A road map for Wales
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Find out more about Plaid Cymru’s vision for a fairer, more prosperous Wales here:
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Contents Getting Wealthier........................................... 4 Getting Healthier ........................................... 5 Getting Smarter ............................................ 6
@plaid_cymru
Getting Greener ............................................ 7
Telephone
Being Compassionate ................................. 8
029 20 472272
Being Fairer ................................................... 9
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plaid.cymru partyof.wales
/PlaidCymruWales
@Plaid_Cymru
Strong Leadership Clear Direction Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales has a strong team ready to lead. Our nation has all the necessary ingredients to be a success story in the modern world. We have an abundance of natural resources. Wales’ geographic position places us at a great advantage a nimble, bilingual country next to one of the world’s largest economies and a part of the world’s biggest trading bloc. The country’s landscape and past intertwine to reveal a nation with tremendous opportunities in tourism and the arts.
Above all, our people individually and collectively have a long record as innovators, leaders and pioneers. The Party of Wales will repair, rebuild and renew this country. People deserve a government that is led by those with competence, ambition and compassion.
In the following pages we reveal our road map to a fairer, greener, more prosperous nation. As we travel around the country in the coming weeks, we invite you to contribute to this national conversation so that Wales’ next Government is the most successful ever.
Plaid Cymru wants to strengthen our communities, repair our NHS and give our young people the best chance in life. We know we have what it takes to be a success.
Leader of Plaid Cymru www.plaid.cymru/www.partyof.wales
AM
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Getting Wealthier A Plaid Cymru government will revive the Welsh economy by focusing on creating well-paid jobs. A strong and successful economy is one which provides high levels of employment, reduces inequality and poverty, and generates wealth to ensure that our vital public services are properly funded. Plaid Cymru’s Contracts for Local Firms programme will create up to another 50,000 jobs. Our public sector spends £4.3bn on contracts, but almost half of them are won by firms based outside Wales. If this public money was spent locally, it would mean more employment of local workers and more money spent in local communities. Development of the supply chain would provide more experts in more fields - a win-win situation. Our ‘Build 4 Wales’ scheme would provide finance for vital infrastructure projects that will help to connect our country with the wider world. This investment in all parts of Wales will create jobs and build up a centre of specialist knowledge in procurement and
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project management which will help ensure best value for money. Plaid Cymru will ensure that all parts of Wales benefit from infrastructure investment – better connected communities, quicker journeys for commuters, and superfast broadband for all. Plaid Cymru will establish an armslength company to run Wales’ railways; railways which serve the public. We will ensure that, in the next franchise, there is as much public control as possible, and will specify that the franchise should include positions on the company board for those who use and operate rail services. We’ll make sure that profits can be re-invested into the business to make fares affordable and services reliable. We will press for the full transfer of powers and funding over rail infrastructure so that we can open more railway lines and invest in stations.
A Welsh Development Bank will provide support to new businesses. Our overseas trade initiative will support Welsh firms to export and will increase our reach internationally, showcasing Wales to the world and further developing our skills and brand. By reforming public finance in this way, we will make it easier to invest in sustainable community projects, supporting entrepreneurs and local economies. We will help our high streets, too – so that more than 70,000 businesses pay no business rates at all – and boost our vital tourism industry, increasing visitors across Wales and creating more work for local people. Regular summits, working together with business and trades organisations, will help develop a Welsh way forward for our economy – based on high skills and good pay for all, so that everyone is paid a real Living Wage.
