Wales debt-free by Christmas 2008

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The Flemish budget is closing the year out with a surplus of €779 million. According to Flemish Budget Minister Dirk Van Mechelen (Flemish liberal) Flanders will have worked away its entire public debt by Christmas 2008.

The excellent budget figures for 2007 are in part thanks to a positive economic situation, higher than expected income from inheritance fees, and road and capital transfer taxes.

In the first half of 2008, Minister Van Mechelen wants to make quick work of the promised debt transfers from the Flemish cities and municipalities (€612 million).

Flanders has the right and responsibility to raise its own taxes, resulting in it being debt free by Christmas 2008. Powers to raise taxes must be transferred to the Senedd to manage the Welsh economy successfully, accountable to the Welsh people and their interests. Just as the Flemish Government does for the people of Flanders.

WALES'S LABOUR MARKET LEGISLATION

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The Québec labour market is now equipped with an excellent voluntary qualification mechanism, as confirmed in the Act to promote workforce skills development and recognition adopted in June 2007. Implementation of the new Act and the related regulations is a crucial step in creating effective levers to develop a qualified workforce and rise to the challenges of a competitive economy.

While the Act still requires that employers who are subject to the legislation invest 1% of their payroll in training expenses, it now offers, by means of its new regulations, more means: new eligible expenses, administrative simplifications, possible exemptions, grouping of businesses into membership organizations.

Powers to make labour market legislation must be transferred to the Senedd. Wales must also improve workforce qualifications and skills through investment in training, concerted action between management, unions and community partners and the education sector, the development of training modes and the recognition of employed workers' skills.

INDEPENDENCE SUCCESS

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Slovenes and all the other citizens of the Republic of Slovenia agree that the independent Slovenian state is our greatest historic achievement. It was not given to us – it rose from our courage, the correct and timely decisions, our blood, sweat, suffering and sacrifices. However, if we were to compare ourselves with our former compatriots, things would be much worse had we not realised the goals we approved at the referendum in 1990.

Since Slovenia gained independence, it has realised all its foreign policy goals. Our language, which is the foundation of our culture, has become an internationally recognised language and now stands on an equal footing with all the other languages in the EU.

We must make the most of both our success in the foreign policy arena and the highest economic growth in the last seventeen years, so that every single Slovenian citizen may benefit from them. Human life is too short and too valuable to be, as it once was, subject to the constant sacrifice in the name of a bright future when everyone is entitled to receive as much as their needs be. The independent Slovenia started out as a social state, and not as a place where a handful of individuals can amass unprecedented fortunes. Efficient market economy and business environment do not entail poor citizens and huge economic differences – their success is measured in terms of general welfare.

We voted for independence so that after centuries we could finally get our own homeland where we can live free and decent lives.

Slovenia's (a country smaller than Wales) Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2008 testifies to their independence success. A success Wales can emulate.

NO MANDATE

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Welsh Affairs Committee

On Monday 17 December 2007 Mr Stephen Crabb MP was discharged from the Committee and was replaced by Mark Pritchard MP.

From a full transcript of Mr Hain´s speech to the Welsh Grand Committee:

Welsh Labour MPs helped to design and deliver the Government of Wales Act and it will be all Welsh MPs´ constituents who will be affected by the resultant Assembly Measures.

Part of the process envisaged by the Act involves the Welsh Affairs Committee at Westminster in scrutinising the proposed Orders before they become law.

Mr Mark Pritchard is elected from an English constituency. He does not represent anyone living in Wales yet he will have the power to decide on Welsh only laws.

The Welsh Affairs Committee consists of 11 Members of Parliament, of whom the quorum is 3. The Committee is nominated by the House at the beginning of each Parliament for the duration of the Parliament, although individual Members may be discharged or added during the course of the Parliament. The membership reflects the party strengths in the House as a whole.

Thus any future Conservative Government having a majority in Westminster (but not in Wales) could pack a majority on the Welsh Affairs Committee with MP's elected from outside of Wales, indeed the Committee Chairman would also be an MP elected from outside of Wales. Easily stifling any proposed laws from a Welsh Government.

This is a fatal flaw in the devolution settlement and Peter Hain and Labour are responsible - Wales needs a proper Parliament of its own.

