Author: Rhys Gregory

St John Ambulance Cymru  has rebranded February as Defibruary in an attempt to continue their mission to improve the health and wellbeing of communities in Wales by encouraging people across the country to ‘Learn, Locate, Donate.’ According to research by the Resuscitation Council UK, for every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10% There are an estimated 100,000 public access defibrillators across the UK, however, tens of thousands of these are unknown to ambulance and emergency services. Once located and registered, emergency services can…

Bridgend County Borough Council has agreed to adopt a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023-2024, which includes a discretionary element to ensure eligible residents can receive as much support as possible. Council tax reduction provides assistance to those on low incomes, who are liable to pay council tax. Residents who are struggling to pay bills such as this, are encouraged to contact the council for an assessment to see if they qualify for any support. The Council Tax Reduction Scheme has been developed by Welsh Government and local authorities are required to include several mandatory elements and to adopt any…

Central government has passed a law that will change the way we vote in Parliamentary and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections. This law is called the Elections Act 2022. Please note: This law does NOT apply to Senedd and Local Government (Council and Community Council) Elections, as the legislation for these are set by Welsh Government. Changes to Voting at polling stations: Photo ID required You must now show Photo ID to vote at polling stations when there is a Parliamentary election or a Police and Crime Commissioner election. This must be an approved form of photo ID, such as…

Neath Port Talbot Council’s Community Heritage Fund is now open for applications. The funding will be distributed to community groups to undertake heritage projects which will benefit the communities of Neath Port Talbot and enable them to sustain their vital voluntary work in safeguarding our heritage, historic environment and language. The Community Heritage Fund is part of a larger, overall Heritage Neath Port Talbot project, made possible through funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the National Lottery. The project will see community groups receive training, advice and support from a Community Heritage Officer, making them more…

A series of consultation events are to be held over the coming weeks on the draft Well-Being Plan 2023 and the Pembrokeshire public is urged to get involved. The Well-being Plan, produced by the Pembrokeshire Public Services Board, aims to identify, prioritise and agree the objectives and actions to improve well-being across the county 2023-2028. As part of the feedback process a series of online sessions are to be held where members of the public can discuss any aspects of the draft plan. The online events will be held on: 2-3pm, Thursday 26th January 6-7pm, Monday 30th January 12noon-1pm, Wednesday…

A revised business case to construct a replacement building for a north Powys all-through school has been approved by the Welsh Government, the county council has announced. Powys County Council has been working on plans to build a new school for Ysgol Bro Hyddgen since 2017, but the project faced an unforeseen delay due to the collapse of the main contractor, Dawnus Construction Ltd. A new Strategic Outline Case/Outline Business Case was prepared by the council for a new 540-place all-age school at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen’s secondary school site to replace the current primary and secondary school buildings. When built,…

An energy efficiency installer advertising grants for air source heat pumps and solar panels on Facebook are using Powys County Council’s logo without permission, the county’s residents are being warned. Birmingham-based iEnergy Limited has been using the Powys logo to promote the availability of grant funding for household energy efficiency measures through sponsored adverts on Facebook. The use of the logo by iEnergy wrongfully suggests that the council has given endorsement and is in partnership with the installer. The logo is a registered trademark that belongs to Powys County Council and has not given iEnergy Limited permission to use it.…

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has today [24th January] announced £5m to increase the number of allied health professionals (AHPs) and increase access to community-based care to help people remain active and independent. Available from April 2023, the funding will increase the number of community-based AHPs and support workers in the NHS. They will help people stay independent and well at home, helping to prevent hospital admissions and they will also help people to be quickly discharged from hospital with the right support and rehabilitation in place to recover at home. Allied health professions is a group of 13 professions, which…

Wales should lead the way in exploring how a four-day working week could boost productivity, wellbeing and the economy, in a country which has some of the longest working hours in Europe. The calls come as a result of a Senedd Petition by social entrepreneur Mark Hooper from Barry. After gathering evidence on the issue, a report published today (Tuesday 24 January) by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee recommends that the Welsh Government conducts pilots within the devolved public sector to reduce working hours with no loss of earnings for employees. The pilot should work with trials already held in the…

Cladding consultancy SFI (Specialist Façade Inspections) has donated a cabin to local allotment Rhiw Syr Dafydd. The Oakdale allotment houses many spaces for members to grow their own plants and vegetables, but they were lacking in a safe, warm building for day-to-day activities on their new site. Newbridge-based family business SFI donated the cabin for members to have a communal space for meetings and catch-ups in this cold weather. Josh Tedstone, Director at SFI, said: “It was a pleasure to donate a cabin to the local Rhiw Syr Dafydd Allotment and we can’t wait to pop down for a cuppa…