William Graham (Conservative AM for South Wales East) speaking in Plenary debate calling upon the Welsh Government to establish a Cancer Drugs Fund: 

 William highlighted that the Health budget in Wales is being cut by 5.8% over the next 3 years. NHS funding per head in England will grow £1,926 per head in 2009-10 to £2,035 in 2012-13; in this time funding in Wales will fall from £2,075 to around £2,002 per year. 

 “It has been verified that each year £1 billion of the Welsh NHS budget is not utilised effectively as a result of ‘extremely costly’ mistakes; more than £50 million of medicines are returned to pharmacies unused, and must be incinerated. This is money which is literally going up in smoke that could otherwise be used to provide life-prolonging treatments”. 

 I acknowledge the MacMillan Cancer Support claim that the present system is ill-equipped to deal with the growing number of people needing help; services are not keeping up with the changing nature of cancer and their on going needs.” 

 “Cancer treatments are changing. Increasingly the focus is upon recovery and cure”. A Welsh Cancer Drugs Fund would direct treatment to the most effective drug for each individual patient’s requirements”.

Disable access in Newport, Chepstow, Abergavenny & Pontypool. 

William Graham (Conservative AM for South Wales East) speaking in the Assembly debate on the accessibility of the transport network for disabled people called for “access to be an integral design feature of our transport network”. 

“There are 30 railway stations in South Wales East;  

•24 of these are unmanned

•13 are accessed by ramps with a gradient steeper than 1:12

• Only 3 have accessible lavatory facilities.

I appreciate that many access issues arise from the age of our stations; however, form August 2007 until September 2010 wheelchair access to the Assembly Government funded Platform 4 at Newport Station was via a taxi arranged by station staff”. 

“It is an alarming statistic that 23% of disabled people have had to turn down a job due to a lack of accessible transport”.  

“Public transport is only truly ‘public’ if it is available to everyone”. 

“If information about accessibility is not readily available, then accessible services become inaccessible”.

William highlighted the range of recent discoveries at Caerleon; notably the port and harbour wall. 

“These along with the amphitheatre, barracks and baths have uplifted Caerleon status as a major site of for the study of all aspects of Roman history”. 

“I was pleased that the Minister recognised this and confirmed Assembly support for any campaign for Caerleon to be awarded World Heritage Status”. 

“It is vital that we maximise the fullest potential of Caerleon for academic study and attracting tourists; along with economic and social investment”.

William Graham (Conservative AM for South Wales East) called upon the Assembly Health Minister to make a statement on Hospital Minor Injuries Units in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board Area.  

“The proposed closure of the minor injuries units at Chepstow, Monmouth and Panteg hospitals will cause great concern to people throughout South Wales East. People need to be re-assured that this service will be continued and how they can access treatment for minor injuries”. 

“I acknowledge that ‘patient safety’ was the driving factor for making these decisions. However the Health Board must now ensure the public are made aware of how they can access the most effective medical care”.  

“Statistic may direct the future provision of health service provision; but we must never lose sight of the fact that these numbers represent real people and their concerns need to be fully addressed”. 

“A Ministerial statement would have offered the best opportunity to raise public awareness and direct them to accessing faster, effective treatment of all injuries”.

Speaking after Conservative Councillor David Williams presented a petition to Russell George AM on behalf of the National Assembly Petitions Committee calling for the City of Newport to be designated as an enterprise zone, William Graham AM said: 

‘There has been widespread disappointment that the well-established Cardiff Business District has enterprise zone status whereas the underperforming Newport City Centre has been ignored. With so much untapped potential existing in the City I would urge the Minister for Business, Enterprise and technology to consider extending the status to Newport and abandon the sector-oriented approach to Enterprise zones.’   

The Conservative AM for South Wales East also pressed the First Minister during Assembly questions to outline how the Welsh Government has converted the opportunities presented by hosting last year’s Ryder Cup into real achievements, particularly in terms of the levels of inward investment attained: 

‘While the Ryder Cup has left an important legacy of improved infrastructure and boosted golf tourism to Wales by 21% with the sport being worth £42 million to the Welsh economy, predictions that event would yield significant long term investment and new business for the local private sector have been realised with mixed success. The Conservative-led Newport Council has taken an impressive lead in promoting the City as a place to visit and invest, but this must be supported by a Welsh Government strategy focussing on inward investment and maximising opportunities for the area’s existing firms.’ 

‘During the last Assembly the First Minister responded to my requests to  publish a list of firms attracted to Wales after discussions at the Ryder Cup in Celtic Manor by indicating that the Welsh Government had several promising leads but that they had to remain private owing to commercial sensitivity. While the First Minister’s reply today that negotiations with potential investors are still occurring is encouraging, I believe that the Welsh Government should publish a review of their work in attracting investment arising from opportunities presented by hosting the Ryder Cup to gauge the effectiveness of the approach taken.’ 

