THE economy will be held back without an improved broadband network and faster railway lines, First Minister Carwyn Jones said today. He gave his reaction to today's Budget from Chancellor George Osborne, saying the electrification of the main railway
ENGLAND will head to Cardiff in fine spirits after Eoin Morgan blasted a superb century to seal a four-wicket win over Australia. The Irishman was the key figure in the first NatWest Series one-day international at the Rose Bowl. Michael Clarke's highest
HE said the health service had seen a "marked improvement’’ under the Labour-led Assembly Government when he came under pressure at question time in the Senedd from Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams. Mrs Williams said government officials
NEW mothers' experiences of maternity services across Wales should form a key part of planning, but they are being ignored, a top parenting charity claims. But in Gwent, parents' panels are being established as a way of ensuring that those receiving
CHARLOTTE Roe and Elizabeth Parker are mums with a fundraising mission. The pair, from Rhiwderin and St Julians, Newport, respectively, are trying to raise £3,250 each for a leading disability charity, their ultimate challenge being to climb Mount
A CONTROVERSIAL new committee set up to focus on crime and disorder in Blaenau Gwent held its first meeting yesterday. Last month, the Argus reported how the new executive position of crime and disorder and safe communities was being branded as a "
A GWENT MP slammed the worldwide health body that declared swine flu a pandemic last year in a report for a European organisation. Newport West MP Paul Flynn said the World Health Organisation had “cried wolf” over the virus and was in danger
THERE are fears that a trackside blaze has affected cabling on a Newport train line. The blaze broke out on Libanus Road, Somerton in Newport where grass and rubbish caught fire at around 1.30pm. One engine from Maindee tackled the blaze and by
Pension age increased accelerated to 66 The Government will accelerate the increase in state pension age to 66. Two-year pay freeze for public sector workers The Government is asking public sector workers to accept a two-year pay freeze
SOME Gwent rail services are experienceing major disruption this afternoon due to a trackside fire. Services between Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport for Arriva Trains Wales and First Great Western services between Bristol Parkway and Newport are
A VALLEYS landlady says she is disgusted at burglars who stole two charity boxes from her pub during an early morning raid yesterday. Two burglars broke into The Bush Inn in High Street, Blaina, between 2.20am and 4.15am and took collection boxes for
The child element of the Child Tax Credit will rise by £150 above indexation next year in a £2 billion-a-year "commitment to low-income families".
The basic state pension will be linked once more to earnings from April next year, with the pension guaranteed to rise in line with earnings, prices or 2.5%, whichever is the greater.
Britain's banks will be hit with a balance sheet tax to raise more than £2 billion a year, the Chancellor announced today. The bank levy will come into force next January and will help the sector play its part in shrinking the UK's deficit after being
Personal income tax allowance to be increased by £1,000 in April to £7,475. Some 23 million basic rate taxpayers will gain up to £170 a year.
No new increases in duties on alcohol, tobacco or fuel after the "substantial increases" announced in Labour's March Budget.
Labour's plan to increase the duty on cider by 10% above inflation will be scrapped from the end of this month.
On January 4 next year, the main rate of VAT will rise from 17.5% to 20%. The VAT rise will generate more than £13 billion a year by the end of this Parliament and zero-rated items will remain exempt from VAT over the course of this Parliament
From April 2011, the threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance will rise by £21 per week above indexation.
Labour's landline tax will be abolished and instead the Government will support private broadband investment with funding in part from the digital switchover under-spend within the TV licence fee.
Housing benefit will be reformed with a maximum limit of £400 a week, in a package saving £1.8 billion a year by the end of the Parliament
Child benefit will be frozen for the next three years.
From next year - with the exception of the state pension and pension credit -benefits, tax credits and public service pensions will rise in line with consumer prices rather than retail prices, saving over £6 billion a year by the end of the Parliament
The total welfare shake-up will save the country £11 billion by 2014/15.
The Government will abolish the health in pregnancy grant from April 2011, restrict the Sure Start maternity grant to the first child only and expect lone parents to look for work when their youngest child goes to school.
The Government will accelerate the increase in state pension age to 66.
The Government is asking public sector workers to accept a two-year pay freeze, with protection for the 1.7 million public servants earning less than £21,000.
With the full agreement of the Queen, the Civil List will remain frozen at £7.9 million for the coming year and a new means of support for Her Majesty will be proposed at a later date.
Chancellor George Osborne promised to to balance Britain's books within five years as he used today's emergency Budget to rip into the inheritance left by Labour. Promising to deal decisively with the UK's record debts, he warned of his economic
The The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says unemployment will peak this year at 8.1%, then fall each year to reach 6.1% in 2015.
The OBR today forecasts that by 2015/16, we will be spending over £10 billion a year to meet the gap between pension contributions and payments to the unfunded pensions they support.
Mr Osborne said his Budget today implies further reductions in departmental spending of £17 billion by 2014/15, with unprotected departments facing an average real cut of around 25% over four years.
OBR forecasts show growth in the UK economy for the coming five years estimated to be 1.2% this year and 2.3% next year; then 2.8% in 2012, followed by 2.9% in 2013; then 2.7% in 2014 and 2015.
CUTTING the deficit must not come at the expense of the economic recovery or public services, Budget Minister Jane Hutt said today. She insisted the Assembly Government was prepared for a spending squeeze and would make a "responsible’’ contribution
ADAM Ahmed is a little boy with a big problem - he is frightened of food. Behind his winning smile is a phobia so strong, he is restricted to a diet of milk and water, delivered through a tube into his stomach. Three-year-old Adam, of Newport, suffers
PEOPLE in Newport plan to make big cuts in their personal spending, according to a pre-Budget survey from the Principality Building Society. New Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has already signalled his intent to make billions of pounds
WINGER Mike Poole’s hopes of pushing his way into the Newport Gwent Dragons fold have been dealt a blow after he injured himself on an overseas tour. The 24-year-old, who has signed a dual-contract with Newport and the region, ruptured his knee ligaments
A DERELICT school was torched on Sunday night, a day before it was due to be demolished. Last night, police were questioning an 11-year-old suspect in the arson attack on the former Sirhowy Infants School, Tredegar. The disused building went up
A NEWPORT mother of three, left paralysed after falling from bed, is looking forward to returning home after more than 18 months in hospital. Jayne Welsher, 43, of Hendre Farm Drive, Ringland, broke two bones in her neck when she landed awkwardly
ONE lane is blocked on the M4 at Newport this morning and traffic is very slow between junctions 27 at Highcross and J28 at Tredegar Park. The blockage is due to an earlier accident with the lane now partially blocked by three vehicles that have tried
MILS Muliaina's return at full-back is one of seven changes to New Zealand's starting line-up for Saturday's second Test against Wales. Muliaina, a veteran of 82 Tests, has recovered from a calf strain and replaces the injured Israel Dagg (concussion
A NEW salt storage centre is to be built in the Valleys after councils found themselves short of salt to grit roads during cold weather earlier this year. The building at Waun-y-Pound in Ebbw Vale will able to store 10,000 tonnes of salt and
A FORMER army mechanic who spent four years in Iraq set up his own car repair business in the hope of employing other ex-servicemen wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark Goodison, 43, of Chepstow Road, joined the army in 1985 and had a military
US Open champion Graeme McDowell has been hailed as a world class talent by Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie after completing a dramatic double that began in Newport. McDowell became the first European to win the United States Open since Tony Jacklin
