Gorllewin Caerfyrddin a De Sir Benfro

Commenting on the death of Lord Emlyn Hooson, former Liberal Democrat for MP for Montgomeryshire, Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said:

"Emlyn Hooson was respected in the House of Lords and the wider political community for his passionate liberalism, his love of Wales and his sharp intellect. Not only will he be remembered for his high profile legal work, he will also be remembered for establishing the Welsh Liberal Party in Wales - something we are still proud of today.

"I am delighted at Edward's re-election. He has proved a passionate, determined and highly effective campaigner for human rights and democracy.

"As the British Foreign Minister responsible for human rights and a fellow Liberal Democrat, I am greatly looking forward to working with Edward to pursue this agenda, which is so central to the enlightened interests of the UK and Europe as a whole.

"With the Arab Spring continuing and tentative steps towards political reforms in Burma, the presence of strong and credible voices, fighting for human rights and democracy at home and abroad, is absolutely essential.

"I am convinced Edward is the right man to help ensure that we maximise the collective weight of the European Union in defending and promoting human rights and democracy."

Please sign the link below if you support the idea of job sharing in politics. It could potentially enable more women to stand for parliament.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/17076

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are using their debate this week to call on the Welsh Government to publish a statement setting out in detail its reasons for maintaining funding for Awema despite repeated warnings of financial malpractice.

Warnings regarding Awema's (All Wales Ethnic Minority Association) financial conduct were raised with the Welsh Labour Government in 2002, 2004 and 2007. Despite this, the charity continued to secure funding commitments for projects worth more than £8 million.

Responding to the Welsh Affairs Committee's report on 'Inward Investment in Wales', Eluned Parrott, Shadow Welsh Liberal Democrat Business Minister said:

"I welcome the report of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee into inward investment in Wales. Their recommendations prove that they have clearly been thorough in their questioning and research. It is of great concern, however, that the Business Minister didn't attend to give evidence on something vitally important to the Welsh economy. I believe that this was a great error on her part as she is key in promoting Wales as a country open for business.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Aled Roberts has called on Education Minister Leighton Andrews' to provide more detail about his decision to scrap the Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP) and replace it with a "tool that better supports children's early learning and development".

Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Aled Roberts has welcomed today's announcement that the banding of primary schools is to be delayed until September 2014. The decision comes in the wake of a report published by the Chief Inspector for Education and Training which highlighted a number of weaknesses in the accuracy of primary school assessments.

The government must ensure new welfare assessments planned for disabled people are "accurate and fair" before they are rolled out nationally, MPs have said. The Work and Pensions Select Committee said the tests for the new Personal Independence Payment, coming in from 2013, could cut funds people relied on.

"Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are committed to delivering a tax system which is fair and progressive for everyone, why should working people who are not married pay more tax?

"Our commitment to increasing the income tax threshold to £10,000 has already resulted in an extra £200 in take home pay for millions of workers last year, with an additional £130 coming this April.

"Tax breaks for married couples would only help 4 million couples to the tune of around £150 year.

"This year, thanks to the Liberal Democrats, over 1 million people will have been lifted out of paying any income tax, rising to 4 million by 2015.

"Giving low earners a tax cut is exactly the kind of policy the Coalition Government should and is prioritising at a time when money is tight and people are feeling the pinch."

Nick Clegg champions Youth Contract

Thousands of companies received a letter this week from the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg calling on them to play their part in getting young people earning or learning.

Nick is urging businesses to sign up to the government's flagship £1bn Youth Contract so that they are ready to offer the jobs to young people in April. He announced details of how employers can access cash to help cover the cost of taking on fresh talent through a 'wage subsidy'. The subsidy will be paid to companies for taking on young unemployed people and is designed to cover costs like National Insurance contributions.

The wage subsidy will pay £2,275 to employers for every 18 - 24 year old unemployed person they employ from the Work Programme and is open to all businesses, voluntary organisations and charities.

Payments for the majority of business will be made after the young person has been employed for 26 weeks. For smaller enterprises these payments will be staggered, with the first payment after eight weeks and the rest after 26. This recognises that smaller businesses need a boost to their cashflow to make the jobs viable.

The wage incentive will also be available for part time positions, with a rate of £1,137.50 if someone is employed between 16 and 29 hours.