The very strange priorities of Albert Owen

Last week Albert Owen thought it would be a good idea to write in to the Daily Post saying that the Office for National Statistics has got it wrong and, contrary to what the official figures say, Anglesey isn't the poorest place in the country after all. Indeed, thanks to some special data which only Albert is privy to, Ynys Môn is apparently more likely to be the second, or maybe even the third poorest place in the country. I can only imagine that he thinks that telling us we are 'only' the 'second poorest place' in the whole UK instead of 'the poorest', is somehow a vindication of the last 13 years of Labour rule.

Anyway, no doubt hyped-up by last week's success, Albert had another letter published in the Daily Post yesterday -- and this time he decided to tackle the really big issue which everyone on the Island has been talking about. Yes, that's right, he decided to write about how the Tory government of the 1990s used European structural funds. This it seems is far more important than anything that is actually happening on the Island today, and apparently the events of twenty years ago also somehow negate any criticism of the WAG's Economic Renewal Programme made by Prof. Dylan Jones-Evans, the economic advisor to the Welsh Conservatives. No, I couldn't follow Albert's logic either.

Anyway, seeing how Albert brought it up and often likes to tell us how much worse the 80s and 90s were for Anglesey, this is what I remember:

• Anglesey Aluminium started smelting in 1971 and continued production all the way through the 80s and 90s, only closing with a loss of 450 jobs in September 2009
• The Octel chemical plant in Amlwch began production in 1953 and continued through the 80s and 90s (under various different names) until it closed in 2005
• The Eaton Electric plant in Holyhead opened in 1960 under the name Midland Electric Manufacturing Company, it operated all through the 80s and 90s and only closed in December 2009 with a loss of 250 jobs
• The Peboc Eastman chemical plant in Llangefni was established in 1970, continued production all through the 80s and 90s, and only closed its doors in 2008 with a loss of 100 jobs
• Anglesey is an island of farmers, yet the economic contribution of agriculture in North Wales (including Anglesey) has declined by a staggering 67 per cent during the period 1997-2007, compared to an overall UK decline of just 7 per cent. You only need to compare a visit to the Morgan Evans livestock auctions in the 80s or 90s with one now to see how things have declined
• This decimation of agriculture on Anglesey has directly affected the abattoir and meat-packaging plant in Gaerwen (now called Welsh Country Foods and part of the Vion Group) which began operating back in 1980s and continued throughout that decade and the 1990s; it has only begun downsizing this year with a loss of 200 jobs; the chicken processing plant in Llangefni, commonly known as 'Chuckies' and owned by the same company was established even earlier and also continued production throughout the 80s and 90s, until it lost a whole shift (140 jobs) last year. 

I'm not denying that the 1980s and 90s were hard times, but contrary to Albert's constant diversionary tactics, all of Anglesey's prime businesses survived that era intact, only to be forced to close or downsize over the past couple of years.

Anyway, I can't wait to see what Albert is going to write about next week...

Anglesey's Libraries: a Council Success Story

Anglesey County Council is so often on the receiving end of quite severe criticism that we may sometimes forget that, despite the shenanigans in the council chamber, the council does perform many services very well, and some excellently. A good example is the library service on Anglesey. Fellow island blogger, Photon, writes this about the latest Welsh Assembly assessment of Anglesey's libraries:

Anglesey is amongst the top performers in Welsh libraries, passing 12 of a possible 14 standards in 2009-10 and has achieved this despite having the lowest numbers of staff of any local authority.  In the words of Cymal, the Welsh Assembly's Library Standards authority:

"With such meagre staffing resources it is difficult to see how many more service improvements can be achieved. Indeed it is possible that current levels of performance overall are only being achieved on account of the dedication and commitment of the staff rather than as a result of the authority’s support and investment."

In other words, the staff are pulling-off Herculean improvements in the library service on Anglesey, whilst the Council itself shows little interest in it. 

Anglesey's libraries have this year been awarded 12 out of a possible 14 target passes for its levels of service - up from the average Welsh pass rate of 7 targets last year, and well ahead of the Welsh national average of just 9 targets met.  In the words of the Welsh Assembly: 

"This is progress at an accelerated rate and reflects well on the effectiveness of the service in applying careful and considered approaches to the requirements of the Standards."

Read the whole thing here.

