 Photo - Natasha Hirst Rebecca Evans, Welsh Labour's Assembly candidate for Gower, has welcomed the First Minister to Pontarddulais to meet small business owners.
The First Minister and Rebecca Evans took the opportunity to explore the issues facing small businesses, and to discuss their pledge to give every small business in Gower, and Wales, a tax cut if Welsh Labour forms the next Government. They also spent time talking to shoppers about the importance of supporting vibrant high streets. Rebecca Evans said: "The Welsh Labour Government is a pro-business government which understands the unique needs of small businesses, and the huge contribution that small business owners make to our economy. "They are important employers, and provide access to essential products and services. That is why, if Welsh Labour wins the next Assembly election, we will give a tax cut to every small business in Wales. "What's good for traders in Pontarddulais is good for Pontarddulais as a whole. Pontarddulais is gaining a great reputation for its vibrant independent small businesses, and I was proud to show the First Minister around."  Photo - Natasha Hirst There was a warm welcome for First Minister and Leader of Welsh Labour, Carwyn Jones, on the campaign trail in Gorseinon.
Carwyn Jones was in Gorseinon to support Welsh Labour's Assembly candidate for Gower, Rebecca Evans. Rebecca Evans said: "It was a pleasure to be joined by our First Minister and Leader of Welsh Labour, Carwyn Jones, on the campaign trail. "At the 2011 election we made a series of promises to the people of Wales. And we kept them."There are now more people working in the NHS than ever before, and we are treating more people, more quickly, than ever before. "We have brought 5,000 empty homes into use, and created 15,000 quality jobs for young people. Our students have £22,000 less debt than English students thanks to our unique tuition fees policy. "But we want to do so much more, and it was good to talk to voters in Gorseinon with our First Minister about our new promises. "We promise a tax cut for every small business in Gorseinon and across Wales, free childcare for 30 hours a week for all working families, and 100,000 quality apprenticeships for people of all ages across Wales. We promise a new treatment fund for the NHS, £100m more for frontline funding for schools, and we will double the amount of money older people can keep before paying for care." Dear Editor,
Sadly, I have to write once again to respond to attacks being made by the Gower Tories in their election literature. They say I have done nothing to try to support Wales' cockle industry and get to the bottom of the high cockle mortality in Penclawdd and the surrounding areas. This is not the case. I can prove that I have been making representations on behalf of the cockle industry in South West Wales as far back as May 2012. The cockle stocks in the Burry Inlet have actually been systematically surveyed since at least 2003. Researchers, supported by the Welsh Government, have ruled out as single causes of mortality a raft of potential factors - including stock density, food limitation, chemical pollutants, sediment movement and temperature variations. The latest expert view suggests that remaining causes might include naturally occurring parasites and pathogens, or natural 'boom and bust' population dynamics, but there is no conclusive evidence. If elected to represent Gower I will continue to support efforts to seek scientific answers, and will continue to work on behalf of the cockle industry. Sincerely, Rebecca Evans Welsh Labour Assembly candidate for Gower Welsh Labour's Rebecca Evans has pledged to work with the NSPCC to fight for safer childhoods for children if elected to represent Gower in May. They will put a particular focus on keeping children safe online.
Rebecca Evans has a long track record of campaigning on internet safety. In her role as a regional Assembly Member, Rebecca has championed the issue in the Senedd, and has led debate in the Chamber in the safety of children online. Rebecca Evans said: “The Internet is a wonderful, valuable resource. It can be an enriching learning environment, helping develop knowledge, skills, ideas and global citizenship, as well as being a forum for socialising and entertainment. But there is also a darker side.” Rebecca Evans has highlighted the challenges and dangers posed to children and young people online by cyberbullying, online grooming, easy access to explicit adult material which may be extreme or violent, and the pressures of modern trends such as sexting. Rebecca Evans said: “By educating children and those who protect and support them about the safe use of the internet – including recognising danger and the importance of privacy settings and content blocks, for example – we can make the internet a much safer place. “By helping children to put what they see and experience online into context offline we can build their resilience. There is a huge amount of very good work already taking place in Wales by the Welsh Government, parents, schools, the third sector, the police and others. “We need to keep redoubling our efforts and working together to protect children – and I will work with the NSPCC to do just that.” "The Tories will try to tell you that the Labour Welsh Government has done nothing to try to understand the cause of the high cockle mortality in Penclawdd and the surrounding areas," says Welsh Labour's Assembly candidate for Gower, Rebecca Evans.
This, she says, is not the case. Rebecca Evans reports that the cockle stocks in the Burry Inlet have actually been systematically surveyed since at least 2003. Researchers, supported by the Welsh Government, have ruled out as single causes of mortality a raft of potential factors - including stock density, food limitation, chemical pollutants, sediment movement and temperature variations. Rebecca Evans said: "As a regional Assembly Member I have been making representations on behalf of the cockle industry in South West Wales as far back as May 2012. I know how important the industry is to our communities. "The latest evidence suggests that remaining causes might include naturally occurring parasites and pathogens, or natural 'boom and bust' population dynamics, but there is no conclusive evidence. "If elected to represent Gower I will continue to support efforts to seek scientific answers, and will continue to work on behalf of the cockle industry." Rebecca Evans, Welsh Labour's prospective Assembly candidate for Gower, has welcomed the news that the Welsh Ambulance Service will receive 94 new vehicles, thanks to a £10m investment from the Labour Welsh Government.
The investment will allow the service to purchase:
Rebecca Evans said: "It is important that our ambulances are equipped to offer the most modern and up-to-date care when they are called to an emergency, and this is especially true in the more rural areas of Gower where transportation times can be longer. "Since 2011, the Welsh Labour Government has invested almost £45m in new ambulance vehicles for the Welsh Ambulance Service. This is a serious investment in emergency care." The Welsh Ambulance Service currently has 706 vehicles in its fleet, which cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles across Wales. |