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Getting Healthier The National Health Service is one of Wales’ greatest gifts to the world. A Plaid Cymru government will restore its reputation by improving health outcomes and ensuring that you and your family receive the care you require, whenever and wherever that might be. Wales needs a health plan to make sure our most treasured public service remains in public hands. At present, Wales has a severe shortage of health professionals with one of the lowest levels of doctors per head in the EU. A Plaid Cymru government will train and recruit an additional 1,000 doctors to bring down waiting times for tests and GP
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appointments, safeguarding your local hospital and its services. No one should be more than one hour’s travel from the emergency life-saving help they need. A Plaid Cymru government will plan and organize health services so that they are within the reach of everyone, regardless of where they live. The Party of Wales will introduce a £50m Drugs and Treatment Fund for rare and life-threatening diseases, including cancers. We will end the postcode lottery and make sure that equal treatment is provided to all. We will improve access to mental health treatments by
introducing a target of referrals to therapies within three weeks for patients where this is appropriate. A Plaid Cymru government will also provide support to those suffering from dementia, autism and diabetes. A ten year national health workforce plan for all health professionals will also be introduced to prevent understaffing. We will fully integrate health and social care services so that care for our elderly and vulnerable is planned seamlessly and with dignity.
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Getting Smarter Plaid Cymru will make sure every child in Wales has the best possible start in life. Our schools, colleges and universities must provide
environments in which students of all backgrounds can thrive, regardless of their circumstances and abilities. A Plaid Cymru government will reduce the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and others. To achieve this we will introduce full time nursery education for all three year olds.
The arts play a vital role in nurturing confidence and creativity among young people. We will ensure that the national curriculum celebrates Wales’ rich tapestry of music, literature, drama and dance.
Teachers will be given more time to teach thanks to our plans to reduce bureaucracy and duplication of work for inspections by introducing professional school managers.
Welsh language education provision must meet local need. A Plaid Cymru government will promote Welsh through the Foundation Phase enabling all children in Wales to become bilingual, and receive the cultural and educational opportunities that being bilingual provides.
And we will give more freedom to teachers to enable them to be creative in achieving the best outcomes for every child. We will provide an education fit for the twenty-first century in which the benefits of technology and computer coding are promoted among pupils. A Party of Wales government will also ensure that there is a stronger focus on physical activity due to the proven link between sporting participation and healthy outcomes.
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Plaid Cymru will continue to build upon our support for apprenticeships - particularly higher level apprenticeships - in fields such as advanced manufacturing and technology. We will also establish a Green Skills College, where skills and expertise in ‘green’ industries can be developed to turn Wales into a world-leader. We want Wales to be renowned
internationally for research and innovation, and will work with our universities to attract additional research and development income from research funding councils. This will bring universities and the private sector together to develop new ideas that will strengthen our economy and help nurture the next generation of creators and innovators. Subject to a positive evaluation, we shall continue to support the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol that develops Welsh language education in universities. We will also look to increase Further Education courses in Welsh in the same way. We will pilot two year undergraduate degrees, particularly for mature students, providing the same number of lesson contact hours but reducing their time away from the job market and loss of family income. This will help us focus on genuine lifelong learning.
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Getting Greener The Party of Wales wants to create a strong, sustainable economy powered by renewables which minimises our impact on the planet’s natural resources. Plaid Cymru believes that our natural environment must be protected and secured for future generations. To do that, full control over energy and natural resources would be held by our National Assembly. In the first one hundred days of a Plaid Cymru Government, we will publish a renewable energy route map aiming towards a Wales where, by 2035, 100% of the electricity that we use comes from renewable sources. We will support communities to develop their own renewable energy and investigate how we can best create Wales-wide and local energy grids, increasing grid access for small-scale energy producers. This will all be part of a programme that ensures communities benefit from local
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energy generation, investment and ownership. Following those same principles, we will oppose fracking and opencast mining in Wales, oppose the use of pylons through National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and support the use of underground and undersea cables where feasible. Plaid Cymru will invest in a major energy efficiency programme for Welsh housing that will cut energy bills, reduce the number of people living in poor housing and reduce carbon emissions. We will continue to promote high quality green and environmental solutions in new-build housing, including adequate green space for exercise, play and well-being.