When you consider the excellent service provided by Anglesey's libraries, and the fact that it all costs yearly less than one percent of the council's entire budget, I hope that the council executive will recognise its value to the island and spare it from unnecessary cuts.

Rhosneigr by-election update

Back in September when ex-Leader Phil Fowlie stood down and a by-election was called in the Rhosneigr ward, in line with the People's Manifesto I made the following requests of any candidates:

• To state in advance which political grouping they intend to join if elected; and 
• To publish a personal manifesto of their aims and values

To this end I am delighted to have received the following mail from one of the candidates:

"Dear Druid,

My name is Martin Peet. I am Standing as the Welsh Conservatives Candidate for Rhosneigr. I have lived in the area for over 10 years and know it well. I am also the Deputy Chairman Political of the Anglesey Conservative Association and was Agent for Anthony Ridge-Newman. My day job is in major construction; I am 35, a hard working family man and am standing for council because they need new blood with professionalism and someone who can see the bigger picture.

I am very impressed by the blog that you have created and the political stimulus it has created amongst the population of our island. David Cameron and the Conservatives have a vision for our nation and that is one of the "Big Society" - People coming together and getting things moving without the aid of a super state. It seems that the seed of the Big Society has been planted and nurtured here with the publication of the People’s Manifesto. Congratulations.

Rhosneigr, as you may know was served by former leader Phil Fowlie, and contrary to the reports against him, he served the ward well and was highly respected as the Councillor for Rhosneigr. I wish him well in his recovery from surgery.

Mini manifesto for Rhosneigr: If elected:

Stop the closure of the Library.

Libraries, like the swimming pools and schools are essential for the islands future -closing services used by children, adults and the elderly alike is pure madness.  Savings aren't made by hacking out swathes from the infrastructure of the island, they are made my making the existing services more efficient, sharing resources where possible, making the services more "lean".  Anglesey also benefits from the “Libraries for Life” grant scheme, so closing libraries on the island could probably jeopardise this funding source.

Develop a parking strategy for Rhosneigr, to ease the problems during summer periods.

We could just build a new car park near the common, but that is a short term solution.  The root to the issue is deeper.  New developments need to provide for adequate parking (including boats).  Any new parking facilities should be Free.  Car parks need to be strategically positioned to utilise both beaches in Rhosneigr.

Control Housing and Holiday Home development.

There have been plenty of new developments for the holiday market, some remaining unsold, yet we have a housing need for our young families in Rhosneigr, and the surrounding areas.  New developments must consider a percentage as affordable housing.  If this is not reasonable they must contribute to the community by other means.  If developers want to capitalise on the beaches and sea views, they must give as well as take.

Accountability and Approachability

I have always been told on the door step that you only see politicians when they want your vote.  I will be available every week at a ward surgery.  I will post my contact details in shops, post office and the library.  I will create an email mailing list and feedback on progress within the council, for the ward, and as a whole.

Community Action

I will engage the community in voluntary action projects, whether it’s tidying the beaches, trimming hedgerows, or organising fun days and street parties, Rhosneigr will be an example of how communities can pull together and be proud of what they put in.  This has started already with the likes of Project Rhosneigr, and nearby Llanfaelog Community Garden.

Listen and Learn

The primary responsibility of any councillor is to serve.  I will listen, converse and formulate ideas with the people I’d serve.

Island Wide

I would be a strong voice for Anglesey.

With support from my Conservative AM colleagues in Cardiff I can make sure that we are heard in Cardiff.  Money from Europe, destined for Wales does not seem to travel that far up the A470!  There will be a new round of EU funding in 2013 and we need a strong case for support on Anglesey.  I can lead that case.

If you would like to contact me directly:

Email me:    mp.ynysmon@gmail.com

Regards

Martin Peet

Rhosneigr Council Candidate for the Welsh Conservatives"

I understand that in addition to Mr Peet, one other person has also put himself forward as a candidate. If that person would like to contact me I will be equally happy to print his pitch to Rhosneigr residents here.

Does anyone know if a hustings has been arranged?

Crowded house: the Welsh economy

The Welsh Economy

The Economist this week reports on two very interesting academic studies on the effects of increased government spending which could have a profound impact on our understanding of the Welsh economy.

