Freedom Central » Jenny Willott

WILLOTT CALLS FOR ACTION ON CARERS ALLOWANCE

Freedom Central — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:12:39 +0000

Jenny Willott, the MP for Cardiff Central and Co-Chair of the Lib Dem Parliamentary Committee on Work and Pensions, has drawn attention to the potential impact on carers of changes to disability benefits.

The Government plans to increase the amount of time a person must have a disability before they are able to claim the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the replacement for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), from 3 months to 6 months.

This could have an effect on people who give up work to care for a disabled relative, as they will not be entitled to Carers Allowance until the cared for person receives PIP.

During oral questions to the Department for Work and Pensions yesterday, Jenny Willott asked the Government to consider allowing carers of people with sudden onset conditions such as cancer or stroke, to have early access to Carers Allowance.

Commenting Jenny said:

“Both DLA and PIP are intended to support the long term disabled, so it is right that there should be eligibility requirements for claiming these benefits. However, people who give up work to care for seriously sick or disabled relatives should not be penalised.

“I’m glad that the Minister agreed to look at how changes brought in with PIPs will affect access to Carers Allowance and consider what support is given to carers who display enormous self sacrifice looking after friends and family members.”

Welsh Liberal Democrats call for equal compensation for Welsh victims of the contaminated blood scandal

Freedom Central — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:37:37 +0000

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Kirsty Williams has added her voice to calls on the Welsh government to ensure that Welsh victims of the contaminated blood scandal receive the same compensation as those in England.

Yesterday, the UK government confirmed that payments to people in England who contacted Hepatitis C as a result of being given contaminated blood products would be significantly increased.

There will be a doubling in the one-off payments made to people who suffer the worst effects of Hepatitis C and annual payments to Hepatitis C victims in line with payments already made to those who contracted HIV.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott, has welcomed the news and written to the Health Minister calling for similar steps to be taken in Wales.

Commenting Kirsty Williams said:

“I welcome the publication of yesterday’s review. This is a significant step forward for victims of the contaminated blood scandal and their families in England. Both the package of compensation to victims and their families as well as the apology by the UK government are very welcome steps forward.

“However, this announcement applies only to England. The UK government has made this money available through existing Department of Health budgets. The Welsh Assembly Government now needs to do likewise.

“We cannot be left with the position that Welsh victims receive less favourable treatment than victims who live in England.

“The Health Minister must now make an immediate statement to reassure all those Welsh victims and their families that swift action will be taken.”

Jenny Willott added:

“It has taken over 20 years to get this far and too many victims have already died without seeing justice.

“One of the most important aspects of the announcement was the apology given by the Secretary of State for Health. No amount of money will ever make up for this tragedy but campaigners have waited far too long for the Government truly to apologise.”

Jenny Willott clarifies her remarks

Freedom Central — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:37:50 +0000

The BBC reports that Cardiff Central MP, Jenny Willott has denied that she told a journalist that she would vote against tuition fee proposals being put forward by the UK Government:

Jenny Willott, the Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central, was quoted as saying in the South Wales Echo that she would vote against any rises in tuition fees. The Guardian also said she had said she would vote against a rise.

Miss Willott told the BBC she had been misquoted and had not said she would definitely vote against the plans. She said her position was that she would “not support a rise in tuition fees. I’m waiting to see what is in the motion before deciding whether to abstain or vote against”.

Jenny Willott confirms she will vote against tuition fee rise

Freedom Central — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:26:35 +0000

Cardiff Central Liberal Democrat MP, Jenny Willott has told the South Wales Echo that she will vote against the proposed increase in tuition fees to £6,000 a year.

Jenny stated her intention on Friday as police patrolled outside her weekly constituent surgery in the city amid fears of further student protests.

She said: “I have said all along I will vote against any rises in tuition fees. The Browne Review in its current format, although there are parts I agree with, is not something I can support.”

She added: “We didn’t win an outright majority at the election, if we had we would be scrapping tuition fees. The Browne Report was commissioned by the previous government and we are having to deal with its recommendations.”

Jenny said that she supported some parts of the higher education changes, including changing the amount when graduates start paying back fees from £15,000 to over £20,000 but she indicated that this was not enough to offset the increase in fees.

Welsh Lib Dems demand urgent regeneration action

Freedom Central — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 05:12:57 +0000

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have demanded that the Welsh Government adopt a radical new approach to financing redevelopment across Wales, which could see new town redevelopments funded through future business rates.

The scheme, known as Tax Increment Financing, has been announced for England by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for a similar programme to be introduced in Wales, so that Welsh towns and cities are not left behind.

In a debate in the Assembly yesterday, Jenny Randerson AM formally proposed the introduction of a similar scheme for Wales. She said:

“It is imperative that the Welsh Government takes advantage of this opportunity. Wales is already the least competitive nation in the United Kingdom and with Labour having left us with the largest peacetime deficit in history, the money is not available to develop large new regeneration schemes.

“This exciting new scheme would allow local Councils to borrow sensibly and sustainably, using the extra business rates they would receive to finance the loans.”

“It wouldn’t be a huge amount of work for the Welsh Government to make sure that Welsh communities could rejuvenate areas that have lacked investment in the past.

“The Labour/Plaid Government must take action to make sure Wales isn’t left behind England yet again”

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a mechanism that allows local authorities to borrow money to fund new developments by using the business rates that they will accrue in the future as collateral. This scheme would allow local Councils to borrow money now using the extra business rates they would receive to pay off the loans.

In order to take this opportunity, the Welsh Government needs to do two things. Firstly, it would need to pass the necessary legislation enabling local authorities to adopt the scheme and secondly, it would need to agree to ring-fence the business rates from these developments.

A wide-range of expert opinion is aligning behind Tax Increment Financing in the last few years. The Financial Times has called it “vital”, Professor Brian Morgan from UWIC called it “innovative” and Cardiff Council warning of a “significant risk that Wales could suffer” if this programme is not implemented by WAG.

Children must have a fair start in life

Freedom Central — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:36:43 +0000

Kirsty Williams and Jenny Willott yesterday visited Cafe Junior in Cardiff to talk to parents about their key priorities of giving children the best start in life and provide more support for families.

Cafe Junior is a place where parents can relax while children are encouraged to play in a creative and imaginative way.

Welsh Liberal Democrat priorities include:

• Introducing an £80 million fund to increase schools funding for the most disadvantaged children.
• Allowing parents to share the full allocation of maternity and parental leave between them.
• Tax breaks for working parents would mean £1,400 extra in their pockets every year
• Maintaining the commitment to end child poverty by 2020

Kirsty Williams commented: “We believe that education is the ladder out of poverty and we need to make sure that the education system gives every child in Wales the chance to get on in life. Everyone in Wales, no matter their background, should get a fair start at life in order to reach their full potential. We know that every child is different, so schools should be given the flexibility – and resources – to teach children in different ways to get the best from them.

“We would introduce an £80 million fund to increase school funding for the most disadvantaged children and improve schools for everyone.”

Jenny Willott added: “Families are still struggling after Labour’s recession. It’s unfair: many parents have lost their jobs and balancing the demands of daily life with caring for young children is a real struggle. Getting time off work is difficult and finding quality, affordable childcare can be impossible.

“The first weeks, months and years after a child is born are life-changing but also enormously challenging for new parents and that’s why the Liberal Democrats want to ensure every family gets the help it needs. The system at the moment is simply too inflexible. When a baby is born, the mother gets a year’s leave and the father gets just two weeks. We want to allow parents to share the full allocation of maternity and paternity leave between them in whatever way suits them.

“Our tax plans will also mean that every worker will get a £700 reduction in their income tax bill which means that a working family can see an average of £120 extra in their family budget at the end of the month. We’ve balanced our books so that it’s easier for families to balance theirs.

Thirteen years of Labour and nothing has changed for our poorest children

Newswire — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:05:48 +0000

The Liberal Democrat Candidate for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott, has condemned the lack of improvement in some indicators of child poverty under Labour as ‘scandalous’. Her comments came after Statistics for Wales released the latest update on the progress made against the Labour-run Assembly Government’s Child Poverty Indicators.

The figures reveal that of the 31 indicators reviewed 32% show ‘little or no progress’ since 1999 and 3% of indicators have fallen behind 1999 levels.

“These figures show once again that the Labour Administrations in both Cardiff and Westminster have failed to raise children in Wales out of poverty,” said Jenny.

“The fact that after 13 years of a Labour Government so many children are still living in poverty is quite simply scandalous. They have had over a decade to change. It can’t go on and they can’t be trusted.

