Welsh Government

The funding, which has been awarded for this financial year (2016-17), will support a wide range of projects from the full refurbishments of several Flying Start buildings to replacing kitchen cupboards and broken fencing. 

Flying Start supports families living in some of the most disadvantaged communities across Wales. It offers twelve and a half hours of high quality childcare a week for 2-3 year olds; support for the development of children’s speech, language and communication; parenting support; and an enhanced health visitor service.

Announcing the funding the Cabinet Secretary said: 

“Giving children the best possible start in life is a top priority for the Welsh Government. Flying Start is a key early intervention programme, helping to improve children’s life chances and reducing the need for later remedial action. It is a useful tool in tackling adverse childhood experiences which can have a long-lasting impact on young people throughout their lives. 

“This is why we provide over £70 million a year in revenue funding to Local Authorities to deliver the scheme and why we have already provided £3m of capital funding this year alone to ensure the children have the best possible facilities. This extra £800,000 will ensure more children have a stimulating and exciting environment in which to play and learn.” 

The funding will extend the Wales Financial Services Graduate Programme to 2019 and support a career development programme involving some of Wales’ leading financial services companies such as Admiral, Atradius, GM Financial and Principality.

The programme is offering graduate placement opportunities in areas including underwriting, investment management, product development and accounting alongside a fully-funded Masters degree in Financial Services Management.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said: 

“This is an excellent programme that is strengthening a key industry while helping to retain ambitious young people in Wales and attract talent to our financial sector.

“I’m delighted that a further £1m of EU funding is supporting this extension and helping to fund more opportunities for young people to develop successful and rewarding careers in Wales. This is another example which demonstrates how important EU funding is to Wales and reaffirms our case for replacement funding from UK sources after 2020 to help boost the Welsh economy.”

The extension to the programme has also been funded by a £1.4m investment from the participating companies within the Welsh financial services industry.

Sandra Busby, Managing Director of the Welsh Financial Services Forum which leads the Programme said: 

“Wales competes against the rest of the world for the top talent in the financial and professional services field and the Welsh Financial Services Graduate Programme has been a key tool in retaining and attracting graduates to Wales, giving them a real taste of how they can build a rewarding career in this field. 

“Graduates from Wales and across the globe are undertaking this programme, gaining on-the-job experience at leading organisations while studying towards an MSc in Financial Services Management and then progressing to permanent roles within the sector here in Wales. This has given real evidence that the scheme works and it’s a bold and progressive statement for the Welsh economy that it’s being extended for a further two years thanks to additional EU funding.”

The family archive has been accepted for the nation by the Welsh Ministers in lieu of inheritance tax.  

The archive includes the military and personal correspondence of FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788 -1855) who died near Sevastopol in the Crimea. FitzRoy Somerset was one of the most distinguished British military commanders of the 19th Century. He served for over four decades as the aide-de-camp and military secretary to the 1st Duke of Wellington.

The archive provides very significant detail as to Somerset’s relationship with Wellington immediately after Waterloo.  The collection also contains extensive family correspondence and papers illustrating the influence and interests of a prominent family during the 19th and 20th centuries.  

Welcoming the news, Ken Skates said:

“I am delighted that this collection will be permanently housed at Gwent Archives.  It is a superb addition to their collections, providing a wonderfully rich resource for the study of an enormously significant period in British military history. It also provide fascinating insights into the life of the Somerset family over several generations.”

“This is an outstanding collection and we are privileged to be entrusted with it. The Raglan archive is without doubt a collection of national and international importance and a huge boost to the cultural resources of the area. The people of Gwent can take great pride in it.”

“The Acceptance in Lieu scheme continues to secure exceptional art and cultural objects for the nation. I’m delighted that this fascinating archive, which documents the military careers and achievements of the first Lord Raglan and the first Duke of Wellington in connection with the Peninsular War, the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War, will be permanently retained at Gwent Archives.”

The move comes ahead of the Welsh Government introducing legislation to abolish the Right to Buy across the whole of Wales.

The Right to Buy allows eligible social housing tenants across the UK to buy their council or housing association property at a discount. The proposed legislation will end these rights, protecting social housing stock from further reduction.

Over the past 30 years, the Right to Buy has resulted in a significant reduction in social housing stock. Between 1981 and 2014, 138,709 council homes were sold – this is a 45% reduction in the social housing available since the policy was first introduced. 

Research also indicates that many of these homes end up in the private rented sector and, as a result, cost local people more to rent and, in some cases, the public purse more in housing benefit.

The First Minister said:

“I have agreed to Flintshire council’s application to suspend the Right to Buy to help them deal with the pressure their social housing is facing and to ensure that homes are available to those who need them. 

“While this will help one area for a short period of time, we also need to address this issue for the long term. This is why we will be introducing legislation to abolish the Right to Buy in Wales. 

“The Right to Buy is depleting our social housing stock. This damaging policy is further increasing the pressure on our social housing supply and is forcing many vulnerable people to wait longer for a home.

“Legislating to end the Right to Buy is the only sure way to prevent this and give social landlords the confidence to invest in building more of the affordable homes Wales needs.”