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I was concerned by news this week that an average of three pubs a month are closing in Wales.

Many are being demolished or turned into housing but in places like Rhondda they are just as likely to be abandoned and become public eyesores. 

We can see them already in both valleys. According to research done for CAMRA - the Campaign for Real Ale - 69% of all adults agree that pubs play an important role in community life. 

The same, of course, applies to clubs.  

You can bet it won't be the multi-national chains which will lose out. Experts say it'll be the genuine 'locals' which will suffer the most. There'll be less local choice, less competition and fewer local businesses. Funny how, under New Labour, capitalism always works like that. 

Due to the flood of applications, there's genuine fear that many outrageous extensions of time and activities will slip through. Local residents may find increases in noise and traffic without having really been consulted. 

Even the power of local councillors to comment on behalf of their constituents has been restricted by the new law.  Councils will face increased costs in running the new regime. Once again, it's less democracy and more cost from Tony Blair. 

We're all familiar with the government's mantra claiming to be 'tough on crime'. Yet senior police officers are warning almost daily that this new Licensing Act will actually increase crime.  Whatever happened to the claim of being 'tough on the causes of crime'?

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When the National Assembly for Wales was set up, nine quangoes were abolished. Quangoes were the powerful ‘quasi-non-governmental organisations’ through which the Conservatives ruled Wales in the 1980s and 1990s, often stacking them with failed Conservative politicians. 

After the Assembly was created, these bodies were brought more tightly under democratic control, and are now known as Assembly-Sponsored Public Bodies (ASPBs). They have to respond to the overall policy direction of the Assembly, and are set clear remits by Assembly Members each year. This means they operate within a much more democratic framework. 

ASPBs have their uses. There are certain areas where people wouldn’t want politicians taking all the decisions: deciding what theatre groups to sponsor, for example. But it is important that the boards of these public bodies are representative of all the communities in Wales. I want to see more ‘real people’ on the boards of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies. 

Current recruitment practices mean that board appointments go overwhelmingly to middle class professional people. My research shows that only four people from Communities First wards in Wales are known to serve on ASPB boards, for example. It’s no wonder people feel that these bodies are remote from their lives. 

Only two people living in the Rhondda are known to serve on ASPB Boards. 

One of the problems is the way these appointments are advertised. I’ve been told that only ‘higher profile’ board appointments are advertised. Interviews for the rest are held with people whose names are already on a list of people wanting to serve on public bodies.  

Those jobs that are advertised appear only in the Western Mail, the Daily Post, Golwg and Y Cymro. I believe the Assembly needs to reach out to a wider pool of applicants. We should advertise in evening papers, local papers and the tabloids. We should find ways of circulating appointments via community centres, working people’s clubs, libraries and trades unions. 

I’ve discussed the matter with Finance Minister Sue Essex who shares my concern that we must find ways to encourage more people to apply. 

Are you interested in serving on a public body? I think there are lots of people in the Rhondda who are well-qualified. If you are interested, let my office know on 01443 685261 and I will make sure you are sent details of how to apply.  

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM

Leighton Andrews is the Assembly Member for the Rhondda. To get in touch about any local issues, ring our offices on 01443 685261 or at the Assembly on 02920 898784: or write to me at 5 Cemetery Rd., Porth, CF39 0LG.

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There were two anniversaries this week: it is 20 years since the miners' strike began and it was international women's day.  For many people these would seem totally unconnected, but the struggle for miners and mining communities and the campaign for equality for women are part of the same battle for justice.

It is good to see miners now receiving compensation - literally millions of pounds have been paid out for vibration white finger, pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

But many women still get far from their just deserts.  Women are more likely than men to be unemployed. Many are forced to work part-time. They are paid less than men (£8.75 per hour compared with £11.13 for men).  They are less likely to be promoted as managers or senior managers (10% of all women in employment, compared with 18% of all men in employment). And only 9% of the UK's top company board members are women.

The government has tried to tackle the problem.  It introduced the national minimum wage, which has benefited 1.5 million people, mostly women.  It has brought in equal pay policies across the civil service and encouraged employers to do the same.  The pay gap is lowly narrowing.

It has also tried to help new mums, increasing maternity pay to £100 a week last April and extending paid maternity leave from 18 to 26 weeks plus a further six months of unpaid leave.  It introduced pay and leave for adoptive parents and paternity leave (at £100 per week).  And Sure Start, the Working Families Tax Credit, the new deal for single mums and the child trusts are all helping ordinary mothers make a decent home.

It's not just about money, though.  65,000 women spend a night in a women's refuge every year and at least two women are killed by a partner or former partner every week. So the government is also reforming the law on domestic violence.

For some people this sounds like political correctness.  To my mind justice and equality for women is every bit as important as justice for former miners.

CHRIS BRYANT MP

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Briefing on the Directive on Informing and Consulting Employees

In March 2002 a final agreement on the Directive for informing and consulting employees was reached. The text is weaker than the version passed by the European Parliament in October 2001 due to pressure by some member states, the UK in particular. However it will be a major step forward in the UK where there is currently no such protection and it will be invaluable to Welsh workers. But once again the Labour government has betrayed Welsh workers.

JILL EVANS MEP

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