DEAD HAND GANG

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The "dead hand of the Scotland Office" was yesterday blamed for a decision by UK ministers to block any attempt north of the border to bring in legislation to ban airguns.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the veto left Labour's approach to devolution "threadbare and confused". The minister said his Westminster counterpart Jack Straw had given sympathetic consideration at a meeting in July to the possibility of Scotland going it alone in toughening the firearms regulations.

But now the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has vetoed this, claiming that any variation of the laws between Scotland and England would be "confusing and potentially damaging".

Mr MacAskill said yesterday: "I am extremely disappointed that the Westminster Government has not recognised that Scotland needs responsibility for firearms legislation to deal with this extremely serious problem in Scotland, particularly air weapon crime.

How the Scots decide to protect their communities and people must be a matter for the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament as indeed it should be in Wales a matter for the Welsh Government and Senedd. Yet the British are prepared to use their veto and stop the ban, leaving communities and people at risk.

A 17-year-old Newport boy has died after an incident involving an air rifle, police said today. A spokesman said: "The investigation is still in its early stages in terms of finding out what has happened. "The 17-year-old male sustained injuries as a result of the incident, which led to his death. We are now in the process of investigating exactly what the circumstances were.

CARDIFF FREE PORT

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Free Port as Special Economic Zone

Since 1997 Latvia has four special economic zones, one of them is Ventspils Free Port. Basically, the special economic zone means a designated territory of Ventspils City, about 2623.9 ha large, 265.9 ha of it is water and the remaining 2357.1 ha - land.

General Description

The companies within the designated territory can act without any restrictions as for general rules applicable in Latvia. In addition they have possibility to acquire a license for operation under free zone status and enjoy tax advantages (see incentives for investors) stipulated by a law On Tax Application in Free Ports and Special Economic Zones.

Tax Incentives

According to the law On Tax Application in Free Ports and Special Economic Zones, licensed companies are entitled to the direct and indirect tax rebates. There are massive tax reductions for indirect taxes like value added tax, excise tax and customs duty.

Direct taxes - Real Estate tax (1.5%) and Corporate tax (15%) are decreased by 80% until compensation of 50% (65% to SMEs) of total investment sum. That actually means that applied Corporate tax rate is 5% and the Real Estate tax 0.3%.

The law On Tax Application in Free Ports and Special Economic Zones, as well as the provided incentives, are entirely in line with the regulations of EU and the decision making process regarding issuing of free zone license and is in force at least till 2017. The incentives are applicable afterwards as well.

Free University Education for Welsh Students

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Labour and the Conservatives voted against the draft legislation, but it was passed with the support of the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens and the Independent, Margo Macdonald.

The Scottish Government's Graduate Endowment (Abolition) Bill received the backing of 65 MSPs - the minimum needed to secure a parliamentary majority.

The restoration of free university education for Scottish students took a step closer last night when MSPs narrowly voted in favour of scrapping the graduate endowment.

Teachers in Wales tell that pupils from low income families are not going onto higher education even though they are academically qualified to do so and would benefit from it, because the experience of living in debt they already have acts as a deterrent. Powers to abolish the graduate tax must be transferred to the Senedd for a Welsh Government to use.

Housing Fund of Wales

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The Housing Fund of Finland (ARA) is a governmental agency of the Republic of Finland operating under the supervision of the Ministry of the Environment. ARA is an agency to implement social housing policy. ARA's main task is to finance state-subsidised rental housing production. The Fund has also other obligations such as to make grants for housing repairs and to supervise the granting of state guarantees on loans for owner-occupied housing.

The Housing Fund of Finland diversified its funding sources in 2001 by negotiating and signing two loan agreements with two multilateral banks, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). Through these two loan agreements, equivalent to € 500 million in total, ARA utilised its well-known position on the European capital market and the good reputation of Finnish social housing. For example, key issues which were important when reaching a positive settlement in the negotiations with the EIB were innovative projects - such as the Viikki area in Helsinki -and the progress of energy programmes and energy research in Finland, in addition to ARA´s quality and cost control.

The National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (No.5) Order 2008 (the proposed Order) will provide the Assembly with the power to make its own laws, known as Measures, in the field of housing.

A Welsh Government must be able to follow successful models for the provision of affordable housing and implement those in the best interests of the Welsh people without the British using their veto.

