Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Responding to the Investigation Report on Funding for AWEMA, Peter Black AM, said:

"For ten years, the Labour government has stood by as millions of pounds of taxpayers money is wasted by a charity that has played fast and loose with public money.

"The Welsh Labour Government was repeatedly warned over the last decade that all was not well at Awema, however, they still continued to throw Welsh tax payers' money at this charity.

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, has today expressed her dismay at a huge increase in the number of people waiting more than 14 weeks for certain types of specialist therapies on the Welsh NHS.

Figures released today show that the number of people waiting more than 14 weeks for specified therapy services rose over the month from 1,256 to 1,776. There was an overall increase of 450 patients waiting for Physiotherapy.

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, has spoken of her disappointment regarding patient waiting times in Wales.

By the end of December, a total of 7,699 patients had been waiting more than 36 weeks for the start of their NHS treatment. 25,194 patients had been waiting between 26 to 36 weeks.

Three members of staff from a care home near Bristol have pleaded guilty to the ill treatment of residents. The case follows secret filming by the BBC's Panorama TV programme at the Castlebeck-owned Winterbourne View hospital near Hambrook.

Wayne Rogers, 31, of Kingswood, pleaded guilty to nine charges. Allison Dove, 24, of Kingswood, pleaded guilty to seven charges at Bristol Crown Court. Holly Draper, 23, of Mangotsfield, pleaded guilty to two charges. Both Rogers and Dove pleaded not guilty to one charge each under the Mental Capacity Act, which was accepted by the Crown with the charges resting on file.

Planned price reductions by big energy suppliers have been described as too little too late by William Powell AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development.

All the big energy companies have followed the lead of British Gas by announcing they will reduce prices by around 5% this spring, but this is nothing compared to the massive price hikes of the last two years says Mr Powell. He is demanding more energy price cuts now.

William Powell, Welsh Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson, has called on the Welsh Government to act swiftly to curb metal theft across rural Wales.

William Powell, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, said:

"In these difficult times we have seen a significant number of metal theft cases across Wales. In some cases thefts have caused asbestos to be dangerously exposed and have led to perpetrators clothes becoming contaminated.

Older people are being let down by a social care system in which they are "passed like a parcel" between services, a committee of MPs has said. The Commons health select committee wants local areas in England to deliver "joined-up" care, health and housing. Funding pressures were reducing older people's quality of life, MPs added.

The government has lost a House of Lords vote on its controversial plans to overhaul the NHS in England. Peers backed an amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill - demanding mental health is made a higher priority - by a margin of four votes. Several other amendments will be debated on Wednesday.

At least 35,000 people applying for sickness benefit are waiting longer than 13 weeks, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted. DWP officials are privately blaming the backlog of employment and support allowance claims on French firm Atos, which carries out medical assessments. Atos Healthcare said it had recruited additional staff and extended opening hours in response to the situation. One member of DWP staff described the situation as "in meltdown".

Further evidence of Welsh Labour Government inaction over Awema has come to light. A Written Assembly Question reveals how, Jane Hutt, the then Equalities Minister had not met with Awema officials in her new tenure following a critical report of the race charity in 2004/2005

In April 2006, Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat AM asked: