Mike Hedges, Julie James and Rebecca Evans, Welsh Labour Members of the Senedd for Swansea East, West and Gower, have welcomed the announcement from the Welsh Labour Government that 4,346 unpaid carers in the City and County of Swansea Council will receive a £500 payment in recognition of the pivotal role they have played during the pandemic.
 
The payment is part of a £29m investment in unpaid carers from the Welsh Government and recognises the financial and emotional hardship many have experienced.
 
Unpaid carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance on March 31st this year will be eligible for the payment.
 
Welcoming the announcement, Mike Hedges MS for Swansea East said:
 
“I’m pleased that the Welsh Labour Government is investing £29m in our army of unpaid carers. It shows how much they value and appreciate those who care for others.
 
Julie James MS for Swansea West said: “Unpaid carers have played a pivotal role throughout the pandemic – they have gone above and beyond to care for family or friends. 
 
Rebecca Evans MS for Gower said: “The physical and emotional impact of caring can be overwhelming – I hope this £500 payment will go some way to support during this cost-of-living crisis.”
 
An unpaid carer is someone who cares for a partner, relative or friend who has an illness of disability. Carers Allowance is paid to people caring for at least 35 hours a week, who care for someone receiving certain benefits and who earn no more than £128 a week.  
 
The payment will benefit thousands of the most vulnerable unpaid carers in Wales, who frequently care for the longest and are on the lowest incomes.
 
Unpaid carers will be able to submit their claim to local authorities later this year. Further details on how and when to register for the payment will be available shortly.
 
The payment is being launched after a survey of more than 1,500 unpaid carers found nearly half had to use their personal savings and give up work or study to care, while more than half had to give up on hobbies or personal interests because of their caring role.
 
Combined with the cost-of-living crisis and the fact many of those in an unpaid carer role will be caring for individuals with complex needs who require warm homes, specialist medical equipment and certain foods – it is recognised unpaid carers will be exposed to greater financial pressures than others.
 
It is hoped a payment of £500 will go some way to easing these pressures, as well as recognising the value of their caring role over the last year to Wales’ health and social care system.
 

Rebecca Evans MS, Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh Labour Government that eligible families in Gower will receive a cash boost to help with school costs.
 
The £13m support package to help families pay for school uniforms and PE kits comes as welcome extra help comes as the cost-of-living crisis is deepens, as fuel and energy prices soar in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict and new UK Government tax rises are due to come into force next month.
 
The new funding will provide families across Wales who are eligible for help through the Pupil Development Access Grant with a one-off £100 top-up payment in 2022-23 to help with the costs of sending their children to school. It is part of the Welsh Labour Government’s Household Support Fund and is directly aimed at helping households meet the rising costs-of-living.
 
It follows recent announcements by the Welsh Labour Government to extend the PDG Access Grant to learners in all school years who are eligible for free school meals and £21.4m to extend free school meal provision through the Easter, Whitsun and summer holidays.
 
Welcoming the news, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“Household budgets are under significant pressure and many parents will be worried about how they can afford the things their children need for school.
 
“Families in receipt of the PDG Access Grant will already be using the £200 to help pay for their children’s school uniform. This extra payment will help cover other costs, such as PE kits, school shoes and other equipment, helping household budgets go a little bit further.
 
“I’m pleased that the Welsh Labour Government is able to provide more help to families at this difficult time and remove some of the financial barriers to education.”
 
The extra funding for PDG Access complements Welsh Labour’s commitments to help families with the cost of the school day.
 
Children in Wales, funded by the Welsh Labour Government, is working with schools across Wales to make a real difference for their pupils by supporting school leaders and teaching staff with this issue.

Rebecca Evans MS, Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, has welcomed the Welsh Labour Government’s announcement that the Childcare Offer will be extended to parents in education and training and parents on adoption leave.
 
From September, parents in education and training and parents who are on adoption leave, if it is in line with the child’s Adoption Support Plan, will be eligible for up to 30 hours of government funded early education and childcare for children aged three and four.
 
Welcoming the announcement, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“Welsh Labour is committed to supporting working families with the costs of childcare. Our manifesto for the Senedd election outlined our pledge to provide more childcare for parents in education and training. I am pleased that the Welsh Labour Government is able to continue expanding the Childcare Offer, increasing the number of families who are able to access the offer.
 
“Increasing support with childcare costs for parents in education and training reflects the value the Welsh Government places on supporting people to improve their employment prospects by gaining qualifications, retraining or changing career paths.”
 
The Welsh Government has also announced an extra £6 million per year to increase the hourly rate for childcare providers from £4.50 to £5 per hour from April. The 11% increase will help provide greater sustainability across the childcare sector in Wales. Ministers have committed to reviewing the rate at least every three years. The maximum amount settings can charge for food will also increase from £7.50 to £9 a day, reflecting the increase in both food prices and utility and energy prices.
 
In addition, a further £3.5 million will be invested in Flying Start childcare and £1.5 million will be used to support the continued alignment of the Foundation Phase nursery and childcare funding rates under the Childcare Offer.