Wales in Action

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By 2020 Flanders should be among the wealthiest regions in Europe. This is the ambition of Flemish Prime Minister Kris Peeters (Flemish Christian Democrat). 'Flanders in Action', the plan that is intended to put Flanders there, was launched on Monday.

Some 280 captains of business, academics and trade union leaders are taking part in the social-economic forum. Over the coming years they will work out a plan to turn Flanders into one of the top 5 regions in Europe.

Along with a new corporate tax incentive:

A company in Flanders is able – via the new incentive – to deduct 80 % of its income derived from patents from its taxable net profit. So anyone who invested EUR 100 in research and then earned EUR 400 in royalties on the back of the ensuing patent is therefore entitled to deduct EUR 320 from his profit. This yields, all told, a saving of EUR 108 in corporate income tax, or slightly more than the initial investment in research.

With this new incentive, Flanders has propelled itself into the lead group of tax-friendly European regions.

Powers over setting the level of corporate tax in Wales must be devolved to the Senedd.

In a related case before the European Court of Justice last year, the Inland Revenue unsuccessfully challenged the right of Cadbury Schweppes to move its treasury operations to Dublin for that purpose (benefiting from a more competitive rate of corporate tax available in Ireland).

Like Ireland and Flanders a Welsh Government must use powers over taxation as an incentive to attract R&D and Corporate treasury operations to locate in Wales for the benefit of the Welsh economy.

WELSH STATE

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FIRST MINISTER Alex Salmond's plan for a referendum on independence has received a boost after a new poll showed a surge in support for a separate Scottish state. The latest snapshot has revealed that 40% of the population want the Scottish government to negotiate independence with the UK government, a figure that is up 5% in three months.

Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "This is the strongest level of polling support for independence in almost a year - showing major progress since the last poll - reflecting the impressive ratings of the SNP in government. The trend is very clear, and shows that people are moving to the independence position as they see the success and credibility of the SNP in government. The National Conversation is leading the constitutional debate, and pulling the other parties in its wake."

More polling on this question is needed in Wales.

Financing Wales's Broadcasting

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Use of a pay-TV smart card for the financing of operations of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), Finland's public service broadcaster, is getting more support.

Under the model, digital YLE broadcasts would be available only to those who have paid for the smart card.

Finland converted to digital television in September this year, and since then the number of households not paying the mandatory TV licence fee has increased. The licence fee is YLE's main source of revenue.

Powers over Broadcasting must be devolved to the Senedd to ensure that broadcasting standards and access to all are guaranteed in Wales.

Legal Practitioners (Wales's Languages)

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The aim of this Bill is to promote the better use of the Irish language by legal practitioners and the provision of legal services through Irish. The Bill provides that the Honorable Society of the King’s Inns and the Law Society shall establish advanced courses of study in the Irish language for legal professionals and shall hold examinations on that course at least once a year. The courses are intended to enable barristers and solicitors to conduct their business through Irish.

In addition the Bill provides that registers, to be established and maintained by the King’s Inns and the Law Society, detailing the contact details of those practitioners who are able to provide legal services through the Irish language shall be made available to the public. There will also be a course of instruction by King’s Inns and the Law Society in Irish legal terminology and the understanding of legal texts in Irish for all those doing the barrister-at-law degree course and the Law Society examinations

The Government is determined in this Bill to facilitate and promote the Irish language in our legal system. The Minister is convinced that the provisions contained in this Bill will lead to a significant improvement in the teaching of Irish by King’s Inns and the Law Society. He is confident that the Bill will better ensure that there will be an adequate number of solicitors and barristers available to provide legal services in Irish to any clients that require such services.

All Justice matters must be devolved to the Senedd, to ensure that mother tongue speakers of both official languages of Wales can access legal services in them.

WELSH BAIL

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New bail provisions which will mean tougher punishments for those who breach their conditions come into force today.

Reforms contained in the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007, which received unanimous parliamentary backing, will help make the law on bail clearer and more transparent with judges providing reasons for decisions of bail and introduce higher maximum penalties for bail breaches.

Public safety is to be a key consideration for the court to take into account when deciding whether or not to grant bail.

A priority for the Scottish Government is Scottish public safety and they have the powers to make the difference. Welsh public safety is still dependent on the British, better an independent Welsh legal system, best able to satisfy the needs of Welsh people.

