Jenny Willott MP

Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, has welcomed the UK Government's response to a report on cross border road and rail links between England and Wales by the Welsh Affairs Committee.

The report emphasises the importance of the UK Government working with the Welsh Government to improve infrastructure links across the English-Welsh border and makes several recommendations of instances where closer cooperation is needed.

Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, has criticised Labour MP Roger Godsiff who has called for the nursery in the House of Commons to be closed, tabling a motion lamenting the loss of an 'extremely popular' bar in order to provide childcare facilities for Members of Parliament.

The nursery, which was opened in 2009, is frequently used by Jenny who has two young children. It is not subsidised by the taxpayer and is so popular it currently has a waiting list.

Recent figures reveal that the number of incidents of anti-social behaviour in South Wales has already fallen by 32.4%since the Coalition Government came to power thanks to measures supported by the Liberal Democrats.

Further action to tackle anti-social behaviour in England and Wales was announced in last week's Queen Speech - the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill will build on the Coalition Government's already impressive record on tackling crime and supporting victims by ending Labour's discredited ASBOs, which became a rite of passage among some young offenders and were routinely breached by them.

Jenny Willott, Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central, has called on local food and grocery businesses to sign up to an industry campaign to support young unemployed people in Cardiff.

Feeding Britain's Future will see thousands of unemployed young people from across the country go into farms, factories and stores for free skills training and Jenny Willott wants businesses across Cardiff to get involved so that hundreds of youngsters in the city can reap the benefits.

Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott is urging communities in Cardiff to apply for the new £6m First World War: then and now fund, which the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has launched.

HLF is making at least £1m available per year until 2019 to provide grants of between £3,000 and £10,000. The money will enable groups across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

Five things to do this summer to save on next winter's energy bill - Jenny Willott MP

Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, is encouraging all her constituents to plan ahead for next winter and start saving money on their energy bills.

Recent research shows that nearly half of all those who are eligible for some help with their energy - whether it's for changing their boiler, insulating their homes or getting a discount - do not apply. This is because they did not know that the help was available or thought that it did not apply to them. In addition, people mostly think about getting work done when it's cold.

WILLOTT WELCOMES POSITIVE CBI FORECAST FOR WALES

The main business organisation representing employers, the CBI, has predicted that the Welsh economy should pick up later this year and that growth will continue into 2014. CBI Wales said the Welsh economy was slowly growing, while manufacturers have said they were getting more orders.

Minister for Housing, Mark Prisk, today reaffirmed the Coalition Government's commitment to get empty homes back into use, detailing the series of measures being introduced to ensure more empty houses become homes again.

These include introducing refurbishment schemes and a new Community Right to Reclaim Land, reforming planning laws, encouraging local authorities to take a lead by providing a financial reward for bringing long-term empty homes back into use, and reviewing what further steps can be taken to end the bias for demolition in the state sector.

The Coalition has committed £235 million to bring empty homes back into use, and is working with an independent adviser to take forward best practice recommendations on empty homes. Already the number of long-term empty homes has fallen by over 40,800 since 2010. However housing is a devolved area for which the Welsh Government is responsible in Wales.

Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to follow the UK Government's lead and consider adopting some of their initiatives, which will increase housing supply, remove the blight that rundown vacant properties cause and help support local economic growth through refurbishments and improvements.

Commenting, Jenny Willott said:

The Queen's Speech will help over 3,700 businesses in Cardiff by cutting National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

The National Insurance Contributions Bill announced by the Queen will introduce a National Insurance employment allowance of £2,000, reducing the cost of employment and supporting small businesses aspiring to grow and want to hire their first employee or expand their workforce.

Commenting, Jenny Willott MP said:

Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, has urged the Labour administration at Cardiff Council to come clean on the leadership contest. Potential future leaders such as Cllr Phil Hawkins have been sworn to secrecy while the 'democratic' process of potentially electing a new leader takes place. This means the contenders are not able to explain to the residents of Cardiff how they would run the city differently, leaving the authority in a state of uncertainty about its future.