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Conservatives question Welsh jobs scheme

The Welsh Government should 'look again' at its flagship jobs scheme according to Welsh Conservatives after figures showed over a third of those who've taken part are now unemployed. The party's obtained figures showing 454 of 1305 young people who took part in Jobs Growth Wales now have no job.

Shadow Business Minister Nick Ramsay welcomes the fact that two thirds of those who complete apprenticeships but says questions should still be asked about what happens to the remaining third.

While some young people are clearly benefitting from Jobs Growth Wales, too many are falling through the gaps and finding themselves back where they started.

The Welsh Government needs to assess where their back to work scheme is falling short and address these shortcomings so we can get more young people in Wales back to work.

Never dismiss Tory activists says Welsh party leader

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has said that 'no-one, but no-one should ever forget' the valuable work activists do for the party. He was responding to reports that a senior aide to the Prime Minister called grassroots Tories 'swivel-eyed loons.'

The Assembly Opposition leader praised 'all the members...who work tirelessly on behalf of our party' and said he not only appreciates the work they do but classes himself as one of them, adding that 'the only I way I sit here is because of their work.'

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Truancy fines plan criticised

Tories fear truancy fines will hit most vulnerable

The Conservatives have also criticised a Welsh Government decision to push ahead with plans to fine parents of persistent truants.

This is a lazy Labour government piling all its eggs into a basket of punishment – at the expense of support and liaison.

There is a real danger that these fines will hit the most vulnerable hardest and ignore the real reasons behind truancy.

I fear fines will stack up while behaviour remains largely unchanged.

Low school attendance can have a hugely detrimental impact upon a child and Labour Ministers should be working hard to tackle the problem at its root causes.

– Angela Burns AM, Shadow Education Minister

Abandon A&E change plans say Tories

Plans to change hospital emergency departments in South Wales should be abandoned, according to the Welsh Conservatives. The party claims proposals due to be announced later this month will see the number of A&E departments in the region reduced.

Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said,

With demand for our emergency services on the rise, any plans to downgrade up to half of A&E departments in South Wales are unacceptable and must be abandoned.

Whilst sensible service modernisation in the region is something that we can all support, foolish plans to strip away emergency services from local hospitals are the very last thing that patients in South Wales will be prepared to accept.

– Darren Millar AM, Shadow Health MInister

'We'd vote to leave EU' - top Welsh Tories

Two senior Welsh Conservative AMs have said they would vote to leave the European Union if a referendum were held tomorrow. Deputy Leader Paul Davies said Tory MPs pushing for legislation for a vote 'are reflecting the mood of the country.' He said he'd 'vote to leave the EU in its present form.'

But he added that the Prime Minister should be given chance to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels. He rejected the First Minister's claim that leaving would be disastrous for Wales. Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said he'd 'most likely' vote 'out' if a vote were held tomorrow.

He said money sent to the EU could be used to develop home-made aid programmes rather than Brussels-led projects 'which have made diddly squat difference.' Their leader Andrew RT Davies has previously said he'd campaign for a no vote if negotiations to change the EU's direction were unsuccessful.

Anglesey council deal struck

'I've always seen UKIP as a threat' - Welsh Tory leader

Opposition leader Andrew RT Davies says he's 'always taken UKIP as a threat' and treated it as seriously as any other political competitor. He was speaking after the Welsh Conservatives ended up behind UKIP in last week's Anglesey council election.

UKIP's success in council elections in England last week has sparked intense debate within the Tory party with some amongst the leadership accused of not taking the UKIP challenge seriously.

Andrew RT Davies said he always had done so, adding that 'any party ... if they're on the ballot paper has the potential to take the vote from you. I take every candidate seriously.' Two successive ITV Wales polls have suggested UKIP could make gains from the Welsh Conservatives in Assembly votes.

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Anglesey council deal struck

Tory leader admits Anglesey performance 'not good enough'

Opposition leader Andrew RT Davies has admitted that his party's performance in last week's council elections on Anglesey was 'not good enough.' Conservatives failed to win any seat and picked up just 6% of the vote, behind UKIP which achieved 7%.

Mr Davies said that 'we failed to communicate with the electorate' and that it was 'not good enough' just to have candidates in the field. He said the party would learn from that and added that 'We know where our fault lines lie and they'll be ruthlessly - and I mean ruthlessly - sorted out.'

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