Unionist Grouping

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A new unionist movement designed to campaign against the current Stormont regime will be officially launched this Friday.

A pamphlet to be contained within Friday evening's editions of the Belfast Telegraph will spell out details of the organisation - including its title.

Former DUP MEP Jim Allister is expected to be confirmed as chairman of the organisation, following a series of invitation-only meetings over recent months.

It will also spell out opposition to the current mandatory coalition at Stormont and argue that, without a more acceptable form of devolution, Northern Ireland should be governed as an integral part of the United Kingdom.

In Wales the Unionists are active as well:

Now the Labour Party in Islwyn – represented by Lord Kinnock until 1995 – has distributed a leaflet which criticises the idea of the Assembly being granted more powers.

WELSH MARINES

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Coastal Jaegers are trained in the Swedish-language Uusimaa Brigade.

The physically demanding coastal jaeger training is given at the Uusimaa Brigade in Tammisaari. Versatile training is provided in a maritime environment with modern equipment. The coastal jaegers move through the archipelago by e.g. Jurmo-class assault boat and fast raiding craft. Also trained in the Uusimaa Brigade are infantry and maritime surveillance men as well as coastal engineers. Training in the Uusimaa Brigade is carried out in Swedish but the language of order is Finnish.

The Finnish Defence Forces respect the rights of mother tongue Swedish speakers to receive their military training in their mother tongue, that being Swedish not Finnish. Time for a revue of the British Army's legal relationship with Welsh.

INDEPENDENCE MEANS

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"Independence means that Finland has a president of its own and that the country can make decisions on its own matters", some pupils answered after thinking the question over carefully, whereupon they laughed and clinked their glasses of strawberry fizz.

True. Wales should be making decisions on its own matters as well.

44,335

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As at 30 June 2007, the Public Service (in New Zealand) employed 44,335 staff (full-time equivalent of 42,047).

Public Service departments (as at 30 June 2007)

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Archives New Zealand

Department of Building and Housing

Department of Conservation

Department of Corrections

Crown Law Office

Ministry for Culture and Heritage

New Zealand Customs Service

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Economic Development

Ministry of Education

Education Review Office

Ministry for the Environment

Ministry of Fisheries

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Government Communications Security Bureau

Ministry of Health

Inland Revenue Department

Department of Internal Affairs

Ministry of Justice

Department of Labour

Land Information New Zealand

Ministry of Māori Development

National Library of New Zealand

Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Ministry of Research, Science & Technology

Serious Fraud Office

Ministry of Social Development

State Services Commission

Statistics New Zealand

Ministry of Transport

The Treasury

Ministry of Women's Affairs

Public Service Departments that are used by Welsh people should be located in Wales. Stimulating the local economy and employment.

Danish eyes in the sky

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British military commanders in Iraq are expressing concern that the withdrawal of four Danish helicopters protecting their convoys could lead to a rebound in the number of roadside bombs.

Colonel Ian Marston of the helicopter forces appealed to the Danish troops to stay in Iraq.

'We don't have enough helicopters to patrol the roads. We know that we shouldn't meddle in a political decision, but we want the Danes to stay,' he told Nyhedsavisen newspaper.

A Welsh Government should be making sure that any Welsh Regiments deployed in harms way are getting the needed protection.

Union demands more power

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TRADE union leaders yesterday called for greater financial powers for Holyrood.

Members of Unison's Scottish Council considered the issue when they met in Glasgow.

The meeting, made up of delegates from across Scotland, backed an increase in powers for the Scottish Parliament.

The public services union discussed the issue in response to the Scottish Government's 'national conversation' on independence.

Unison wants powers in areas including equal opportunities, energy and broadcasting to be given to Holyrood.

Its leaders also believe there is potential for some devolution on immigration and public-sector pensions, in addition to extending powers over public borrowing and tax-raising.

Why is Unison in Wales silent?

WALES'S OLYMPIC TEAM

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The development of high performance in Irish sport is another key element within overall national sports strategy. Top performances in the sporting arena, both nationally and internationally, based on a drugs-free philosophy of sport, provide positive role models as well as enhancing our sense of national achievement, and the image of Ireland overseas.

The image of Wales also needs to be enhanced and positive role models created. Wales should send it's own team to the Olympics just like Ireland.