Author: Rhys Gregory

More than £5million could have been missed out on last winter by people in later life who are eligible for the Warm Home Discount scheme, according to analysis by Independent Age. The charity has found that more than 38,000 older people across Wales potentially missed out on a £140 discount on their energy bills, because they are eligible for, but not receiving the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension Credit. These figures are an indication of the wider problem with Pension Credit uptake, which has not risen above 64% for around a decade – the worst uptake of any income-related benefit.…

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is opening the Vale of Glamorgan’s first Mass Vaccination Centre yesterday (Monday 8th February), in Barry. It is the third centre of its kind to be opened by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board as part of its COVID-19 Mass Vaccination programme, alongside those in Splott and Pentwyn in Cardiff. The new Mass Vaccination Centre will bolster vaccination capacity in the Health Board area, alongside mobile vaccination teams vaccinating care homes and people who are housebound, a satellite clinic at University Hospital Llandough for staff and the public, and GP practices throughout the area…

Cymru centurion Loren Dykes has announced her retirement from professional football after thirteen years of representing the national team. Dykes won her first Cymru senior cap in August 2007 against the Netherlands and went on to represent her country 105 times, becoming Cymru’s second centurion in a goalless draw against the Czech Republic in April 2019. A pupil at Cwmtawe Community School, Dykes started playing football for local side Pontardawe Town before representing Llanelli Reds, UWIC (now Cardiff Met) and Cardiff City Ladies. During her time at University Dykes also represented the Welsh Universities team. Her biggest move at club…

Deaf children and young people across Wales will benefit from tailored careers advice for years to come thanks to a new partnership. Careers Wales, which gives free and impartial careers guidance to young people, has joined forces with the National Deaf Children’s Society Cymru to help better meet the needs of the country’s 2,500 deaf young people. The partnership was established after deaf young people revealed they were worried about how being deaf would affect their employment prospects. Concerned that young people wrongly thought their deafness was a barrier to employment, the two organisations held two focus groups to ask…

An online danceathon organised by Tiny Toes Ballet, a Swansea-headquartered pre-school dance school, has so far raised £370 to support those affected by the Skewen floods. The event, which involved dancing non-stop for 25 minutes, was attended by approximately 30 local families on Zoom and many additional families via Facebook Live. Dancers ranged in age from 18 months to seven years and came from all areas covered by the local Tiny Toes classes, from Pennard to Llanelli, and from Pontardawe to Port Talbot. The event was organised by Eleanor Caplikiene, who runs Tiny Toes Ballet Swansea, Neath Port Talbot &…

Officers from the animal welfare charity were alerted to the dogs being kept at dilapidated farm premises in the West Wales area. The RSPCA attended the site on four occasions in January to help the dogs. The sheer quantity of dogs meant the owner was struggling to meet their basic needs – with a lack of shelter, poor diet and a lack of parasite control all of immediate concern to RSPCA inspectors Gemma Cooper and Julie Fadden. Fortunately, the owner accepted a situation the RSPCA describes as being “completely out of control” – and all 45 dogs were signed into…

SWANSEA Council is this week launching its annual apprenticeships recruitment campaign with 17 places in the Building Services team available. The council’s award winning programme is highly regarded for developing the next generation of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and bricklayers. Application forms have now gone live on the council’s website at  www.swansea.gov.uk/jobs with a deadline of Friday March 5 to apply for the building services apprenticeships. Other apprenticeships in a range of other departments are advertised on the website throughout the year. Cllr Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Homes and Energy, said: “I’m exceptionally proud of our apprenticeship programme because of our…

A mobile hairdresser from Port Talbot has been served with a fixed penalty notice for allegedly flouting Coronavirus regulations by carrying on her business at a house in Neath. The alleged offence took place on Tuesday, February 2nd, where the hairdresser was told she was acting in breach of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No.5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 by failing to have ceased her business. She was served with the fixed penalty notice the following day by a Neath Port Talbot Council enforcement officer and has 28 days from the date the notice was served to pay £1,000 to avoid…

More sports clubs and groups are being urged to come forward to take on the running of pavilions, playing fields and pitches across Bridgend County Borough. Bridgend County Borough Council’s Community Asset Transfer (CAT) programme sees local organisations take over responsibility for self-managing facilities, helping to protect them for future generations. Many local clubs and town and community councils have already expressed an interest in CATs, with agreements at various stages of development. Bryncethin RFC became the first sports club to complete a CAT deal with Bridgend County Borough Council in 2018, taking over the ownership of their playing field…

Welsh Government has today set out its legal commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but is pushing to “get there sooner” as it gets ready for COP26 [26th United Nations’ Climate Change Conference of the Parties] in November. The move comes following a recommendation report by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) that revealed net zero emissions, previously thought unachievable and unaffordable by experts, was now possible with ambitious policy and a ‘Team Wales’ effort. The new evidence from the CCC says greater reductions within the industrial sector will help achieve this goal, as a large proportion of…