Author: Rhys Gregory

New childcare settings are to be developed across Wales as part of a £60m investment by the Welsh Government to help deliver its ground-breaking Childcare Offer, Minister for Children, Huw Irranca-Davies has announced. Ministers are committed to providing 30 hours a week of government-funded early education and childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds, for up to 48 weeks of the year. The 30 hours will be made up of the existing minimum of 10 hours of Foundation Phase and up to 20 hours of childcare with a registered provider. The Childcare Offer is currently being roll-out…

Wiseman’s Bridge rowing club have been praised for being the first rowing club in Pembrokeshire to be awarded the Disability Sport Wales insport Ribbon award.  The programme designed by Disability Sport Wales (DSW) supports clubs in developing inclusive provision, opportunity and practices. The aim is to ensure that disabled people gain access to the level of participation and performance which they require. Angela Miles, Disability Sport Development officer for Pembrokeshire County Council, said she was delighted to present the club with the award. “The club have worked tirelessly over the past few years in gaining this award, undertaking a vigorous…

Business confidence in Wales rose over the last six months, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank. The research found that confidence – calculated as an average of respondent’s expected sales, orders and profits over the next six months – climbed to 23 per cent, three points higher than in January. Despite confidence only rising marginally, the net balance of businesses looking to grow investment in the next six months hit a post-referendum high of 17 per cent, five points higher than in January. The net balance of businesses looking to hire more staff has also…

Principality Building Society has been ranked as one of the top mortgage service providers in the UK following independent research of brokers. The Society ranked third for ‘overall satisfaction’ (that is overall performance in satisfying broker needs) out of 15 lenders rated in the survey.  Brokers rated the Society as the top performing lender for ‘using common sense on underwriting decisions’ and the Society was also ranked the best for the ‘quality of its conveyancing service’. The Charterhouse Research Mortgage Intermediary Survey 2018  which interviewed 355 intermediary establishments between March and May this year also showed that Principality performs well…

Monmouthshire County Council will celebrate the work of those who encourage and promote pollinators at a networking event from 1pm to 5pm on Tuesday 17th July at Usk’s Incredible Edible garden near County Hall. The occasion will bring together beekeepers involved in the Vale of Usk Rural Development Programme’s BEES project and organisations like the Monmouth-based charity Bees for Development and Bee Friendly Monmouthshire. The BEES project raises awareness of beekeeping and its importance to biological systems and diversity with organisations, schools and the general public, working co-operatively to share skills, ideas and best practice. A measure of the project’s…

Children from schools in the Llynfi Valley have been learning about the exciting Caerau mine-water scheme which will use the heat beneath their feet to warm 150 homes. Bridgend County Borough Council has been awarded £6.5m of EU funds to develop the trailblazing project which involves using water that has filled Caerau’s old underground mine workings as a geo-thermal source of energy. The water has been warmed naturally by the Earth’s core so has an average temperature of around 20 Degrees Celsius. The idea is to pump the water to a heat exchanger at the surface which will extract the…

As excitement builds ahead of this year’s Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix, watch the Speedway riders have a go at speaking Welsh ahead of this weekend’s showdown. Multiple World Champions will be competing against each other, including Great Britain’s double series winner, Tai Woffinden, as they take each other on at the Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday July 21st. In what is set to be one of the closest seasons to date, Scunthorpe-born Tai will be eager to secure his first ever home win at Cardiff and claw back the trophy. The referee at the…

New research by Macmillan Cancer Support and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit of Public Health Wales shows the stage at which cancer is diagnosed differs depending on where people live. For the first time, this research gives us information by groups of local doctors’ practices called GP Cluster Networks showing that between 2011 and 2015, almost one in five people (19 per cent) with cancer in these clusters in Cwm Taf were diagnosed at its most advanced stage – stage 4 – compared to 13 per cent of people in Powys clusters. Cancer tends to be the most…

More than 400 women from across North Wales and beyond have taken part in an initiative aimed at encouraging more women and girls to enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle. Surf Snowdonia’s Girls on Board campaign ran throughout June 2018 and was supported by diverse organisations including Our Squad, Cricket Wales, Swim Wales, Run Wales, The Outdoor Partnership, Wales Rugby Union, Girl Guiding Cymru and North Wales business organisation Network She. As well as encouraging women and girls to try a taster session with local teams and clubs, the initiative saw close to 300 women pulling on a wetsuit and…

A young businessman from Cardiff has launched a range of swimming shorts specifically for men with large thighs and regular sized waists. Jordan Bishop, 23, a rugby and children’s sports coach, developed the idea behind Stridez when shopping for swimming trunks for a holiday. But due to the limited choice available in stores and online for men his shape and size, Jordan was forced to buy large, ill-fitting shorts that would fit over his legs but were far too big around the waist. Concluding that he couldn’t be the only person out there struggling to find a pair of shorts…