Chair of the Assembly’s construction group, Mid and West AM Joyce Watson invited industry experts and politicians to Cardiff Bay to debate the need for licensing controls for domestic builders.

Mrs Watson said:

“Cowboy builders undercut reputable tradespeople, undermine consumer confidence, wreck property and ruin lives. They give a bad name to an industry that is overwhelmingly full of hard-working, trustworthy professionals. That is why I am committed to exploring new ways to make it harder for rogue traders to operate in Wales.”

Wales Federation of Master Builders (FMB Cymru) director, Richard Jenkins argued that Wales and the UK are virtually the only western countries not to have some form of licensing control for domestic builders. He said the tragic death of Meg Burgess in 2009 highlighted the need for a change in the law:

“Four years ago, three year old Meg Burgess was instantly killed when a 23m wall, built and designed by a builder in Wales, collapsed as she walked with her parents on a public highway. Tragedies like this could be avoided with improved regulation, as currently anyone can set themselves up as a ‘builder’ and make structural change to domestic properties.

“The commercial construction sector is well served by mainly Health & Safety guided initiatives that make it very difficult for an inexperienced on untrained contractor or worker to operate in this sector. FMB Cymru is in favour of a protocol being developed that will end the absurd reality that builders working in the domestic sector are able to freely work with no licensing or assessment framework. There is also the economic effect that rogue or ‘cowboy’ builders have on the quality domestic building sector. They undercut and undervalue jobs as a general rule and often use financial gains to pressurise clients to collude with them to avoid VAT.

“It is clear that research is urgently needed into how this issue can be best resolved without putting undue regulation on a hard pressed construction sector. FMB Cymru plan to lead this process, by undertaking a research project that will inform and guide further discussion at the FMB Cymru conference in October, with the aim of developing proposals for improved regulation of the industry which could be introduced by government.”

The cross-party group agreed to write to the Welsh Government to ask for funding for the research project, to look at the merits and feasibility of a Welsh builders’ license.

FMB chief executive, Brian Berry added:

“FMB is committed to being a champion for higher standards in the building industry, which means pushing out the ‘cowboys’. This commitment is reflected by the fact that all FMB members by the end of 2016 will need to be inspected and in compliance with TrustMark standards. This decision has already been welcomed by TrustMark.”

Many concerns were raised. Amongst them was the difficulty in travelling across the area by bus. It is often hard to link up to another bus route. We hear a lot these days about joined-up thinking. This was a good example of theory needing to be put into practice. Joined-up thinking should lead to joined-up travelling. Too often it doesn’t. We need to make sure that it does. The hour-long round-table discussion was, I hope, an important step in getting that put right.

From there I went on to a local WI branch meeting in a hall in Llanfair. It was a joint meeting with the Harlech branch. Rosy showed me the way as the hall was not far from her house. In the photograph you can see me having a chat with the local WI president. I was given the chance to say a few words.

One of the other Committees in the Welsh Assembly that I have chaired and helped set up is concerned with domestic violence which is a rural problem as much as an urban one. Neither is it a campaign that involves just one half of the human race. For that reason I talked about the white ribbon campaign. It is a visual commitment to being against domestic violence. We want to recruit more men to the campaign and I asked the members at the meeting whether they would help me to do that.

Later that weekend I was in Dublin for a joint Parliamentary meeting about human trafficking. There was a real buzz in the air. I have to admit that it was nothing to do with me. Michelle Obama was in town!

Mid and west Wales Labour AM Joyce Watson visited Pembroke School on Monday (June 10th) to support a bid to reduce the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph outside the school. Pembroke School has been in discussions with Pembrokeshire County Council over reducing the speed limit for eight years, said headteacher Frank Ciccotti. “The argument seems to be that there’s no point putting restricted speed limits in place because drivers will not stick to it,” he said.

“We have argued that this means there’s no point having speed limits anywhere.”

