The Economy Secretary confirmed that following the granting of outline planning permission for a mixed use development in Ty Du, in Nelson, Caerphilly, the Welsh Government had awarded a contract for the construction of key roads and services.

Construction work to prepare the site, which will be undertaken by local civil engineering contractor, Walters UK, is being funded by £4m of investment from Welsh Government including £2.5m of EU funds.  

Work is scheduled to commence on Monday 2nd July and complete in mid 2019.

Speaking following a meeting of the Valleys Taskforce, Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

“Good quality jobs are one of the priorities of our high-level action plan for the South Wales Valleys, Our Valleys, Our Future.

“However one of the challenges in providing good quality jobs is ensuring the right  business space is available at the right location.

“We know that there is currently a lack of high quality standalone development sites in the mid Valleys area that are ready for development and well connected to local infrastructure.

“I am delighted that Welsh Government is now in a position to appoint contractors for the Ty Du site.  They will undertake vital work that will construct the roads and provide the services necessary for development of the Ty Du site, providing valuable jobs in the construction phase and helping to make the site an attractive proposition for businesses and future home owners alike.”

The Minister met parents who have benefited from support provided by Flying Start. He also talked to parents who are NSPCC’s Take 5 Ambassadors. These parents helped develop and promote NSPCC’S “Take 5” campaign, which provides hints and tips to help parents keep calm in challenging parenting situations.

The Welsh Government is committed to introducing legislation to remove the defence of reasonable punishment in Wales and investing in support for parents. This package of measures will support children to have the best start in life, and to support their parents to do the best job they can. 

The legislation will be underpinned by different sources of support, including health visitors and the Welsh Government’s family support programmes, Flying Start and Families First. Our Parenting ‘Give it Time’ campaign’ is another channel through which parents can access high quality information and advice on positive approaches to raising children and gain tips on handling specific issues, like toddler tantrums and potty training.

Every Local Authority in Wales provides a range of parenting support which encompasses universally available information and advice, parenting groups and targeted and intensive support. 

Huw Irranca-Davies said:

“It was great to hear the views of the parents I met in Ebbw Vale today. They are strong advocates of positive parenting and  by being Ambassadors for NSPCC’s Take 5 campaign will be encouraging other parents to get support when they need it.

“Parents can do a lot to encourage better behaviour in their children by adopting positive parenting strategies. Children do best when they feel loved and valued, are well supervised and know what is expected of them. Rewarding children for positive behaviour is far more effective than harsh punishments when they do things wrong. As a Government, we want all children in Wales to have the best possible start in life. By removing the defence of reasonable punishment we will build on the growing attitudinal change of parents already underway. 

“Prohibiting physical punishment sends a strong message that encourages parents to adopt other positive alternatives which are much better for our children and for their well-being.” 

Almost 1,900 people took part in the consultation on the Welsh Government’s legislative proposal. The outcome of the consultation will be published in due course.

Vivienne Laing, the NSPCC’s policy and public affairs manager for Wales, said: 

“The NSPCC understands that parenting can be as challenging as it is rewarding. But how we act towards children can make a big difference in their development.

“Our ‘Take 5’ campaign provides advice and support for parents in dealing with children’s challenging behaviour in a positive and constructive way. It helps parents and carers stay calm, keep their cool and find ways to manage stress and frustration when looking after young children.

“Hearing the experiences of our Ebbw Vale ambassadors shows how those ideas are being put into practice by parents, while the visit from the Children’s Minister shows the Welsh Government’s commitment to positive parenting. 

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Welsh Government on initiatives which benefit parents and children in Wales, including the removal of the defence of reasonable punishment in cases of assault against children.”

A fanfare of trumpets and a peal of bells will herald the special service where Prince Charles will join staff, patients, fund-raisers and volunteers for a Service of Thanksgiving at Llandaf Cathedral, Cardiff.

The First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, the Dean of Llandaf The Very Reverend Gerwyn Capon and Vaughan Gething, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Services will welcome Prince Charles to the cathedral.

The majority of the multi-faith service congregation will be frontline NHS staff representing both the rich diversity of people and the wide range of skills and professions across the health service.

The First Minister Carwyn Jones said:

“I am delighted that we will come together to celebrate the NHS, a health service born in Wales, in a national Service of Thanksgiving. It will be a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales.”

“The service will give us an opportunity to reflect and give thanks to the many people who have delivered and supported our much loved health service over the last 70 years and those who continue to do so today.”

A guard of honour, made up of current and retired NHS staff from across Wales, will also greet Prince Charles. Among them will be Aneira Thomas, the first baby born in the NHS.

