Feb82017

Welsh Government investment in steel creates and safeguards 550 jobs

Welsh Government
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Economy Secretary, Ken Skates  confirmed that the Welsh Government had invested £2.8m to help create 90  new steel  jobs in Wales and safeguard a further 477. 

Ken Skates said the  investment at Code Serve in Brynmawr, Dyfed Steels in Llanelli, Express Reinforcements in Neath and Celsa Steel in Cardiff  would help to secure a sustainable future for the Welsh steel industry. 

The Economy Secretary said:  

“The future of the steel industry and steel related businesses are hugely important to manufacturing in Wales. 

“Indeed the steel sector is a key priority for the Welsh Government and I am delighted to announce support for four businesses that between them are investing £8.75m in new facilities, new equipment, expansion projects and environmental improvements in Wales.

“Together their and our investment  will create 90 new jobs and safeguard a further 477 highly skilled jobs in Cardiff and the South  Wales Valleys. 

“The announcement of new jobs is of course always welcome,  but at a time when the sector faces extremely difficult trading conditions and stiff global competition,  the safeguarding of existing jobs is more important than ever to the sustainability of the sector and the growth of our economy.”

The Economy Secretary announce that Dyfed Steels – the largest independent steel stockholder and processor in Wales and the south west – is investing more than £4m in a new manufacturing facility. 

The expansion is  backed by £750,000 of Welsh Government support and will create 30 new jobs and safeguard more than 170  in Carmarthenshire.

The company are currently turning away a significant volume of business annually due to lack of capacity. They have identified expansion opportunities at their Llanelli site, rather than at another of  their sites in England. 

Meanwhile fifty new jobs are being created at Code Serve in Brynmawr following an expansion and relocation plan supported by funding from the Welsh Government.

Code Serve provides comprehensive and specialist fabrication and coded welding services nationwide as well as structural steelwork for major infrastructure projects around the UK.

The company  has outgrown its current facility at the former  AIC Steel site in Newport  and is  relocating to the former Tecweld building on Noble Square Industrial Estate in Brynmawr.

The £1m  investment includes the purchase of new equipment and  is backed by £400K from the Welsh Government’s Repayable Fund for SMEs. 

Express Reinforcements in Neath, a company that specialises in the manufacturing and supply of steel reinforcement products for the construction sector,  are investing £150,000 in bespoke machinery and IT hardware and soft ware to increase capacity. 

The move will create and safeguard 22 jobs and has been  supported by £65,000 from Welsh Government. 

Finally the Welsh Government is providing £1.6m towards major environmental improvements at Celsa Manufacturing (UK)’s two key steel production sites in Cardiff. 

The move  will safeguard up to 280 jobs and support the growth and sustainability of the business.

Celsa Manufacturing (UK) is the UK’s largest manufacturer of steel reinforcement products with 100% of its output produced from recycled scrap. Across its two main sites in Cardiff, it directly employs 600 people, together with 194 full time contractors while its activities in Wales support around 3000 supply chain jobs. 

The investment will help safeguard the future of around 280 jobs including employees, contract workers and supply chain personnel.

Feb82017

Relaunch of the West End Community and Sports Hub – survey

Fraser Macpherson
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I recently participated in a very well-attended meeting at Harris Academy aimed at relaunching the West End Community and Sports Hub.   There was a great mix of local sports clubs there and much enthusiasm. 

To help the West End Community and Sports Hub relaunch to assist with and build community sport in the West End, there is now an on-line survey.   This takes just a couple of minutes to complete and you can access it here.

Feb82017

China’s fixed broadband speed hits almost 12Mbps

East Asia
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A report released by Broadband Development Alliance, a third party research organization, shows the development of broadband speed in China. According to the report, China’s broadband speed grew steadily in the fourth quarter in 2016, with average fixed broadband download speed reaching 11.9 Mbps, that of 3G and 4G network respectively hit 3.89 Mbps and 11.93 Mbps.

With efforts from the Chinese government, broadband speeds have grown very fast since 2015. The coverage of the 4G network expands and the speed increases continuously. China has built the largest 4G network worldwide. The amount of 4G network users accounts for 55% among all mobile users.

There are 13 provincial administrative regions with an average fixed broadband download speed over 12 Mbps. The report ranked the top five provincial administrative regions in fixed broadband download speed as Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Beijing and Fujian. Among the capital cities and municipalities, Shanghai, Jinan, Fuzhou, Zhengzhou and Beijing are the top five cities in the fixed broadband download speed list.

Judging from the speed of mobile broadband of different operators, China Unicom’s 3G and 4G network download speeds are the highest among the three major operators, which are 4.81 Mbps and 13.72 Mbps respectively.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the average time for fixed broadband users to open the first page is 1.15 second in the fourth quarter in 2016, and the average download speed for web video has reached 9.34 Mbps. Both are faster compared with the previous quarter.

Feb82017

That article 50 letter

John Redwood MP
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Yesterday the various amendments proposed to the Leaving the EU Bill were voted down. Labour decided not to press one of their main one to a vote because the government offered assurances that Parliament will get to vote on the final deal, to be held before the European Parliament votes on it. That vote will be about whether to accept the new Agreement or to leave without one.

During the exchanges the fundamental question of whether sending the Article 50 is irrevocable or not came up.  I argued it is. The Treaty makes no provision to withdraw the letter or to cancel exit two years later, which is automatic with or without a deal. The Treaty says if you start to leave and change your mind you need to reapply for membership. You do not simply keep or reinstate the membership you proposed to quit.

I reminded the Commons that both the Attorney General and the Remain lawyer in the Supreme Court case argued that the  notice to leave is irrevocable. In finding against the government on one count the Supreme court had to rely on the irrevocability of the process. It is only because the change of leaving becomes inevitable when the letter is sent could the Court say Parliament therefore had to pass an Act and could not just do it by debate and vote. Predictably the Remain side who were so keen to use this argument to win in court now have changed their mind and say it may not be!

I will post the exchanges later today.

Feb82017

Security Council, UNAMA condemn attack near Afghanistan’s Supreme Court

UN – Top News Stories
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8 February 2017 – The Security Council and the United Nations political mission in Afghanistan have joined Secretary-General António Guterres in condemning the deadly attack outside of the Supreme Court in Kabul.

&#8220This attack is nothing short of an atrocity. Those responsible for planning and carrying out this horrendous act must be brought to justice,&#8221 the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said in a statement issued earlier today.

Mr. Yamamoto, who is the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), noted that the attack fits a pattern of violence against judicial authorities in recent years. Since 2015, UNAMA documented at least 74 attacks, which killed 89 people and injured 214 others.

The Mission &#8220reminds all parties that judges and staff of civilian courts &#8211 including the Supreme Court &#8211 are civilians,&#8221 the statement said. &#8220Attacks intentionally targeting civilians are tantamount to war crimes.&#8221

At least 20 civilians, mostly female employees of the Supreme Court, were killed yesterday when a suicide attacker detonated a device outside the Court. No person or group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Calling the killings &#8220heinous&#8221 and &#8220cowardly,&#8221 the Council members late last night reiterated their serious concern at the threats posed by groups such as the Taliban, Al-Qaida, and the Islamic State (ISIL), on the local population, National Defence and Security Forces and the international presence in Afghanistan.

They also stressed that &#8220no violent or terrorist acts can reverse the Afghan-led process along the path towards peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and by the international community.&#8221