Points to Ponder

[Hugo]

There are always two sides to any argument These plans require farmers to dedicate 10% of their land to trees and another 10% to wildlife habitats, for Wales to meet crucial emissions targets.   Seems like the farmers could lose possible valuable agricultural land and therefore produce less food.   So that means we import more food and create more emissions that way

I remember Spain introducing something for their farmers and it was if the farmers lost any livestock to Wolves then they would be compensated for the death of their animal.     Wolves killing livestock was a very rare occurrence there at the time but once the compensation was available then the livestock deaths by Wolves shot up dramatically     

[DVT]

Anyone who has been on the narrow road up from Penmachno towards Ffestiniog will have seen the vast expanse of land, eastwards, that seems to be very little except scrubland with not a lot for even the sheep that are there.  Certainly there will be wildlife but they adapt themselves to the terrain and what is available.

I don't know who the land belongs to but surely, if the Senedd want to plant a lot of trees then areas such as that would be ideal - the terrain is similar to the existing forests of Clocaenog, Machno and others.  No need to enforce farmers give up their land.

Anyway, what do trees do? - they "eat" carbon dioxide and the other nasty gasses and give off oxygen.  That helps all us humans and animals live.  But if we are to cut down on emissions then the amount of carbon dioxide available will reduce, consequently trees will not have as much "food".

If we're all going to be "on our bikes" we will probably need a bit more oxygen (I know I'd be puffed out in no time) but there is no engine to give off the gasses to feed the trees.

Why is the Welsh government so intent on climate control - even if we were to achieve zero emissions it would not be noticeable worldwide as the big countries are not complying.  All the Senedd is going to creating a lot of grief for us living in Wales.  Let's see the money spent on real things that will benefit all of us, especially the NHS.

It does seem that those in authority just do not think ... things through.

[SteveH]

More BS.............no wonder we cannot sort out the NHS

A power company that has received ?6bn in UK green subsidies has kept burning wood from some of the world's most precious forests, the BBC has found.

Papers obtained by Panorama show Drax took timber from rare forests in Canada it had claimed were "no go areas".

It comes as the government decides whether to give the firm's Yorkshire site billions more in environmental subsidies funded by energy bill payers.

Drax says its wood pellets are "sustainable and legally harvested".

The Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, is a converted coal plant which burns wood pellets. In 2023, it produced about 5% of the UK's electricity. The site has become a key part of the government's drive to meet its climate targets.

Its owner, Drax, receives money from energy bill payers because the electricity produced from burning pellets is classified as renewable and treated as emission-free.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68381160

[SteveH]

The team behind the multi-billion restoration of the Palace of Westminster will visit two castles in North Wales today. The team planning and delivering the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal (?R&R?) Programme will also meet a group of leading businesses and skills experts from across at a roundtable event.

They will discuss how the complex heritage programme can support jobs and opportunities across North Wales. The Palace of Westminster needs extensive restoration work to continue to serve as the home of the UK Parliament. The restoration could cost between 7billion and 13billion to complete.............and that will probably double ?

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/palace-westminster-restoration-team-visit-28724791?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

The UK will pay at least ?370m to Rwanda as part of its plan to relocate asylum seekers there, the government's spending watchdog has revealed.

Up to ?150,000 will also be paid for each person sent to the east African country over a five-year period.

However, the Home Office said: "Doing nothing is not without significant costs."

A spokesperson said: "Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach ?11bn per year by 2026.

"Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle."

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68440653

[Hugo]

However, the Home Office said: "Doing nothing is not without significant costs."
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68440653

That's mind boggling and exactly what the Government is now doing, nothing!       Sending up to 500 people to Rwanda when nearly 30,000 people came in in 2023 seems like a waste of time and money.    While the uk is paying for their accommodation, heating, food NHS etc etc etc they will come here in droves and who can blame them

[SteveH]

First of all M&S leave Mostyn St.........................

New York City deli owner Jimmy Yavrodi looks grimly out of the shop that he opened 27 years ago in one of the city's prime business districts.

"Everything is empty," he says. "I don't understand it."

From his perch on Park Avenue South, the 61-year-old sent two children to university and employed 12 people, slinging sandwiches and salads for the office workers that streamed in from nearby buildings.

These days it offers a window from which to watch what some are calling America's office "apocalypse".

The famous triangular Flatiron building nearby has been vacant since 2019. Last autumn, the owners said it would be turned into condos.

Around the corner, there's work under way on a new office fronting Madison Square Park. But its anchor tenant, IBM, is consolidating from other spaces in the city.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68472143

[SteveH]

More than a fifth of adults in the UK are deemed not to be actively looking for work, official figures suggest.

