Commenting on the report of the Electoral Commission into the wording of the proposed referendum on law making powers for the Welsh Assembly, Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:

"The UK Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering on our 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people.

"It is right that an independent commission should comment on the wording so that we have clearest possible question. Whatever the final wording, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will want to work constructively with progressives in all parties to secure a 'yes' vote."

Commenting on the 100^th day of the Westminster Coalition Government, Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:

After thirteen years of Labour government, Wales was left with a third of children living in poverty, a wider gap between rich and poor than under the Conservatives and the lowest social mobility in Western Europe.

Securing the economic recovery and getting people back into jobs is paramount for the Coalition Government.  Tackling Labours huge deficit is essential to restoring growth in the economy and giving people hope for the future.

The Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering on our 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people.

A large number of key Liberal Democrats policies are now being implemented in Wales as a result of Liberal Democrat influence in Government. These include everything from fairer taxes and benefits, cleaning up our politics, to prison reforms and fairer pensions.

Examples of Liberal Democrat policies now being pursued by the Government include:

• An increase in the income tax threshold will lift 50,000 people in Wales out of income tax altogether and put £200 extra money in the pockets of hard working families.
• 100,000 people in Wales are eligible for the increase in Child Tax Credits of £150 announced in the budget as part of the drive to tackle child poverty.
• Restoring the pensions link with earnings, which was scrapped by the Conservatives and shamefully retained by Labour. The Governments triple-lock guarantees that the state pension will increase in line with earnings or prices or 2.5% - whichever is higher and will benefit 615,000 pensioners in Wales.

Lower paid public sector workers in Wales (earning less than £21,000) have been protected from wage freezes and been given a £250 increase for the next two years, benefiting 89,000 public sector workers in Wales.

More than £22m has been wasted by the Welsh Assembly Government on training teachers who do not go on to teach in Wales.

New figures released today by the Welsh Liberal Democrats have revealed that between 2004/05 and 2007/08, Wales trained an excess of almost 3000 teachers, at a cost of over £7500 per surplus teacher.

Few steps are being taken to tackle this as only minor reductions in teacher training intake targets have been made for 2010/11.

Commenting on the figures, Jenny Randerson, Welsh Liberal Democrats Shadow Minister for Education said:

"At a time when budgets are increasingly stretched, it is wasteful and irresponsible for the Labour/Plaid government in Wales to spend taxpayers' money on teachers that Wales does not have vacancies to employ.

"The Government were advised in the 2006 Furlong Report to cut the number of training places in half but this advice has not been heeded. The Education Minister stated in 2008 that she would be supporting a reduction of 50 per cent of training places in primary and 25 per cent reduction in secondary training places, but this saving has not taken place.

"With education spending already £500 per pupil less than in England, Wales can ill afford to be subsidising the English education system. In maths, for example, we have trained 133 teachers at a cost of £1.1 million who are not teaching in Wales at all.

"Labour in London has saddled us the largest budget deficit in UK peacetime history. Meanwhile in Wales, they have wasted £22 million on a programme to train teachers who don't teach."