Rebecca Evans MS, Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, has welcomed the announcement from the Welsh Labour Government that thousands of social care staff in Gower who are eligible for the real living wage from April will receive an additional £1,000 net payment.
 
Welsh Labour’s Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan MS, has announced a further investment of £96m to support staff, on top of the £43m to introduce the real living wage.
 
The additional payment, which will be made to some 53,000 people, comes amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.
 
Welcoming the additional payment, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“Welsh Labour knows the importance of investing in our NHS and social care – looking after those who look after us when we most need it.
 
“I’ve seen the hard work that our social care workers do – in our care homes and our communities. Day in day out they look after some of our most vulnerable people with dignity and care.
 
“I’m pleased that the Welsh Labour Government has been able to deliver our key election pledge of paying the real living wage to social care staff in the first year of Government, and I’m pleased that they’ll also receive an additional £1,000 payment at a time when we are facing a cost-of-living crisis.”
 
The £96m investment for the additional payment is on top of the £43.2m that was announced in December to ensure social care workers receive the real living wage in 2022-23. Around 53,000 social care workers will be eligible for the additional payment.
 
The additional payment, which is aligned to the introduction of the real living wage, will be £1,498 before deductions for tax and national insurance. Care workers on basic rate of income tax can expect to receive £1,000 after deductions.
 
The Welsh Government expects that the additional payment and the real living wage will be processed in people’s pay from April to June, due to the complexity of the care sector and the large number of employers involved. The additional payment will be available as a single payment or monthly instalments.
 
The Welsh Government is also funding a national recruitment campaign and is taking steps to professionalise the sector and improve career progression opportunities.

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans MS, has welcomed the doubling of the Welsh Government’s Winter Fuel Support Scheme payment to £200 as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies.
 
The one-off payment – which was launched in December – is now being extended to support eligible households with rising energy bills and costs, providing further support for people facing rising living costs this winter.
 
It is part of the Welsh Labour Government’s bespoke Household Support Fund, which is providing £51m of targeted support for families and the most vulnerable in society.
 
This announcement comes as the Conservative UK Government continues to refuse to reverse its £20 cut to Universal Credit which has impacted tens of thousands of families in Wales and amid the triple whammy facing people – grocery bills rising, energy costs increasing, and Tory tax rises coming down the tracks which are going to make this crisis even worse.
 
Welcoming the doubling of the support payment, Rebecca Evans MS said: 
 
“Families in Gower are facing a cost-of-living crisis thanks to the economic choices and mismanagement of the UK Conservative Government.”
 
“As the Conservatives continue to be distracted by the growing scandals in 10 Downing Street, they are once again failing families. The Welsh Labour Government is stepping in and doing everything they can within their powers and budget to support families through what is turning out to be a difficult winter. 
 
“I welcome the doubling of the support from the Welsh Government to help with heating and eating pressures and I again call on the Conservatives to reverse their cut to Universal Credit and to take meaningful action to address the cost-of-living crisis which people across Gower are facing.” 

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans, has welcomed the announcement that additional funding of over £24m has been confirmed by the Welsh Labour Government to support learners who have felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic the most.

The funding includes: £7.5m to support learners in exam years; £7m to support learners whose attendance has dropped during the pandemic; and £9.5m to support FE and Sixth Form learners with transition to the next stage of their education or career. 

£7.5m will be used to provide extra support for learners in exam years, with additional teaching time and learning resources. It will help learners to develop their skills, knowledge, and confidence, as well as supporting those who feel anxious about exams. The funding will be weighted towards schools with greater numbers of learners who receive free school meals.

Over £7m will go towards supporting learners whose attendance has dropped during the pandemic. Dedicated support will be provided to support Year 11 pupils who have low attendance to complete their GCSEs or help them reach the next stage in their education or in starting a career, as well as support for pupils in other years. Funding will also be provided to support well-being and education for learners at Pupil Referrals Units.

£9.5m will be provided to further education colleges and sixth forms to support students with their transition into the next stage of their education or career and for activities such as open days and taster sessions for vocational careers. 

Welcoming the funding, Rebecca Evans MS said:

“The ongoing pandemic has caused disruption for our learners, with some feeling the impact more severely. I am glad that the Welsh Labour Government is committed to not letting the pandemic throw any young person off course.

“I’m pleased that this new funding will help ensure those who have been impacted the most are given the additional support they need to progress with confidence into the next stage of their lives.

“I am also determined to work with colleagues in the Welsh Labour Government to ensure that all learners are on a level playing field and are able to reach their full potential.”

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans MS, has welcomed the announcement that the Welsh Labour Government is working with Monmouthshire Building Society to accelerate the establishment and roll-out of a community bank across Wales.
 
Welsh Labour’s manifesto for the Senedd election included a commitment to secure the creation of a Community Bank for Wales, supporting its growth so it can open 30 branches across Wales over the next decade. 
 
Welsh Labour’s Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has confirmed that Monmouthshire Building Society, working with the Welsh Government and Cambria Cydfuddiannol Ltd (CCL), has announced its intent to develop its approach of delivering a community bank in Wales – Banc Cambria – which will aim to provide everyday full retail banking services in communities across Wales by 2023.
 