We will also look to introduce these into more urban areas so that everybody benefits from green space. A Plaid Cymru government will set ambitious targets for recycling and work with producers to reduce packaging waste. Our vision is for a Zero Waste Wales. We shall also introduce a Food Waste Bill so that producers and retailers reduce food waste and combat food fraud with better labelling and investigation. We will also focus on growing domestic and export markets for Welsh food and drink. Our drive to increase support and reduce bureaucracy for Welsh producers will be developed and delivered in partnership with the sector.
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Being Compassionate The Party of Wales will place social justice at the heart of our programme for government. We will implement a no-evictions policy to mitigate the impact of the Westminster government’s ‘bedroom tax’, and introduce rent controls to prevent landlords from exploiting tenants. A Plaid Cymru government will support older people to stay in employment or find work, if they wish to do so. We also recognise the positive economic impact of older people in Wales, and will do more to make our nation an “elderly-friendly” tourist location.
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To ensure this, we will continue to protect the free bus pass that allows older people to keep in touch with friends and maintain their independence. Care is a vital issue for older people. We will ensure that community workers are able to spend adequate time with the people that they are looking after. We will also improve on methods and frequencies of inspection of hospitals, care homes and nursing homes, to ensure that there are sufficient qualified staff
members and excellent quality of care. Plaid Cymru will also look to support locations for older people to socialise and interact, to prevent isolation and loneliness, and we will promote schemes within the community that improve quality of life for older people. We will also work with third sector organisations and the police to prevent exploitative scams, whether they are from door-todoor, by telephone, post or online.
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Being Fairer A Plaid Cymru government will work with representatives of all equality groups and trades unions to ensure that all voices are heard and listened to, and that everyone’s concerns are taken into account. We will work to remove gender segregated workplaces and negative assumptions of women’s work. We will support more women and girls to follow STEM subjects, to be more successful in business, and to act as mentors to others following in their footsteps. All publicly funded bodies will have gender balanced management and governance boards. Hate-crime, of whatever type, will be taken seriously and countered by the police and community organisations, while radicalisation will also be taken seriously and reduced through work with, and within, communities to ensure an open dialogue and participation in wider Welsh life. www.plaid.cymru/www.partyof.wales
Plaid Cymru will continue the work that we have already begun in ensuring that schools prevent anti-homophobic bullying and sexual harassment. We will push for an end to the 12 month blood donation ban for gay men, focusing on risk indicators instead. We will investigate issues surrounding LGBT housing and community facilities, particularly in smaller communities across Wales. We will promote LGBT participation in sport and ensure that sporting governing bodies work with clubs and other organisations to eradicate all negative behaviours, including homophobia, racism and sexism.
Plaid Cymru will work with disabled groups to ensure that help is available for childcare and, alongside local authorities and social landlords, that disabled friendly/lifelong housing is suitably adapted to needs. A Party of Wales government will also work towards the implementation of a Primary Care Services framework for trans people and the development of a gender identity clinic in Wales. We shall continue the Blue Badge scheme and ensure that schools have appropriate access for physically disabled pupils. We believe that everybody can play a role in Wales, whatever their background.
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It’s time to accept a new responsibility with respect to the future of Wales The time has come for our government to be led by a party which embraces its duty to create wealth, share wealth, strengthen our NHS and give our children every opportunity to achieve and thrive. Wales doesn’t need more excuses from a second class government which has let failure be the hallmark in each of its key responsibilities. Plaid Cymru is ready to provide the leadership and future Wales needs. In government, our actions will be led by our belief that the people of Wales have a fundamental right to: · healthcare when needed
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· education which allows everyone to reach their full potential
our country, its future generations, its languages and the environment at the heart of its endeavours.
· receive every opportunity to work and earn a decent living
We know that there is a growing appetite for change and a collective feeling that Wales needs strong, competent leadership from its government.
· protection and support when frail or vulnerable We also accept our responsibility in ensuring Wales can stand on her own two feet and take her place as a successful modern European nation. No other party has the wellbeing and success of
Plaid Cymru is ready with a team of people and a programme of government that meets that expectation. This road map starts the journey towards a Wales that works for all.
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