Make Bridgend a Fairtrade County and make Wales a world first

Everyone in Bridgend should get behind the bid to Make Bridgend a Fairtrade County and schoolchildren can lead the way.

I am urging local shoppers, schoolchildren, local businesses and Bridgend County Borough Council to back the campaign and support Wales’s bid to become the world’s first Fairtrade country.

Fairtrade guarantees a fair price and safe working conditions for producers of things like tea, coffee, chocolate or fruit in poor countries. It gives us the peace of mind that no child labour was used to make the products we use at home.

Making Bridgend a Fairtrade county means committing ourselves to buying, selling and using Fairtrade products as much as we can, and raising awareness across the local community, in schools, churches, council meetings and any get-together.

I am always impressed by the grasp Bridgend schoolchildren have of global poverty issues and I would like them to have their efforts to promote fair trade recognised by gaining Fairtrade School Status. Our children’s pester power will get us all buying Fairtrade.

Schools in Bridgend can become Fairtrade schools by following the advice on the http://www.fairtradewales.com/ website, all local teachers and pupils should take a look.

This Labour Welsh Assembly Government is committed to encouraging Fairtrade and leads by example - using only Fairtrade tea and coffee for its meetings and is encouraging all businesses and public buildings in Wales to follow suit.

The Bridgend and Porthcawl Fairtrade groups do a great job in encouraging local communities to do more for fairtrade and we can all get behind them during Fairtrade fortnight and make a real effort to make Bridgend a Fairtrade county and make Wales the first Fairtrade country.

For more information, please go to http://www.fairtradewales.com/

Don’t forget kids swim for free

KEEPING the kids occupied and active over half term doesn’t have to cost you a penny extra if you send them swimming.

Local leisure centres are offering FREE swimming sessions and lessons to children and young people under 16, thanks to the Welsh Assembly Government’s school holiday free swimming scheme.

The £2.5m idea has proved a great success - with more than two million swims taken up around Wales since Labour introduced the scheme in 2003.

This half term, and every school holiday, it’s the kids who can splash out so Mum and Dad don’t have to. Bridgend children can get fit, stay active and have fun over the school holidays without parents getting hit in the pocket.

Local leisure centres are offering free swimming sessions and lessons during the half term break and I’d encourage as many parents and children to get involved as possible.

Welsh Labour wants more of Bridgend’s children and young people to use their local leisure centre. Free swimming is a way of making sure every local child gets a chance to use the pool or even learn to swim over the holidays.

It sends out all the right messages to children about staying fit and active. Labour is committed to encouraging healthy lifestyles which are so important for the health of the nation.

I would like to thank the local leisure centres for taking part in this scheme and especially the staff who take such good care of all the extra visitors.

The whole point of this Welsh Labour idea is to help families that might have been put off by the cost to use and enjoy their local leisure centres. I am delighted the scheme has proved to be a huge success in Bridgend and hope this continues.

Child Trust Funds

This week is the first-ever Child Trust Fund Week, which runs from January 15th to 20th.

Parents in Bridgend are using their £250 vouchers to open an account and ask friends and family to get engaged with their child’s account to build a nest egg for the child’s future.

New figures published this month show that in Bridgend, 3274 Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to parents. 2320 savings accounts have already been opened by parents themselves. The remaining 954 are still to be opened or will be automatically opened by HM Revenue & Customs if the vouchers are not used after 12 months so that no child loses out.

The Child Trust Fund is a great way of saving for a child’s future. All parents with children born since September 2002 will have received a £250 voucher to get an account started. The Government will add an extra £250 for families on lower incomes, and there will be further top-ups when children reach the age of 7.

I am very pleased that here in Wales we have gone further than the rest of the UK in ensuring that all children in care also benefit from the trust fund.

I’m pleased that so many parents in Bridgend have already opened an account for their child, but I want to encourage all eligible parents to open an account and get friends, family, grandparents and the whole family involved.

Welsh Labour is committed to tackling child poverty in Wales. This scheme proves our commitment to ensuring a fair start for all children in Wales, whether they live at home or in care.

For more information on Child Trust Funds please visit http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk/