A ROYAL British Legion branch has slammed a proposed boundary change as an “insult and a humiliation to the people of Ynysybwl”.

There have been mixed reactions to the planned boundary changes within Rhondda Cynon Taff, which include the Rhondda ward of Pontypridd merging with the Graig.

Other changes planned by the Boundary Commission for Wales are the merging of Ynysybwl and Coed-y-Cwm with Abercynon, which will become the Abercynon ward.

Beddau and Llantrisant Town will combine to become Llantrisant and there will be one more councillor in the new ward.
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Church Village and Tonteg will be given the new title of Church Village while the Rhondda ward of Pontypridd will combine with the Graig community of Pontypridd to form a division called Pontypridd West and Rhondda and Glyncoch will become Rhondda.

Hawthorn will merge with Taffs Well to become Hawthorn ward, with an increase from three to four councillors.

Llanharan and Brynna will become Llanharan while Talbot Green and Pontyclun will be known as Pontyclun. Treforest and Rhydyfelin will become Treforest.

The Trallwng and the Graig communities will merge as Trallwng.

Pontypridd MP Owen Smith said: “I’m delighted that common sense has prevailed and the commission has recognised the madness of what they first proposed, sticking together communities that have no traditional ties, and has instead recognised that political boundaries should reflect traditional communities and local identities.”

But the Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the latest ward boundary review claiming it is a complete waste of time and money.

Pontypridd Assembly candidate Coun Mike Powell said: “There are some very welcome changes in the final report with regard to certain wards.

“However, it seems to me that this has been nothing other than an extremely costly exercise which will have little positive impact on the lives of residents.”

Pontypridd Assembly candidate, Plaid Cymru’s Ioan Bellin, said: “It is important that Taffs Well and Nantgarw retains its own identity.

“Creating a new ward of Llantrisant and Talbot Green rather than merging Talbot Green with Pontyclun seems to make sense.

“Having another councillor for Pontyclun should ensure an enhanced service and level of representation for the electorate there.”

The Ynysybwl branch of the Royal British Legion has attacked the proposals, claiming the proposed name of Abercynon is “an insult and a humiliation of the people of Ynysybwl”.

There was support for the proposals from Treforest Town Councillor Jonathan Bishop and Llanharan Community Councillor Jeff Williams.

The Beddau and Tynant Ward’s Labour party also back the proposals.

The commission’s chairman Paul Wood said in his report that a review had been taken of the total number of councillors representing each electoral division.

He said: “As far as possible I want to restore fairness so that councillors generally represent the same number of people.”

A spokeswoman for the Boundary Commission said that the proposals are planned to be implemented in 2012.

The news that Google has been found in “significant breach” of Data Protection law by the Information Commissioner shows the importance of regulating information security.

The European Commission is now discussing bringing forward plans to give internet users further rights over how their data is collected and used by internet companies.

The new EU Data Protection Strategy says that Europeans “should be able to give their informed consent to the processing of their personal data”.

This is another example of the European Union furthering the cause of the rights of European citizens and protecting us from the big corporations, whose thirst for our personal data is like a vampire entering a blood donation centre.

Speech to the Cardiff Mixed Speakers Club in November 2010.

If I was to say the word, ‘surgeon’ to you, it would probably conjure up the image of someone who is highly skilled and highly trained and who deserves a lot of respect. On the other hand, if I was to say to you ‘web designer’, or maybe ‘computer technician’, these probably wouldn’t conjure anywhere near as much respect or authority.

After all, I could program websites at the age of 15 when they first came into being, and now even 8-year-olds can knock a website together!

This may make you think that information technology, or ‘IT’ as it is also known, can in no way be compared to medicine. For instance, you may think its fine for an untrained person to use a computer, but be shocked at the thought of an untrained person performing surgery. But I say that IT is no different to medicine.

If you want the best IT systems then you need them to be created by the best IT people. Anyone can pick up a book and look for medical symptoms and diagnose people – school-age learners probably learn about some of these symptoms in biology and care science lessons – but it takes years of training to understand in detail the way in which different symptoms interact with each other and the appropriate remedies, which are sometimes given on top of existing treatment.

IT is no different. While it may not usually cost lives to make a mistake in IT, it does usually cost money. A badly designed website can deter people from further contact with a business. A badly thought-out patient management system can cost a health clinic hours in wasted time and effort. And a badly secured relationship management system can cost a business its reputation and customers.

In a survey by the auditors KPMG it was found that the average loss incurred by businesses surveyed because of a failed IT Project was £8 million per project, whilst the largest single project failure reported cost £133 million. If a surgeon was to cost the NHS £133 million because of botched operations then serious questions would be asked. So why does the IT industry get off so lightly? It is because it is under-regulated.

In the UK a surgeon couldn’t practice without 1) a medicine degree, and 2) training leading to fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. It is no wonder they are able to command six figure salaries when the barriers to entry are so high.

Has anyone ever seen an advert on TV saying, ‘want to increase your income – train for a career in medicine’? No you haven’t, because this would take several years, compared to a few months for the courses to enter the IT industries that are advertised. Is this right? I don’t think so.

I’m not saying entry to medicine should be made easier, but that entry to IT should be made more difficult. If a doctor wants to practice medicine and continue to do so, they need recognised qualifications, membership of a professional body, and to constantly update their knowledge and skills. Why should IT be any different? I have spent the last 10 years training and working in IT to the academic and professional standard equivalent to a surgeon – why should someone without my qualifications and experience be allowed to have access to the same markets as me? I think it’s wrong and I think it’s unfair.

The solution therefore is for anyone who wants to practice in IT to have to be trained to the standards set by a professional body, which in the UK should be BCS – the Chartered Institute for IT. I first became a member of BCS over 10 years ago, and have since completed a number of degrees, high-profile projects and publications, and held a number of senior positions. I am now at the grade of Chartered IT Professional Fellow, which is the highest most people can get. Only people like Bill Gates and Sir Tim Berners-Lee are higher.

There are Top IT Directors now who are not Chartered Fellows, but who could be, and who I think should have to be. You know when you go to see a consultant surgeon that they have FRCS after their name and also that they are trained to the highest standards so that they are allowed to call themselves a surgeon. I think it should also be the case that to be an IT director of a PLC in the UK then someone should have to have FBCS after their name, so the employer knows they are a Fellow of BCS and therefore trained and committed to the highest standards in IT. Similarly, I don’t think someone should be able to offer any independent services in IT, such as web design or software development unless at the minimum they are Associates of BCS, which is the lowest grade of professional membership.

Instead of the Web design market being saturated with Have-a-go-Hacks it would only be occupied by those actually skilled in the art. Instead of the Cowboy-Computer-Consultants offering to fix your PC with limited actual experience, they would have to sign up to a code of ethics, where they could lose their right to practice if they behave irresponsibly.

Could someone operate on you unless they were a fully trained surgeon? No they couldn’t. So why should we allow untrained people to operate on computers? We shouldn’t, and it’s wrong that we do.

The European Commission recently published its ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’ report, which has the objective to chart a course to maximise the social and economic potential of ICT. As part of this agenda, I would to see the European IT Industry regulated by bodies such as BCS, so the European market for IT is no longer a race to the bottom for standards, but a race to the top for professionalism.