The first study, by Harvard Business School academics, investigates whether higher government spending can "crowd out" private consumption and investment -- i.e. the phenomenon were government uses up financial and other resources (including personnel) that would otherwise be used by private enterprise. As an 'economy' is basically an aggregate of the actions of literally hundreds of millions of different people and organisations making diverse informed decisions on how to spend their money, the biggest problem faced by economists is to isolate just the factors they want to study -- in this case what influence increased government spending has on the private sector -- however the Harvard Business School academics hit on a very ingenious solution:

"When American politicians become chairmen of congressional committees, they are able to direct federal spending to their home states. To take one example, Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, became chairman of the Senate intelligence committee in 1997. Before that Alabama averaged $6m less in annual federal earmarks, or specific funding, than other states. After his appointment the state received $90m more than the average.

Chairmanships are based on seniority. They require another senator or congressman to lose their seat. Appointments have little relationship with economic activity in the state concerned, and extra spending will occur at all stages of the [business] cycle. It is a truly independent variable.

The academics examined 232 appointments across 42 years. They found the average state receives a 40-50% boost in earmarks in the year following a chairman’s appointment, an increase that persisted for the rest of his tenure. Private firms reacted by reducing capital expenditure (by 8-15%) and research and development (by 7-12%); employment and sales growth also suffered. This test appears fairly robust, as it covered a wide variety of states and was also reversed when the chairman stood down."

Furthermore the second study highlighted by The Economist and conducted by academics associated with the OECD discovered through statistical analysis of a panel of 145 countries between 1960 to 2007, that a 1% rise in government consumption as a share of GDP eventually reduced private-sector consumption by 1.9%.

If these findings are correct, what does this tell us about the Welsh economy were public spending as a share of GDP has, according to the latest figures, reached 69.1% -- second only in its reliance on the public sector to Northern Ireland?

Public spending as a share of GDP (source: CEBR)

I have previously written how, despite the Welsh Assembly spending more per capita than any other UK region on economic development, Wales still remains at or near the bottom of most indicators of economic health such as GVA, unemployment and business failures. The Institute of Welsh Affairs, which commissioned the research (and which counts the sainted Gerry Holtham on its management board), opined that the causes for this underperformance were general cack-handedness and a lack of accountability and transparency. However, bearing in mind the results of the above studies, is it not more likely that the growth of the Welsh private sector is in fact being artificially stunted due to the crowding-out effects of an overlarge public sector? It surely cannot be healthy for Wales that the government spends £7 out of every £10 spent in this country.

Furthermore, in the past both Rhodri Morgan and Ieuan Wyn Jones have given speeches saying that the problem is not that the Welsh public sector is too large, but that the private sector is too small. But surely this is putting the cart before the horse -- under normal circumstances a country can only afford a public sector which can be sustainably paid for by its private sector. If the findings of the above studies are correct then they will have profound implications on our understanding of why the Welsh private sector is so stunted.

(Finally, before I am accused of hypocrisy for having called for Welsh Assembly support for the port of Holyhead just days ago, please note there is a big difference between targeted and limited government support and a structurally over-large public sector.)

Hanes Môn: Anglesey's Ghengis Khan?

A 2003 study discovered through DNA analysis that as many as 8 percent of the male inhabitants of Asia are probable descendants of Genghis Khan, the Mongol warrior emperor, leader of the Golden Horde, and founder of an Empire that stretched from Central Asia all the way to gates of Vienna. However due to his even more considerable conquests with the opposite sex, it is estimated that Ghengis Khan has roughly 16 million male descendants -- i.e. half of one percent of the entire male population of the world.

What has this got to do with Ynys Môn? Well, take a look at this inscription from a tombstone at Eglwys Tregaian, near Capel Coch:

William Ap Howel may not have conquered half of Eurasia, but I wonder how many of us Islanders are descendants of this clearly extraordinary man?

(Hat tip: Photonic Anglesey)

Any port in a (funding) storm. (Updated)

I wrote back in March this year about the Offshore Wind Site Development Competition organised by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to allocate £60m of funds to help port authorities and developers looking to develop new offshore wind manufacturing and assembly facilities. Ports which wished to apply had to prove that they:

• have access to sufficient land that could be developed into wind turbine manufacturing facilities;
• are suitable for the transport of large and heavy products;
• and already have heavy duty surfacing capable of bearing heavy loads in place. 

