Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal Democrats

Families in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend are to get greater financial support for childcare thanks to a major new initiative.

Welsh Liberal Democrats analysis shows that the £1 billion boost to help parents with childcare costs could benefit 18,445 families in the area, 8,368 in Swansea, 4,966 in Neath Port Talbot and 5,111 in Bridgend.

Commenting on the latest statistics¹ on Homelessness, October-December 2012, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Peter Black said:

"It is pleasing to learn that the number of households accepted as homeless during 2012 has been lower than in 2011-2012. This trend has continued for the last 3 months and I hope it will continue for the rest of this year.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has called on Welsh Ministers to get their act together on the future of credit unions after an independent report accused them of sending "mixed messages", and warned that many could close or reduce in size this year.

Mr. Black said: "The report concludes that the Welsh Government is expecting Credit Unions to deliver key social outcomes without being given the necessary resources to do that job. Ministers want Credit Unions to grow and become self-sufficient in money terms but many of them are too small and are struggling to break-even. Without a coherent plan and sufficient resources, nothing will change.

Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Labour Government to view spending on modern medicines as an investment, rather than just a cost.

They have hosted a debate in the Welsh Assembly are also calling on Ministers to extend the Health Technology Fund so as to support the development of new medicines.

New legislation to modernise the licensing regime Mobile Home Sites in Wales has taken a step closer towards becoming law after passing its first stage in the National Assembly for Wales.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black is sponsoring the private members' Bill through the Assembly. He thanked members for their support today and predicted that it could be law by the summer.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Peter Black has expressed his concern that house building in Wales is failing to keep pace with the demand for new homes.

Mr. Black was speaking in the light of new statistics which show that up until the end of December 2012 the total number of completions recorded during 2012-13, for both the private sector and Registered Social Landlords, were lower than during the first three quarters of 2011-12. During 2011-12, the number of house building starts decreased for the first time since 2008-09, bringing the figure back down to a similar level to that seen at the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008-09.

Responding to the Welsh Government's publication of Vibrant and Viable Places: A New Regeneration Framework for Wales, Peter Black, Shadow Communities Minister, commented:

"Given the economic crisis started back in 2008, it's about time the Welsh Labour Government delivered on a regeneration strategy. I welcome that one has finally been published today, but it is disappointing that it has taken quite this long.

The Welsh Assembly budget deal between Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats 16 months ago is delivering over £6.5 million extra into schools in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend from next month.

The deal in November 2011 secured an extra £450, given directly to schools to provide

support for the poorest pupils. However, the Welsh Liberal Democrats insisted that this would not be a one-off. Instead they agreed that the grant to be repeated for three years. Despite the fact Labour refused to increase the amount for the next financial year, local schools will get the same boost this year and the year after.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Peter Black has expressed his concern at the number of social housing units being left vacant whilst people are stuck on waiting lists.

The latest statistics show that both the number of vacant housing units and the percentage of vacant social housing stock increased over the last year.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has welcomed the announcement that Skewen-born Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler will be representing the UK at Eurovision this year.

Famous for hits such as 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', Tyler will sing 'Believe in Me' at this year's singing competition.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has welcomed the report of a year-long government investigation into the activities of payday lenders which seeks to reduce the impact of payday lenders on poor communities.

Among the actions to be taken by the Office of Fair Trading are forcing payday lenders to make their advertising clearer, stopping them from rolling loans over, and ceasing strong-arm debt recovery practices.

The Welsh Labour Government need to urgently address poor ambulance response times in Bridgend after the latest statistics show that only 49% of urgent calls arrived within the target time.

The Welsh Labour government's target is for 65% of emergency category A calls to receive an ambulance response time within eight minutes. Only 56.1% of calls in Bridgend received an ambulance within that time.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Peter Black has expressed his concern that expenditure on Private Sector Housing Renewal has continued to fall despite the Welsh Government pledging in its National Housing Strategy that all households in Wales should have the opportunity to live in good quality homes.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has called on British Gas to give some of their surplus income back to customers after the company announced an 11% rise in profits just three months after they increased the price of gas by 6%.

Mr. Black said: "Nobody begrudges private companies making a profit on their business. After all, shareholders deserve a fair return on their investment, workers need a decent living wage, and money needs to be available for re-investment.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has challenged the First Minister to justify his government's failure to provide IVF facilities for couples in South Wales West after it was revealed that there is now an 18 month waiting list for treatment.

Speaking during First Minister's Questions today, Mr. Black pointed out that the new IVF treatment centre at Neath Port Talbot Hospital is a year behind schedule, meaning that it will not open until April this year. That is 18 months after the Welsh Government ceased to send patients to the London Women's Clinic at Singleton Hospital because they disagree with private medicine. Women waiting for IVF treatment are being sent to Bristol at an additional cost of £500,000 to the NHS.

The new financial year is likely to bring a big boost for thousands of low-earning taxpayers in the Bridgend area.

This is because November's autumn statement delivered an increase in the personal tax allowance. This is the most effective means of cutting tax for the low-paid, as it affects everybody.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be using their debate this week to call for an empty homes strategy, after a poll was held by the party asking for people to decide what should be debated in the National Assembly.

Marking the first time a political party has ever done such a thing, the Welsh Liberal Democrats launched an online poll in January asking people what they wanted debated in the National Assembly for Wales. A debate calling for a Welsh strategy for bringing empty homes back into use was chosen.

Responding to Ed Miliband's speech on the economy, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Finance Minister, Peter Black AM said:

"The two Eds are rather late to the party, wanting to cut taxes for those on low and middle incomes. They could have done this when they were in Government, instead they supported the move to abolish the 10p tax rate. It was the biggest tax mistake they ever made and it has taken them until now to realise their error.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has welcomed plans by Virgin Media to create 230 new jobs in Swansea.

The extra jobs are part of an expansion to meet growing demand for TV and broadband services. They will be in addition to the 900 jobs already based in the City for customer service and technical support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has criticised those Neath Port Talbot Councillors who characterised requests for more money for children's social services as Oliver Twists always coming back for more.

Mr. Black was commenting on Neath Port Talbot's Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Board's who expressed concerns about a £1.3m overspend on Children's Services in the county.