There was a good attendance at last Saturday's Labour Party meeting. The chairman Tony Wales welcomed members and gave updates of correspondence and news. Following the recent report on the enormous rise in the salary of the Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire County Council and the details received from Labour Councillor Joyce Watson, the meeting resolved to write to the Welsh Assembly Government regarding the guidelines given to County Councils which are allowing a small minority of (in Pembrokeshire's case, Independent Councillors) people to award huge, unjustified pay rises. Tony also urged all members to attend the public consultative meetings of the Local Health Board who are presenting their 'Case for Change'. As an Assembly appointed member of the Community Health Council, Tony will attend every one of the seven meetings planned, but urged Labour Party members to get involved in the process and voice their concerns about what the Local Health Boards plan to do. The speaker for the morning was Ann Morgan, who as a member of the Welsh Policy Forum and the National (UK) Policy Forum, enlightened members as to the procedures which are followed when determining Labour Party policies, through the process of local consultations, national consultations and conferences. As a member of the UK Policy Forum, Ann has been appointed to one of five commissions, looking at British Social, Economic and Environmental issues. Ann sits on the 'Britain in the World' Commission along with Jack Straw and Hilary Benn, important Trade Union officials and other representations appointed from Constituencies. The Commissions were set up as a response to the 'Partnership in Power' objectives, began in 1994 and before Labour came into power. Every few years, new documents are produced, debated, discussed, voted upon, amended and revised, so that policy is constantly evolving to meet present needs. Conferences are responsible for finalising policy objectives. On every one of the five commissions there are Senior Government Ministers sitting alongside 'ordinary' Party members, who are representing their regions or constituencies. Ann has attended many meetings including one in London at the Department for International Affairs, when the topic was 'limiting the sale of hand guns in parts of sub-Saharan Africa'. At a full policy forum in Nottingham which Ann attended earlier this year, many non-party members from the community were invited to come along to discuss the issues. One new policy document, entitled 'A strange voice for members' is at its first stage of discussion. This followed a criticism of the 'Partnership in Power' formula, that the members of the Forum were too remote from the ordinary member. The first draft of the debate will be presented in 2006, a second draft in 2007 and in 2008 a Final document will be presented. Ann's personal and anecdotal report was interesting and enlightening. The chairman thanked Ann on behalf of members, then the raffle was drawn. Tony reminded members to put the date of the L.H.B. Consultation meeting at the De Valance on May 10 at 7 pm in their diaries. Also to put in the date of the Quiz Evening at the Merlewood Hotel, Saundersfoot, on May 20 at 7 pm (teams of four at a cost of £10 a team, please), and to note that next month's Saturday morning meeting is the same as the Quiz Night, May 20, when the speaker will be Joan Asby Co-ordinator of PLANED. Joan is also a member of the Welsh Assembly Government's Rural Partnership for Wales, the Objective 1 Pembrokeshire Partnership management Board, the Welsh Assembly Government's Social Enterprise Action Plan Steering Group and the Rural Stakeholder Group. A busy lady, Joan will have many local issues at her fingertips and should be an engaging speaker.