There was much hope at the time that, in line with the Energy Island concept, Holyhead's now defunct Anglesey Aluminium plant, which has a deep water dock, would be a very suitable location.

Happily the £60m funds have survived the Comprehensive Spending Review and the competition is still open -- although it has now emerged that because this is classed as 'business support' (i.e. a devolved function) the lions share of the £60m will be reserved for England with only Barnett consequentials available to Wales, Scotland and Northern Island. The good news is this guarantees that the Welsh Assembly will receive £3.5m towards developing a Welsh port (and just by looking at the adjacent map, it can only really be Holyhead). The bad news however is that no matter how eligible or suitable Holyhead may appear, it cannot receive any more than that amount. This has cued outrage from Albert Owen, who has said this is "another example of the Tories and Liberals marginalising Wales", whereas Ieuan Wyn Jones, asserts the decision shows a "complete lack of respect" for the Welsh economy.

My personal view is that its highly unlikely that £3.5m alone will be anywhere near enough money to properly transform the Anglesey Aluminium plant and dock into one suitable for manufacturing and shipping offshore wind turbines. Accordingly it would have been far better for the government to take a more strategic view and divide the total budget between the two or three most suitable ports (no matter in which region they are located) so that the sums each location received would be sufficient enough to deliver a considerable impact.

However -- and here's a novel thought -- instead of forever whinging about supposed slights by the coalition government, why doesn't the Welsh Assembly Government step up and show us that it can take action when required? WAG has a £15bn budget; of that approximately £1.2bn is earmarked for Economic Development and Transport. As Ieuan Wyn Jones has announced that half the Economic Development budget will now be spent on as yet undefined infrastructure projects, why can't some £11.5m of this money (i.e. 9 percent) be added to the £3.5m from DECC to make a pot of £15m for developing Holyhead port? Presumably an investment of this kind could help make Holyhead the key staging area for 'Round 3' offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea -- whilst also supporting the development of a sustainable new industry in the UK's poorest area.

The Welsh Assembly has been only too happy to waste our money on expanding mostly unnecessary universal benefits (such as free prescriptions and free breakfasts for primary school children) which neither generate jobs nor possible future sustainable revenue streams for Wales. Its time for WAG to get its priorities in order, stop using the excuse that it is 'underfunded' (according to the Holtham Report, through the Barnett Formula Wales receives £112 for every £100 spend on devolved activities in England) and go out an earn the 'respect' it says it deserves.

UPDATE: I am grateful to commenters who point out that the Port of Mostyn near Holywell, with ready access to the A55, M62, M56, and M6, is already well ahead in establishing itself as the ideal servicing location for offshore wind farms in the East Irish Sea. This clearly shows that for Holyhead to compete, DECC/WAG support to modify the port will be meaningless unless it first manages to attract wind turbine manufacturers to set up production operations in the town. Just before the election there were a number of front page stories in the Daily Post about how the then Welsh Secretary, Peter Hain, was in talks with a unnamed company to set up just such a wind turbine factory on the Anglesey Aluminium site. Hain even described it as "the beginning of good times" for Anglesey -- though predictably, as sure as today's front pages become tomorrow fish'n'chips wrappers, we never heard anything about the whole thing ever again.

I think that the 'Energy Island' concept is a good one, and, in theory, Anglesey is ideally located to take advantage of a trend towards lower carbon energy sources, be they nuclear or renewable marine technologies. But as I have written previously:

"For the Energy Island concept to be a full success Anglesey must become an originator of energy technology -- not just a destination for off-island companies to place various schemes. Accordingly the council must work to incubate Anglesey-based energy start-ups. The only way to do this would be to work with local research centres, such as Bangor University, to develop some kind of Energy Science Park located somewhere on the Island. I would further suggest that using the "Shell Fund" to provide "seed money" for such start ups would be a far more productive use of the money then purely funnelling the majority of it into Oriel Môn each year."

