The Kennel Club has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh Assembly Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, of a consultation about a ban on the practice of selling puppies via third parties. The Kennel Club, whose own regulations explicitly ban the sale of puppies to third parties, has long called for an end to the sale of puppies in pet shops and by other third party retailers, as puppy farmers often use such outlets to sell…

After petitioning the council for months, #catsmatter finally achieved closure methods for owners of missing cats     When a cat is sadly hit and killed by a car, many are left roadside. The role of the local council’s waste department is to collect the ‘roadkill’ and dispose of it. These cats are family members to many. Simply notifying the owners of their pet’s sad fate gives them answers and closure. Otherwise, they’re searching the streets for months unsure of…

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has welcomed the news that fire and rescue services in Wales are to be given a statutory duty to respond to flooding emergencies. It now means England is the only nation in the UK where firefighters do not have a duty to respond to flooding. The new duty will come into effect in Wales on 1 April 2017. The Welsh Assembly has committed £1.8m in funding to replace ageing flooding and water rescue equipment as…

1. Where better to be on a match day There’s nothing quite like watching Wales play in the Millennium Stadium on a match day. The centre of Cardiff turns into a sea of red as the Welsh fans assemble in their thousands. Where else can you find crowds of people all patriotically singing ‘Bread of Heaven’ walking arm in arm through the city? The pubs are packed, the pints are flowing and there’s nowhere better to end the day than…

Cycling UK President and Channel 4 newscaster, Jon Snow, has written to Assembly Member candidates asking them to pledge their support towards improving investment and leisure access for cycling, should they be successful on 5 May. Cycling UK, the national cycling charity, has identified two simple ways to make Wales the healthier, greener and more prosperous nation its Active Travel (Wales) Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act are designed to create. Our President, Jon Snow, has therefore asked…

YMCAs across Wales have created their first ever Manifesto ahead of this year’s national Assembly elections.   Providing a loud and clear voice for young people and communities across the country, the 36-page document spells out what the people YMCA supports believe should be prioritised as the most important policies for the incoming Welsh Assembly Members.   More than 500 people fed directly into the document. It focuses on the five key areas of support that YMCAs all over Wales…

The Women’s Equality Party (WE) has announced four candidates for the Welsh Assembly elections in May. They will be campaigning on the regional list for South Wales Central to put women’s equality at the top of the political agenda. Sharon Lovell, Emma Rose, Sarah Rees and Ruth Williams are standing to make sure Welsh women are at the centre of this year’s election. “Things are going backwards in Wales. We now have fewer women Assembly Members, fewer women in the…

Ifan Glyn has been appointed as the new Director of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru. Ifan has been with FMB Cymru for three years and was previously their Public Affairs Executive. Ifan succeeds Richard Jenkins who was with the organisation for seven years. “I am delighted to take on this new role within FMB Cymru, and would like to thank and wish my predecessor Richard Jenkins all the very best for the future. I joined the FMB when…

Leading lawyers Clarke Willmott LLP are expanding into South Wales with the opening of an office in Cardiff Bay. The move sees some of the industry’s leading housing and planning specialists working in the city and builds on Clarke Willmott’s recent strong track record in South Wales. It is part of the law firm’s UK-wide growth plans and comes shortly after the firm announced a growth in turnover from £33m in 2012/13 to £40m in 2014/15. The Cardiff team has…

Financial Inclusion Commission calls for Minister for Financial Inclusion for Welsh Assembly EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01am:London, March 11th, 2015: The Financial Inclusion Commission’s (FIC) report highlights the alarming extent of exclusion from financial services amongst millions of mainly low income families. Financial exclusion: the hard facts: Nearly 2 million adults don’t have a bank account Estimated 2 million took out a high-cost loan due to lack of access to credit 8.8 million are over indebted 13 million don’t have enough savings…