control over its nation’s police forces. Once again, we remain the poor relation amongst the devolved institutions across these islands. We definitely need to take back control… from Westminster.