Is this justice for legal greed?

A small glimmer of good news today: one of the lawyers who made millions by 'representing' sick miners has been struck off. The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal described Andrew Nulty as 'a disgrace to the profession'.

He said to have made more than £40m in fees from his firm Avalon's handling of claims from ex-miners and their widows. Some of these people ended up with a pittance, while several lawyers like Nulty made their millions.

I have a personal interest in this case as Avalon targeted my elderly widowed mother (80+). My ex-miner father died of pneumoconiosis-related illness.

Time and again they wrote to her, and their letters were interpreted as coming from the Government's lawyers. Time and again I told them to stop writing. They never did. I have kept most of their letters and made a complaint to an MP researching this UK-wide scandal.

So Nulty cannot practice law any more. He is reportedly living in Spain, and presumably enjoying life with the millions he gained from the sick, poor and elderly. Somehow, I can't see that true justice has been done.

When it comes to avarice, there are members of the legal profession who'll take some beating.

Public money well spent in Wales?

Good to see that our tax money is being put to creative use.

Today's Western Mail highlights the £4,500 grant to a couple wishing to set up as psychics so bereaved people can contact the other side. Astonishing!

What a combination: wasting our money AND preying on the superstitions and vulnerability of people.

And there I was thinking all you needed to be a medium was a front room, a crystal ball, a set of playing cards and a scarf to tie around your head.

New jobs for £2.5K? Nice idea - but probably not.

A small business person’s view

So now we small business people are being asked to employ someone with a £2.5k incentive.

This is yet another very well-meaning initiative, but as much as I want it to work – I fear it won’t.

Why? Well if employers don’t have the available work why would they saddle themselves with the burden of paying the balance of the wage bill plus on costs and other employment obligations? And if we did have the work we’d probably take someone on anyway.

If you want to help small businesses Messrs Brown & Darling, then please do something about business costs – in particular business rates – for the long-term. Business rates must be one of the most stupid taxes ever dreamed up. It’s a relic of a bygone age.

Think of it like this: ‘So you want to start a business and employ people Mr Jones? Then we will have to impose a punitive tax on you immediately.’ In fact, you could have a small office, with minimal impact on local services (except for the occasional bag of rubbish) and pay more in business rates than a family in a four bedroom house pay in council tax.

What utter anti-entrepreneurial tosh. It’s so much easier to get a job in our massive, wealth-consuming public sector.

Meanwhile, wealth creation in Wales diminishes by the day. I am worried for my kids’ future.