My Cup Runneth Over!

Three successive days, and three separate opportunities to listen to a range of interesting speakers. On Thursday Jocelyn Davies, Deputy Minister for Housing came to County Hall to praise the efforts of Powys in addressing issues to do with affordable housing and housing renewal. She seemed particularly taken by Community Land Trusts as a way to provide for affordable housing in rural communities. However, she did warn us that, in spite of our RSG settlement of only 1%, if we reduced our own financial commitment to housing renewal, then there would be a corresponding reduction in WAG financial support for this vital regeneration activity.

The Deputy Minister was followed by Dr Paul Walker, Chair of PHA Cymru, who emphasised the direct relationship between poor quality housing and poor health. Interestingly, Powys’ public sector housing largely meets the Welsh Housing Quality Standards whereas Powys’ private sector housing stock, particularly the private rented sector falls way below the standard.

On Friday, Jonathon Porritt Chair of Forum for the Future, spoke at the County Council’s Sustainability Day at the Pavilion, and explained in the starkest possible terms why our current obsession with consumerism cannot be allowed to continue. The message I took away from this event was quite simply that Sustainable Development has to be the ‘golden thread’ that permeates and directs everything that the Council does.

Saturday, and it was off to Peterstone Court near Brecon for the Wales Council of the European Movement’s ‘Dialogue on Europe’, to listen to Martin Shipton of the Western Mail give a thoughtful analysis of how the topic of ‘Europe’ is handled in the media. I can’t recall ever before having agreed entirely with what a reporter from the Western Mail has had to say. I must be mellowing or else everyone else is gradually coming round to my way of thinking!
Martin was followed by Dr Alan Butt-Philip from the University of Bath discussing the European Reform Treaty and explaining precisely why this treaty doesn’t really go far enough! His thesis will really challenge members of UKIP and the Tory Eurosceptics. As Alan reminded us, the Treaty of Rome is about bringing the peoples of Europe closer together, and this doesn’t necessarily mean the same as bringing the nations states of the European Union closer together. This set me thinking that perhaps the various nations states are a hindrance, rather than a help, to closer European unity. So do we really need nation states any longer? This is really seditious stuff!