Mr Ciccotti said it was not unusual for people to travel “at least 50mph” outside the school and talked of three accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles. “Traffic conditions are difficult – a lot of people pick up their children in cars and and there are several hundred students who depart from each of the school entrances within a five minute window and pupils are particularly vulnerable at that time.”
There is a path across the road from the school which was built as a safe route to school. “The irony is you have to cross a 40mph road to access it,” Mr Ciccotti added.

Mrs Watson, who has campaigned for 20mph zones outside schools during school hours, said: “If a child is hit by a car travelling at 40mph, the chance of survival is just 10%. “Reducing the speed by 10mph brings a huge increase in the chances of survival at 80%.

“To be fair to Pembrokeshire County Council, it is one of the better counties at pushing schemes to reduce speed limits outside schools. The council is at the top end so I do not understand why it will not do that here.”

Pembroke School resources committee chairman and governor Paul Culyer said: “There is concern from parents. I think people think it’s inappropriate to have a 40mph zone outside the school. “It’s certainly something the governors are concerned about and raised with the local authority. We are trying to make some changes here.”

Council ‘shares school’s concerns’

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said the council shared the school’s concerns, and traffic calming measures and footpaths had already been introduced.

The spokesman added: “The council’s view is that signage alone is not the answer and believes that any further traffic management measures should only be implemented if there is a belief they will be successful and actually lead to lower speeds.”

Possible changes being looked at include the introduction of mini roundabouts on the Pembroke Road / Ferry Lane and Bush Hill / Buttermilk Lane junctions.

Caption: SPEED RESTRICTIONS: Pembroke School resources committee chairman and governor Paul Culyer, mid and west Wales AM Joyce Watson and headteacher Frank Ciccotti.

The one-off event was part of a tour of Q&A sessions that Coleman has been holding with football clubs and organisations across Wales since he took over the role in 2011.

Mid and West AM Joyce Watson took the opportunity to press the case for improving playing surfaces at community facilities, to support grass-roots development.

Mrs Watson said:

“Young people watch Swans players passing the ball like they have it on a string but it’s hard to replicate when you have to negotiate tussocks, diverts and puddles!

“The recent redevelopment of Bridge Meadow is a great example of how investment in playing surfaces and facilities can boost the regional game. The Victory Shield game here a few years ago was massive for west Wales football.

“This season is the most successful ever at club level in Wales and, with the international team also on the way up, now is the time to capitalise on people’s interest and sow the seeds for the next generation of Welsh players.”

In 2010, 2,500 spectators watched Wales earn a record Victory Shield success against England, winning by four goals at Haverfordwest’s Bridge Meadow Stadium.

Haverfordwest County is widely regarded as one of the best playing services in Wales. Last month its former grounds man, Dan Duffy was named Barclays Premier League Groundsman of the Year, in recognition of his work at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium.

Former Wales international Coleman was joined on the panel by former BBC Wales commentator, now Football Association of Wales head of public affairs, Ian Gwyn Hughes.

Following the death of Gary Speed in November 2011, Coleman was appointed to lead Wales in their Euro 2016 campaign. After Wales’ 2-1 defeat to Croatia at the Liberty Stadium in March, Coleman confirmed his intention to fulfil his contract until the summer of 2014.

I want to thank Antoinette for the debate. I am pleased that the Welsh Government has launched a plan to increase the number of bees and other pollinators in Wales. Some 20% of UK cropped areas is made up of pollinator-dependent crops. Therefore, the decline in pollinators poses a real threat to Wales’s wildlife and could have a serious effect on our ability to produce food. In Pembrokeshire, the ultimate aim of the beekeepers association is to develop a specific strain of Pembrokeshire bee that is more resistant to damp weather and disease. The estimates, as we have heard already, are £430 million per annum in terms of the value of pollinators in the UK.

There is also a wider role that everybody has talked about, which is the role of everybody here and outside to do something, such as growing wildflowers or not pulling up weeds in their garden. I ask the Minister if he will look at the role of roadside verge cutting and the effect that that might be having on bee mortality and also to try to encourage, as has been mentioned, the growing of wildflowers on roundabouts instead of those flowers that do absolutely nothing for our bee population.

