Roger Williams MP

During defence questions, Roger Williams MP asked the Government:

"In drawing up plans for the return of military equipment from Afghanistan, what account has the Ministry of Defence taken of the equipment that the Afghan army will need to carry out its challenging duties in the future?"

Mr Williams raised the question following reports in the Telegraph in Feb 2013 that up to 40% of the equipment used will not be repatriated. In answering, MOD Minister Andrew Robathan MP replied:

Brecon and Radnorshire MP Roger Williams welcomed the news, reported in yesterday's Times newspaper, that the Government are considering placing restrictions on newly qualified drivers in a bid to reduce the troubling accident statistics for young drivers.

Figures show that 1,552 young drivers (those aged 18-24) were killed or seriously injured in 2011 - 25 per cent of all motorists killed or seriously injured. Furthermore, 1 in 5 people killed or seriously injured on the roads is involved in a crash where at least one of the drivers is classified as young. Specifically in Brecon and Radnorshire, between 2005 and 2011, 158 people died or suffered life-altering injuries in accidents where one of the drivers was 25 or under. Average insurance premiums for men aged 17-22 are £1,858.15 and £1,463.96 for women. Two years ago, average premiums were, respectively, £1,082.93 and £713.96.

In yesterday's Business, Skills and Innovation questions in the House of Commons, Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire asked Minister Michael Fallon MP what plans his department had to implement a share scheme for Royal Mail employees.

The news was encouraging, with the Minister for Business and Enterprise stating that:

Today's Budget announced that the Income Tax Personal Allowance will be raised to £10,000 in April 2014 - one year sooner than had been expected. This means 40,100 ordinary working people in Powys will get a further Income Tax cut, bringing the total tax cut to £700 a year since Liberal Democrats joined the Coalition Government.

Today, Roger Williams used a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament during a debate on fuel poverty in Wales to highlight the serious issue faced by residents in Coelbren during periods of extremely cold weather.

Under current rules, each of the 92 weather stations cover a number of postcode districts which then trigger the Cold Weather Payment when the average temperature of a weather station is at 0C or below for a period of seven days. Those eligible, such as those who have dependents under the age of five, pensioners, families that receive child tax credits or income support receive £25 automatically to assist them with the higher heating bills incurred.

Don't Tax Our Roast! BPC, Morrisons and cross-party group of MPs deliver petition to Treasury

Last week Roger Williams, the Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire, backed a joined with the British Poultry Council (BPC), Morrisons and other MPs to deliver a petition of over 50,000 signatures to the Treasury on Wednesday 13 March. The petition, which secured strong support between 10 September and 28 October 2012, has been delivered a week before the Budget to express concern at how widely this tax on rotisserie chicken was felt amongst consumers, food producers and farmers alike. The British Poultry Council and Morrisons are urging the Chancellor to remember British poultry producers and retailers in next week's Budget Speech.