++ Anglesey Grants - an appeal ++

Regular readers of this blog will know that Holyhead resident, Gwynfor Pierce, has long battled with Anglesey County Council over problems he experienced regarding a Housing Renovation and Town Improvement Grant that he was awarded to improve the flats above his shop on Market Street in Holyhead. The substance of his concerns can be summarised as follows:

• Even though the building works carried out on his property via an agent were sub-standard and unsatisfactory, the council still approved payments; Completion certificates were also submitted and approved for work that was never finished and which had also been improperly invoiced by the builders;
• The costs of the works tendered were artificially inflated significantly over the actual value of the works. Consequently in order to remain within the budget of his contribution, Gwynfor agreed that non-essential items should be omitted. However with the help of a quantity surveyor Gwynfor later discovered that the items omitted were extreme, leading the flats to be judged "detrimental to the health and safety of future council occupants". Furthermore Building Control also later discovered 24 contraventions of building regulations;
• The agents failed to provide proper contracts and the council failed to ensure that Gwynfor was fully informed of his responsibilities under the grant scheme. Proper quality monitoring procedures were not implemented;
• When Gwynfor took his concerns to the council he was faced with an extraordinarily complex complaints system coupled with real difficulties in obtaining information from the council's grants files. This made it extremely difficult for him to substantiate his claims;
• The council is responsible for ensuring that all Welsh Assembly housing grants are spent properly on works that are fit for purpose and meet Welsh Housing Standards -- however in this case the works were not fit for purpose and yet the council appeared unwilling to pursue the case.

Despite the above difficulties Gwynfor faced in pursuing his case with Anglesey Council, he fought on and after years of pushing an internal audit was eventually ordered into the matter. After 120 days of investigation the result was a grudging acknowledgement by the council that,

"there are certain recommendations arising ... as regards procedures and future administration of grants". 

However it also predictably found fault with Gwynfor himself:

"[t]he investigations ... have raised questions with regard to the applicant and certain agents employed by the applicant. Some terms of the grant have not been complied with and the Council has requested re-payment of the grant monies". 

Following further pressing by Gwynfor (including this letter sent to all councillors in September this year) and the helpful intervention of Mark Isherwood AM, Anglesey Council have now gone one step further by admitting for the very first time -- and as long alleged by Gwynfor -- that,

"... evidence exists that external parties have sought to defraud the Council". 

Happily the case is now being investigated by the council's external auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and the Police have been informed of the irregularities. The increasingly excellent welsh language news magazine, Golwg, has also took up the case. The Druid hopes that justice will now be swiftly served.

However the story does not end here. Gwynfor first took his concerns to the council in 2007 and it has taken him three years of continuous effort to get Llangefni to recognise that there really were serious problems with his grant. The question we have to ask is whether Gwynfor was just extraordinarily unlucky -- or whether there are other Anglesey residents who have also had a similar experience with housing grants but have lacked Gwynfor's herculean perseverance in pursuing their cases with the council?

Well, as it happens a Brynsiencyn resident, who also regularly contributes to this blog, had a very similar experience with a Home Regeneration Grant he was awarded seven years ago. He also took his concerns to the council but was repeatedly rebuffed, investigated himself for attempting to defraud the council (for which he was cleared), and was then outrageously told to stop writing to the Legal Department about his continuing concerns. Sound familiar?

Through word of mouth he found another nearby resident who had experienced exactly the same problems (even down to having the same agent and builder) -- and this despite having been told by the council that there had been no other similar problems reported concerning Home Regeneration Grants. Finally, out of frustration, he went to see our AM, Ieuan Wyn Jones and told him about both cases. Ieuan was sympathetic but ultimately unhelpful and sent him away saying,

“I believe that these two are isolated cases -- however if you find that there are enough other similar cases, then I will bring the matter to the attention of the Welsh Assembly”. 

Accordingly, today we are launching an appeal to find other Anglesey residents who have suffered a similar experiences. Explicitly we are looking for people who have been recipients of grant works to improve private/landlord/public housing but have experienced any of the following problems:

• sub-standard work which they have had to accept due to the actions of agents who have behaved improperly due to a lack of proper contracts or lack of oversight by the council;
• problems during the tendering process;
• the need to make their own repairs to the works afterwards;
• have tried unsuccessfully to obtain formal documentation explaining the policies and procedures for progressing the grant and how to sort matters out when things go wrong;
• have tried unsuccessfully to obtain redress through the council.

You can get in touch by using the 'Contact' tab above and can rest assured that your anonymity will be protected. Based on the number of responses, the plan will be to prepare a dossier of such cases which can be presented to Ieuan Wyn Jones. Then we will see whether our AM will take the acton he has promised.