The UK's economic inactivity rate was 21.8% between November and January, marginally higher than a year earlier.

It means 9.2 million people aged between 16 and 64 in the UK are not in work nor looking for a job. The total figure is more than 700,000 higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.

Concerns have been raised over worker shortages affecting the UK economy.

The health of the UK economy is in the spotlight with the general election set to be called in the coming months and both major political parties pledging to boost growth.

The UK fell into recession at the end of last year when the economy shrank for two consecutive three-month periods, but latest official statistics showed the level of unemployment remained steady. The figure also showed that wage rises slowed again, although pay is still outpacing inflation.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68534537

[Hugo]

It means 9.2 million people aged between 16 and 64 in the UK are not in work nor looking for a job. The total figure is more than 700,000 higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.

Concerns have been raised over worker shortages affecting the UK economy.
cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68534537

That's a contradiction of information and no political party seems to have the nerve to address it.     How can you have a shortage of workers when you know that 9.2 million people in the UK  are not in work or looking for a job?
Of the 9.2 million people those of them who are not physically or mentally disabled should be deemed suitable for work and irrespective of what do-gooders or human rights activists think they should be made to do some work.   

[SteveH]

Nearly one in three in Wales can't find a job or aren't looking for work
The latest job market statistics make grim reading for the country

Nearly one in three working age people in Wales can't find a job or aren't looking. The latest job figures have been released from the Office for National Statistics(ONS) and they make grim reading for the country.

The unemployment rate in Wales was 3.8% - which is up 0.7 percentage points on the quarter and up 0.3 percentage points on the year. It is though still below the UK average of 3.9%.

But it is the economic inactivity rate that is the real concern. These figures include full-time carers or students, and people who are on long-term sick or have taken early retirement so currently aren't looking for work.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/nearly-one-three-wales-cant-28800806

[SteveH]

The number of people leaving the workforce due to long term sickness is at its highest since the 1990s, a report suggests.

Adults economically inactive due to ill-health rose from 2.1m in July 2019 to a peak of 2.8m in October 2023, said the Resolution Foundation.

It is the "longest sustained rise" since 1994-1998, when records began.

The government said its recent Budget measures are estimated to boost the labour force by 300,000 workers.

The Foundation's report comes after the ONS said more than a fifth of UK adults were not looking for work.

People at either end of the age spectrum had the highest proportion of those out-of-work due to ongoing illness, the Foundation's report said.

"Younger and older people together account for nine-tenths of the rise in overall economic inactivity, which could have serious effects both on individual's living standards and career paths," said Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Foundation.

The rise in long-term sickness leaves the UK as the only G7 economy not to have returned to its pre-pandemic employment rate, according to the Foundation.

However, it did add that inactivity figures fell slightly to 2.7 million in December 2023.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68639144

[SteveH]

Dawn raid at former North Wales paper mill sees firms fined 400k and illegal workers arrested
Two construction firms have been handed fines worth up to 400,000 and 13 labourers and steel-fixers will be deported

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/dawn-raid-former-north-wales-28891783

[SteveH]

Almost 5,000 Channel migrant crossings so far in 2024...........and that is over the winter months

Seven small boats carrying 349 people crossed the English Channel on Saturday, the Home Office has said.

It brought the total for 2024 so far to 4,993 people, according to provisional government data.

It follows three days without any new arrivals.

Rishi Sunak's Conservative government has promised to "stop the boats" but shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the pledge had been "left in tatters".

On Tuesday the total for the year so far topped the record for arrivals between January and March, when 338 people were brought ashore at Dover.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg34vez15xdo

[Hugo]

"We'll take control of our borders"   they promised and yet we're having more illegal migrants than ever before.     Yet the Tories are still pushing on with the Rwanda farce, it's unbelievable

I heard that the Government is talking about making it illegal for homeless people to sleep on t.he streets and that's like rubbing salt into the wound.   Prosecute UK nationals for being homeless yet providing comfortable accommodation for people who shouldn't be here in the first place.

[SteveH]

Royal Mail: What's the plan on second class deliveries and job cuts?
Royal Mail has put forward proposals as it takes steps to cut costs

Royal Mail has set out proposals to cut second-class letter deliveries but keep first-class mail as a six-days-a-week service as part of its ongoing efforts to save cash. The plans form part of the group's recent submission to the postal industry regulator, Ofcom, which is now consulting on reforms of the universal service.

Here is what is being put on the table and why.......https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/royal-mail-could-axe-1-000-jobs-and-cut-deliveries-heres-what-you-need-to-know/