The UK has one of the least diverse Retail Banking systems in Europe, dominated by a small number of very large banks, which operate according to a shareholder-value business model, seeking to maximise profits for their owners. 
 
Since Welsh Ministers initially set out plans to explore the creation of a Community Bank for Wales, traditional High Street Banks have further accelerated their retreat from Wales’ High Streets.
 
Welcoming the plans, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“I particularly welcome this announcement after the closure of banks across Gower in recent years, in communities including Mumbles, Pontarddulais, and Gorseinon.
 
“I’m pleased that Monmouthshire Building Society has announced its intention of developing its approach of delivering a community bank in Wales, with the aim of providing everyday full retail banking services in communities across Wales by 2023.
 
“I hope this will provide a positive impact on our communities and high streets and I hope it improves access to financial help and support in locations that are convenient.”
 
Monmouthshire Building Society has announced its intent to develop its approach of delivering a community bank in Wales – Banc Cambria.
 
Banc Cambria aims to provide everyday full retail banking services, offering multichannel, bilingual banking services for individuals and small businesses; accessible through telephone, digital, online and face-to-face.
 
Banc Cambria cannot replace the increasing number of branches closed by the High Street Banks. However, Banc Cambria aims to establish around 30 new outlets over the next decade – with a focus on communities that have lost provision.
 
Banc Cambria estimates that the Community Bank for Wales could have a customer launch during 2023. 

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans MS, has welcomed the announcement of changes at GP surgeries which will help to end the 8am scramble to book an appointment.
 
Health Minister, Eluned Morgan, announced the measures as part of an agreement to change the current GP contract.
 
The changes, which are backed by £12m of extra investment from the Welsh Labour Government, will help end the morning scramble to book an appointment. The revised contract will make it clear the practice of releasing appointments daily at 8am is no longer acceptable.
 
Instead, the new GP access commitment will help ensure people are triaged appropriately and if an appointment is needed, people will receive one which is right for their clinical needs.
 
Where appropriate, people may be signposted to another service – or healthcare professional – who can help or support them.
 
The new General Medical Services (GMS) contract deal will also include an uplift to pay for GPs and practice staff and extra funding to increase capacity and staffing to help to respond to winter pressures.
 
Welcoming the new changes, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“I am very pleased that the Welsh Labour Government has agreed a new contract with GPs which significantly improves the way in which appointments are currently handled.
 
“These new changes will allow practices to better manage patient needs, and will put an end to the 8am bottleneck where patients have to telephone numerous times in an attempt to secure an appointment.
 
“I am also glad that the agreed changes also reward all staff working in general practice with a pay rise.”
 
The £4m of extra funding will be made available to GPs for the next three financial years to ensure the retention of the additional capacity and in support of the commitment made around access to services.
 

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans MS, has welcomed the announcement from the Welsh Labour Government that every household in Wales will be offered a free tree to plant to help tackle climate change.
 
This bold new policy will give residents in Gower the chance to choose a tree of their own to plant or opt to have a tree planted on their behalf.
 
Welsh Labour’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, has confirmed that the Welsh Government has partnered with the Woodland Trust to deliver this campaign.
 
The first trees will be available to collect from March, from one of five regional community hubs that will be established. The Welsh Government aims to set up a further 20 hubs across Wales by October 2022.
 
Welcoming the announcement, Rebecca Evans MS said:
 
“Trees really make a difference to our everyday life – they keep our air clean, and they are essential to tackling the nature emergency, improving biodiversity, and tackling climate change.
 
“We all have a part to play when it comes to successfully tackling climate change, so I’m glad that our Welsh Labour Government is going to offer every household in Wales a free tree to plant.
 
“I’m also pleased that they have recognised that it will not be possible for some households to plant a tree themselves and are instead offering the option of having a tree planted ‘for me’ – this will ensure that everyone benefits from the campaign.”
 
The Deputy Minister also revealed that a consultation would launch early in 2022 on plans to create a National Forest for Wales.

Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Gower, Rebecca Evans MS, has welcomed a new £7m package of support for unpaid carers, in recognition of the vital support they provide to the people they care for.
 
The new support package will allocate £5.5 million to local authorities to provide targeted support to unpaid carers, while allocating £1.25m for the Carers Support Fund, which last year successfully helped almost 6500 unpaid carers to cope with the financial impact of Covid 19. £20,000 is being provided to fund online mental wellbeing support sessions, alongside £230,000 for the Family Fund to support over 600 further low-income families with seriously ill or disabled children.
 
The Welsh Government previously committed £3 million in 2021-22 to allow more carers to take a break from their caring role, bringing the total additional funding support for unpaid carers this year to £10 million.
 
Welcoming the fund, Rebecca Evans MS said:
  
“Having been an unpaid carer myself for a number of years when I was younger, I know that the physical and emotional impact that caring can at have. With the additional challenges of caring during these difficult times it’s vital that we continue to improve the help and support that is available to our unpaid carers.”