Author: Rhys Gregory

About 2.1 million tax credits customers will begin to receive their annual renewal packs this week from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The packs will be sent between 25 April and 27 May, and customers have until 31 July to check their details are correct and update HMRC if there has been a change in their circumstances. Tax credits help working families with targeted financial support, so it is important that people do not miss out on money they are entitled to. There are two types of renewal packs: if it has a red line across the first page and…

Wellbeing and mental health are beginning to slip down the business agenda, a new report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth finds, despite the fact that organisations are still dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 and it remains an on-going concern for workers. The Health and Wellbeing at Work 2022 report reveals that the number of HR professionals who think that wellbeing is on the agenda of senior leaders has fallen from 75% to 70% in the past year. There has also been a drop in the proportion of HR professionals who think senior leaders encourage a focus on mental wellbeing…

South Wales college, Coleg y Cymoedd, has collaborated with a Welsh manufacturer and a number of international organisations to investigate how human activity is affecting wildlife across the world. The global acoustic monitoring project to study wildlife using sounds from nature has seen Coleg y Cymoedd team up with semi-conductor manufacturer, Newport Wafer Fab, and Welsh TV and film professional, William Todd-Jones, alongside a network of creative and environmental partners; Wild Connect, Natural Resources Wales, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The project will assess and compare levels of biodiversity – in this case the variety of…

A new release of development land on the southside of Cardiff city centre is set to become a catalyst for regeneration. Associated British Ports (ABP) the UK’s leading ports group, is bringing two sites to market at ABP Business Park within the Port of Cardiff that could accommodate up to 200,000 sq ft of new industrial or logistics development. The sites on Longships Road comprise approximately 13 acres and are available as a whole or in part. Helen Thomas, ABP’s Head of Property for Wales & Short Sea Ports comments: “Cardiff’s port already supports 2,600 jobs nationally and contributes around…

Bridgend County Borough Council have confirmed that they are working on a solution to an ongoing issue of unauthorised vehicles parking at Maesteg Bus Station. Earlier this month, First Cymru Buses Ltd made the decision to remove their bus services from the bus station due to an accident involving a car and a bus. Drivers have been observed using the bus station illegally as a turning point and for parking – creating a safety hazard as well as contravening a traffic order which prohibits access for vehicles except buses from the area which is enforceable by South Wales Police. Following…

There was a time when we all hoped to be in a job for life but how many can claim today to have worked for the same employer – doing more or less the same tasks – for the past 50 years? Step forward Mark West, alias ‘Westy’, who has just celebrated 50 years since he began work in Cardiff Council’s Parks department. Now a still youthful and active 65, he might have eased off a little since he was an impressionable 15-year-old trainee gardener but despite now working just two and a half days a week as works supervisor,…

The daughter of a Falklands Conflict soldier who was killed during the bombing of the Sir Galahad 40 years ago has dedicated her life to keeping his memory alive. RCT Council is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict (April 2-June 14, 1982) and all those who lost their lives during the battle. Katie Gibby, of Rhondda, was just five months old when her father Mark Gibby, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, went off to battle in 1982. He never returned home. Mark Gibby was one of the 48 men, most of them Welsh Guards, killed when Argentine jets…

Members of the team behind Caerphilly Keys, a pioneering private sector leasing scheme, have joined forces to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Eight members from across the Caerphilly Keys team, including officers and landlords, will be taking part in this year’s Bryn Meadows Caerphilly 10k.  The team has selected the Motor Neurone Disease Association as its chosen charity following one of the scheme’s first landlords being recently diagnosed with the condition. The initiative is led by the Housing Solutions team at Caerphilly County Borough Council and is the first of its kind in Wales.  Caerphilly Keys prevents…

This week marks the one-year anniversary of MonLife’s Active 60 programme, which is available for people aged 60 & over to become more physically active through in-person or online classes: including yoga, Pilates, tai-chi and gentle exercise. Over the last year, MonLife’s Active 60 programme has proved a great success, providing members with not only a fitness programme, but positive mental wellbeing through connecting with others in the community. Active 60 members will be able to link their physical activity to MonLife’s My Wellnessapp via smart phones and watches creating a digital eco system where activity can be monitored by attending…

The approach to testing for COVID-19 in hospital settings in Wales has been updated as vaccination has proven to be highly effective at reducing the risk of symptomatic illness, severe disease, hospitalisation and mortality. As well as the vaccine, new anti-viral treatments have helped to reduce the severity of disease, particularly for those who are most likely to be at risk of adverse outcomes. It is hoped the changes will support health boards’ risk mitigation strategies and provide a significant boost to routine and emergency care in hospital settings, as well as the flow of patients through hospital treatment and,…