“The Liberal Democrats want to see real help being given to lift children out of poverty, which is why we could ensure no one pays income tax on the first £10 000 they earn, giving them the chance to spend the money raising their family.”

Don’t trust Labour with your identity

Jenny Willott — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:09:10 +0000

The Labour Party is misleading the public on their plans for Identity Cards and the National Identity Database. Their manifesto may say that the controversial Identity Cards will remain voluntary for the next five years but what it does not say is that, by 2012, anyone applying for a passport will have to also apply for an ID card, costing them an extra £30 on top of the £107.50 it costs to renew a passport..

This is another case of the Labour Party trying to hide their intentions from people. They are pretending that having an ID Card will remain a free choice while saying that if you don’t get one you will give up your right to a passport.

That is not a free choice and it is not a fair one.

Instead of spending billions of pounds more on this dangerous and expensive scheme, while at the same time asking people in the UK to pay even more in order to renew their passports, the Labour Party should be thinking of how they could help cut crime in the community.

The Liberal Democrats would abolish the ID Card and the Identity Register and instead invest the money in tackling crime by creating 3000 new police officers.

“This election must be used to build a fairer Wales”

Newswire — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:47:45 +0000

Welsh Liberal Democrats will today formally launch their General election campaign in Cardiff, when Nick Clegg will be joined by Kirsty Williams and Jenny Willott on a visit to Plas Bryn, who provide domiciliary care for pensioners.

The Welsh Lib Dems will also launch their priorities document ‘Change that Works for Wales’, which outlines the key themes the party is pursuing in this election as well as highlighting the key benefits a Lib Dem government in Westminster will deliver to Wales.

The visit to Plas Bryn is to highlight how Liberal Democrat proposals for tax relief will benefit pensioners all across Wales. The Liberal Democrats propose to raise the threshold at which people start paying income tax from current levels to £10,000, cutting the average working age person’s income tax bill by £700 and cutting pensioners’ income tax bills by £100.

Nick Clegg said:

“This election must be used to build a fairer Wales. Elections that really matter don’t come along that often. But this one has the opportunity to deliver change that will work for the people of this country. We’ve had 65 years of red-blue, blue-red Government in Westminster that has hoarded power for itself and failed to deliver fairness for the people of Wales.

“Labour has failed to deliver fairness, the Tories won’t and Plaid Cymru just can’t.

“We offer key changes that will benefit people across Wales – tax cuts for lower and middle income earners and pensioners, and more money for struggling children. We want to build an economy based around businesses that are financially and environmentally sustainable and we’d fix our rotten political system so that people can once more have confidence in their political system.

“This election can and must be a turning point for Wales. This must be a moment of great change, so that we emerge from the recession as a fairer, greener and stronger society.”
Kirsty Williams added:

“Wales has become deeply unfair; the poorest pay a higher proportion of their income in taxes than the richest, a bright child from a poor family will slip behind a less bright child from a better off household early on, a child from Ceredigion will outlive a child from Blaenau Gwent by 5 years and we still have high unemployment and the lowest levels of economic development of anywhere in the UK. We want to put fairness back at the heart of this country.

“This election is a golden opportunity for Wales to rebuild itself as a country that is fit for us, our children and our grandchildren.”

Rising living costs will drive even more students into debt

Freedom Central — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:51:17 +0000

Cardiff Central’s Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott has warned about the dangers of spiralling student debt after a report by the National Union of Students showed a dramatic increase in the cost of student accommodation in Wales.

The NUS report, released today, shows that the cost of student rent in Wales has gone up 18.5% in the last three years. The average cost of rent per Welsh student now stands at £79.40 per week. At the same time the financial support given to students across the UK has remained largely unchanged meaning the burden of these increases fall on students themselves.

Jenny Willott, whose constituency contains a large number of students studying at Cardiff University, UWIC, the University of Glamorgan and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, warned that the increase could cause even more students to fall into serious debt.

She said: “The figures released by the NUS show that it is becoming harder and harder for students to afford all the costs associated with going to University. The average student debt is already £17,500 and the increase in accommodation costs will cause even more financial difficulties.

“We should be providing every possible support to young people wanting to study at university, not putting more and more obstacles in their way.

“That is why a Lib Dem Government would abolish tuition fees, in order to help students avoid some of this crippling debt.

“We would also change the tax system so that no-one would pay tax on the first £10,000 they earn each year, which would help recently graduated students to pay off their debts quicker.”