Among the performers will be the Tenovus Sing With Us Choir, Trumpeters of The Regimental Band of The Royal Welsh, Royal harpist Anne Denholm, soloist Mike Peters who is best known as the lead singer with The Alarm and readings of specially commissioned poems by former Wales national poet Gillian Clarke and Welsh language children’s poet laureate Casia Wiliam. They will be joined by the Llandaf Cathedral Choir and the Llandaf Cathedral Guild of Ringers.

Prince Charles will also present special NHS coins from the Royal Mint to primary school children from across Wales who won the NHS70 drawing competition.

The Dean of Llandaf, The Very Reverend Gerwyn Capon, who will read The Welcome at the start of the service, said:

“It will once again be an enormous joy for us to welcome His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to the Cathedral as we give thanks for the wonderful contribution The National Health Service has made to the life of the Nation.  

It is particularly fitting that the Cathedral should be the setting for this service of thanksgiving, not just for NHS as an institution but also for the countless men and women who work tirelessly to treat the sick and support the health of all in our communities.  The Cathedral is a place where daily through it’s worship and witness the well-being of the human family is placed into God’s protection.  

It will be a special moment for us as we mark this 70th anniversary of the NHS, which owed so much to the original vision of Aneurin Bevan and those who now have its interests at heart.  To hold this service in the presence of the Prince of Wales will be a particular privilege for us all.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services Vaughan Gething said:

“I’ll be proud to stand alongside NHS staff from across Wales at this special celebration of our much-loved health service.  We will give thanks to people at the heart of the NHS and take time to remember all those people from Wales and around the world who helped create one of our greatest national institutions, the NHS.”

The Invitation to Tender (ITT) has been advertised on the Sell2Wales ePortal.

The PSO air service will:

• improve accessibility, enabling the opening up of new markets and encouraging greater investment in North West Wales
• support the tourism sector by improving access to the region

The new operator will be encouraged to maximise patronage on the route through strategically focused pricing and marketing plans and to use innovative yield management approaches to maximise social inclusion.

The operator must comply with the Civilian Aviation regulations for Disabled Persons and Persons of Reduced Mobility.

Transport Secretary Ken Skates said:

“The Cardiff to Anglesey air service has seen significant passenger growth during the last 12 months. I aim to further develop this growth and the travel opportunities provided by this vital link between north and south Wales by securing a new operator for the service for the next four years.

We are looking to secure a reliable, experienced, established operator who shares our ambition to grow and develop the Cardiff to Anglesey route including working with us on options to move to a larger aircraft and to deliver improved connectivity for north Wales.”

The new guidance forms part of a range of Welsh Government initiatives that will contribute to preventing obesity in Wales, and help ensure more children can achieve and maintain a healthy weight as they grow and develop.

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething and Minister for Children, Huw Irranca-Davies are launching a 12 week consultation on new standards and best practice guidance for food and nutrition, such as the provision of meals, snacks and drinks for 1-12 year olds in childcare settings. 

Children attending childcare settings from a young age may be receiving up to 90% of their food and nutritional intake, including snacks and drinks, in those settings, if they attend full day care. Encouraging children to eat a balanced diet made up of a variety of nutritious foods can help establish positive eating habits to take into later life and adulthood. 

The new standards and guidance includes accompanying menus and recipes for settings. It aims to support settings to meet the childcare regulations for food and drink, but to also help parents in being more aware of what settings offer their children.

The guidance sets out up-to-date, evidence-based food standards and how to implement them in practice so that childcare settings can:

• Serve a range of tasty, nutritious meals to help develop good eating habits
• Ensure portion sizes are appropriate for the age of the children
• Serve snacks that are nutritious, with little or no sugar and salt
• Provide healthy drinks that are hydrating and protective to teeth i.e milk and water. 

The Child Measurement Programme for 2017 shows that around a quarter of children (27.4%) aged 4-5years old are classified as overweight/obese in Wales. 

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething said:

“Eating nutritious food is essential for children in their early years. This helps to achieve healthy growth and development, protect teeth from decay and sets the foundations for their future health and wellbeing. 

“Nutrition guidelines are only one element of this Government’s work to prevent and reduce levels of obesity. Through the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, we are developing a 10 year strategy to put in place the building blocks that will help us halt and ultimately reduce levels of obesity and increase the proportion of people who are a healthy weight.”

Ministers will launch a consultation on the obesity strategy later this year which will aim to test a range of ideas and proposals with communities across Wales.

Minister for Children, Huw Irranca-Davies said:

“Our vision is for children from all backgrounds to have the best start in life. 

“The early years can have a positive influence on food preferences as a toddler begins to have a decisive say in the foods they choose to eat. The evidence shows that eating habits adopted in early years will be taken forward into later childhood and adult life. 

“Childcare settings provide an ideal opportunity to encourage young children to eat well and learn about food.”