When this comes into force, the introduction of charges will mean that workers will have to pay to take their employers to tribunal. For some people who have just lost their job, a £1,200 fee will mean that they cannot afford to contest their case, especially when we consider that help with legal fees is also being drastically cut. Therefore, Minister, do you agree that these changes will mean that trade union representation will be even more important in coming years, and is there more that we can do to further raise the profile of trade unions in Wales?

Carwyn Jones / The First Minister

Yes, absolutely. We work closely with the Wales Trades Union Congress. However, the proposals as they currently stand, in terms of legal aid, will mean that fewer and fewer people can get representation in court, not just in employment tribunals but in other courts as well. There is another side to this, of course. It is said that this is a saving, but the reality is that, when you have litigants in person, it takes three or four times as long for a case to proceed through the courts. That means that there is another cost on top of that, and a delay further on down the line. This is a false saving, which will deprive people of justice while at the same time creating costs elsewhere in the justice system.

I do not want to prolong the debate, and I do not want to repeat what everybody else has said, but the one thing that has not been said is that the Minister who originally started taking this Bill forward was Carl Sargeant. I pay tribute to his dedication to that. I also feel strongly that it is important that we look forward in delivering this Bill. We know that, as a consequence of a reshuffle by the First Minister and a change of people in positions, this has been transferred to the portfolio for sport. I ask the very able Minister who now has charge of this Bill, which even though it fits within his portfolio, I principally see as a transport Bill, to ensure that it will be delivered in accordance with the maps that we have heard about and the way in which they join up with the transport systems that are already on the ground.

Many people have talked today about the need for some political will and drive to make active travel a reality. That is clear, because all the evidence tells us that, so far, the aim to improve walking and cycling rates through other, non-statutory measures is not happening, or if it is happening at all, it is not happening quickly enough. I want to focus on an area that other people perhaps have not focused on today. This is about joining up maps and routes. Many Members have talked about those maps and those routes, but an area that has not been talked about is joining up into the existing network and the trunk road system, which would clearly be used as a part of delivery. I ask the Minister how he aims to oversee delivery in that particular respect, because to talk about delivering active travel exclusively without talking about trunk roads would be, simply, to miss the point.

I also support the focus that has to be given to the disabled active traveller. I have made many representations on this, although not perhaps as eloquently as Ann Jones my colleague did just now. Nonetheless, it is an important aspect of this active travel Bill. Shared spaces will prevent some people from being active in any shape or form. I am not going to repeat what Ann Jones has said, but I will highlight an instance of active travel in the village of Llanddewi Velfrey, where residents have petitioned for road safety improvements. It does—. Excuse me, I have a cold. It demonstrates how, if you have narrow pavements, you make it impossible for people to actively travel along a trunk road. My voice is going, so I am going to have to finish.

Joyce Watson

I pay tribute to John Griffiths, the previous Minister, for setting out the action plan and for the dedication and drive behind it. Having said that, there are two areas that I particularly want to look at. Minister, what sort of incentives can you bring about to encourage farmers, land managers, local authorities and anybody that will re-wild the tracts of land to make them more pollinator-friendly? Secondly, could we have an update on the Pembrokeshire bee project? A few years ago, beekeepers in Pembrokeshire received £48,000 funding to develop their own native breed of bee, with the aim of developing a specific strain of Pembrokeshire bee that is more resistant to damp weather and disease. That would help to combat the phenomenon of colony collapse disorder.

Alun Davies

We can certainly all support the Pembrokeshire bee project and the work that is being done in the county to support the Pembrokeshire bee. We would all like to see more initiatives of that sort in different parts of Wales. I have already paid tribute to my friend and colleague John Griffiths for the work that he has done on this matter over the last year. All sides of the Chamber will join me in congratulating John for the foresight and vision that he showed in establishing this project at the Royal Welsh Show last year. I got into considerable trouble at Hay-on-Wye last year talking about re-wilding, so I will not do so again this afternoon.