​Dear Vince

I write to you before the coming

budget on 22nd June. I am the Leader of Swansea City

Council and Lib Dem. The coming budget will have a profound effect on our city

because of the amount of jobs which are in the public sector 38% this is borne

out by the centre for cities report and ONS data.

I will expand on the figures we

in the council have over 14,000 people working for us, the D.V.L.A. employs

about 5000, the Land Registry 532, and the N.H.S. with 2 hospitals about 7000

there are also smaller departments which total 693, then when you add in the

Universities and colleges that figure is then 4200. In the September 2008

Government Public Sector number employed in Swansea was 40,000, this figure has not

changed. When you add to this we are the largest city in the UK with

convergence area statuses it means that we are currently an area which needs

some substantial assistance, we currently in the city centre have a S.R.A.

(special regeneration area) which has been given by the Welsh Assembly

Government some funding but how much we will have to see the current thinking

is £6,000,000. The only other development that has been made by the W.A.G. is

an area around the old docks call SA1 which has had £37 million but it was

going to bring in many 1000s of jobs but it has not.

Our city centre has had no

investment by the private sector for the last 30 years we have had some small

private investments but as a result we have leakage to Cardiff of 40% of the

residents will travel to Cardiff to do some shopping. There have been 2 major

companies who have said that they would redevelop but both have pulled out when

the time came to put the money up , this has had a very demoralizing effect on

the people of our city, but also has put us an administration in a very

difficult position as the last company came in when we were in power.

Why are we writing to you because

we need help from Westminster our devolved Government in Wales will not help us

in Swansea not only because we are of a different colour party the main reason

is that the current administration in Cardiff dos not need to worry about

winning seats in the city when you look at the last general election figures

they retained 3 seats and they that will be the same in the in the elections for

the Welsh Assembly next year.

That could be the case but with

some help from you in Westminster we could see some changes but the items that

we need help with are Tax and Business opportunities like we would like to see

the docks area change into a tax free zone which would see the area turned into

an exchange zone for the Western part of the country and for Ireland. But we

also have a large enterprise zone which could be used in the same way. If there

is a way in which we could have some one of funding to help with infrastructure

that would help a lot. I am sure there are other ways that you may know that

could help us.

I look forward to your earliest

reply.

Yours sincerely

COUNCILLOR CHRIS HOLLEY