Speaking at the Swalec Stadium today following the announcement that Andrew RT Davies has been elected as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Group in the National Assembly, William Graham AM said:

‘Andrew RT Davies has the vision and drive to lead the Welsh Conservatives to build upon the gains that the Party made in May’s Assembly elections. Having been closely involved in his leadership campaign I have seen at first hand Andrew’s energy and ambition to work towards Wales having a better, more prosperous future.’

The Shadow Minister for Local Government added:

‘Andrew’s experience in Business will be particularly significant as the Welsh Conservatives look to champion the cause of SME’s and the need for job creation while challenging Welsh Labour’s appalling neglect of the private sector and complacent attitude on the economy. Similarly, Andrew’s background in farming and appreciation of the issues facing rural communities will reassure the many people in Wales concerned at Labour’s decision to downgrade the Rural Affairs to a non-Cabinet position.’

ENDS

Commenting on the news that the City of Newport is applying to have a Lord Mayor, William Graham AM said:

‘The accolade of Lord Mayor would be a major boost for the City in its recovery from recession.’

The Shadow Minister for Local Government, who was previously a Conservative   Councillor on Newport Council for sixteen years, added:

‘As Leader of the Opposition for the Conservative Group on Newport Council I supported the successful application for the grant of City status in 2002.’

ENDS

Speaking after the news that Councillor Michael Brunnock, who represents Tredegar Park on Newport City Council, has defected from Plaid Cymru to the Conservatives today William Graham AM said:

‘I warmly welcome Mike Brunnock’s decision join the Welsh Conservatives. The Conservative Group have won plaudits for their leadership of Newport City Council, transforming the City’s roads and maximising opportunities for businesses located in the City.’

The Conservative AM for South Wales East continued:

‘Mike’s decision to join the Conservatives represents another bitter blow for Plaid Cymru, coming in the wake of a disappointing Assembly election in which the Party lost four seats. Welsh Conservatives have continued to attract increased support at local and national level and are well placed to make gains in next year’s Council elections.’

ENDS

William Graham AM

Speaking in questions to the First Minister this afternoon, William Graham sought assurances that the Welsh Government has no plans to introduce toll charges on new and improved transport routes:

‘With a large fall budgeted for the Welsh Government’s transport capital expenditure, transport experts have mooted additional sources of funding such as ‘Pay as you drive’ charges and PFI schemes. The First Minister’s response that the Welsh Government has no plans to introduce tolls on improved routes such as the A465 Heads of the Valleys road or the new bypass linking the road through Llanwern steelworks and the Southern Distributor Road in Newport is welcome, but the case remains for examining innovative ways of funding new schemes such as Public Private Partnerships.’

The Shadow Minister for Local Government continued:

‘The Welsh Government must be open about how future transport schemes are to be funded and project managed to avoid a repeat of the overspends and works slippage that have dogged major transport projects in Wales over the last ten years.  Nobody wants to see a repeat of the poor management and lax financial control that the Wales Audit Office identified in their 2011 report “Major Transport Projects in Wales”. In the worst case, owing to the domino effect of delays the A465 Heads of The Valleys Road will have exceeded its initial timetable by 11 years with an overspend of nearly £500million if completed by the Welsh Government’s estimated 2020 finish date.’

ENDS

William Graham AM

Speaking in the Senedd today in the Welsh Conservatives’ debate on major transport projects in Wales, William Graham AM said:

‘‘The catalogue of overspends and delays that the recent Wales Audit Office report into ‘Major Transport Projects’ in Wales reveals underline the need for the Welsh Government to make substantial improvements in practice and financial control to avoid such a waste of public resources blighting future transport projects.’

‘Having estimated in November 2000 that improvements to the A465 Heads of the Valleys road would be completed in 2009 for an estimated cost of £268 million, the Welsh Government now predicts that the programme will be completed by 2020. Owing to the domino effect of delays the A465 project will have exceeded its initial timetable by 11 years with an overspend of at least £495 million’

‘Tax payers will be angered by the extent of public money wasted on major transport schemes spiral out of control. The Ebbw Valley Railway cost double its estimated cost of £24 million, while the Angel Way in Bargoed also vastly exceeded predictions costing £31.4 million at completion having originally been estimated to cost £17.4 million.’

 ‘Even more disappointing for many people in South Wales East was the confusion surrounding the aborted M4 relief road – the relief road incurred preparatory costs of 313.9 million, but is not being taken forward to the disappointment of business leaders and regular commuters because the estimated cost increased to more than £1 billion. ‘

‘There remains a considerable need for improvements to the transport infrastructure of South Wales East, such as the long delayed opening of the Ebbw Vale – Newport rail link, but the Welsh Government must learn  lessons from the damning Wales Audit Office’s report and minimise waste on future transport projects.’  

ENDS