A view from Mark Isherwood – Welsh Conservative North Wales Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited the four North Wales Members of the Senedd to write a monthly column with updates on their work. You can find their updates – along with contributions from the Wrexham and Clwyd South MPs and MSs – here. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​​‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​​ ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​​‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​‌‌​‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌‌‍‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​‌‌​​

In his monthly column for Wrexham.com, Welsh Conservative MS Mark Isherwood writes:

As Chair of the Senedd’s Cross-Party Autism Group, I have long sought to champion the needs of Autistic people, including children who are not receiving the support and services they are entitled to.

Despite the High Court ruling in 2018 that the exclusion of an Autistic pupil for behaviour arising from their Autism was unlawful, I continue to receive North Wales casework where this is happening.

On related issues, a Flintshire parent wrote last month: ‘We now have a highly skilled psychiatrist and psychologist in the Autism field, who have reported my son’s behaviour is a result of bad experiences in his previous school and his difficulties in communicating these, not related to any parental concern’.

A Wrexham parent wrote: ‘We decided to go to Education Tribunal. The decision of the Tribunal was that my daughter was unlawfully discriminated against on three separate occasions: indirect discrimination, discrimination due to disability, and harassment’.

And a mother wrote to me as Chair of the Cross-Party Autism Group: ‘I would like to make you aware that the Education Tribunal upheld against Neath College with discrimination against my Autistic Son, with damning outcomes’.

In the Senedd last week, I told the Education Minister that these, and many other cases, evidence that this is not a safe, Autistic-friendly Wales, and asked him to respond to the calls that I have received for an urgent Public Inquiry to stop the abuse that is still going on.

I was told by the Minister that he will be meeting the President of the Education Tribunal in the coming weeks and will take that opportunity of discussing with her the point that I made.

Autistic people have been treated as the problem for far too long by public sector officials at senior levels who have failed to establish their communication, sensory and processing needs, and who continue to fight them, rather than recognise that the officials themselves were the cause of the barriers encountered by Autistic people and can be the solution to removing them.

We must stop letting Autistic children, young people and their families down and provide them with the support and the services that they need and deserve.

The Welsh Government’s new 20mph law, which was introduced across Wales on September 17th, has proved to be hugely unpopular.

People support 20mph speed limits outside schools, playgrounds or other locations where this is supported by local communities, but a blanket roll-out is quite frankly ludicrous.

The Welsh Government has stated previously both that ‘Local Authorities have the discretion to change the 20mph limit’, and that ‘in Spain, where they have 20 mph as their default position, urban deaths from road accidents have fallen by 20 per cent and the number of cyclists killed in road traffic accidents has been reduced by 34 per cent’.

Last week in the Senedd, I challenged the Labour Minister who has become the driving force behind Wales’ new 20mph law over both these points, stating:

“How do you respond to the Flintshire County Councillor representing part of your Buckley 20 mph pilot area, who wrote last week, stating, ‘Unfortunately, Welsh Government don’t appear to have learnt any lessons from the Pilot. The powers given to Authorities are not clear, and making a case why the road should be excluded is difficult for our Council Officers’?

“And, noting that Spain had more road deaths per million inhabitants than the UK in 2022, how do you respond to the statement by the Spanish Interior Minister in January, comparing the figures for 2022 with 2019, the last pre-pandemic year without mobility restrictions there, that 2022 represented more deaths than in 2019, and, quote, ‘When it comes to cyclists, the number of fatalities also increased’?”

This default 20mph speed limit is damaging livelihoods and jobs, slowing down emergency services, and costing the Welsh economy up to £9bn.

The Welsh Government need to listen to the 450,000 plus people who have already signed a petition against this and reverse this draconian policy.