Some 84 per cent of Cardiff residents have little or no understanding of the main parties’ policies on tax, according to research by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The study, which surveyed 2,047 UK citizens, 201 of whom lived in Cardiff, found that tax would have the most influence on the voting decisions of 49 per cent city residents, ahead of the national average of 43 per cent. Some 34 per cent of respondents said they would abolish council tax given the chance, but 21 per cent said they would pay more tax for a better level of public services.

Liberal Democrats in Wales have pledged to stimulate the economy with green initiatives. If elected, the party says it would release money to develop sites across Wales for green industries, particularly in disused industrial sites and ports. One-off capital investment grants would go to companies working in the green sector. And cash would be provided to fund a one-off expansion of the Social Housing Grant to ensure that more homes are brought back into use; boost the Schools Modernisation Fund; create a bus scrappage scheme and provide £15m to further education colleges in order to alleviate immediate pressures on funding.

The Conservative Party has launched its manifesto for Wales, with promises to open up government procurement to smaller companies, develop a high-speed rail link to Wales and grant a referendum on further powers for the National Assembly. It would also encourage public sector workers to form co-operatives and take over the services they run. In a joint foreword to the manifesto, shadow Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan and Nick Bourne, Tory leader in the National Assembly, said: “We want to see a working Wales, with a thriving private sector, a solid infrastructure and a first-rate skills base that will make it, once again, one of the most attractive places to do business in the world.”

The current funding formula for the devolved countries will lead to uneven public spending cuts across the UK, according to a new study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr). As the funding coming to Wales is based on health and education spending, the budgets of Welsh administrations will be better protected than those in England for spending on comparable services, the study argues. The ippr has warned of a negative public reaction to this disparity and has called for greater consultation between Westminster and the devolved administrations over how budgets are set.

Improving public services and building the economy remain the top priority for the government, according to first minister Carwyn Jones and deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, who have outlined their plans for the coming Assembly Government term. The first minister said the Assembly would continue to pursue a review of the Barnett formula for funding; it would also work towards a referendum on enhanced law-making powers. Ieuan Wyn Jones re-iterated the government’s commitment to enterprise, citing the ProAct and Skills Growth Wales schemes as examples of Assembly Government successes.

Two Welsh companies have won Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Penn Pharma, the Tredegar drug development and manufacturing company, was recognised in the exports category. Two thirds of its turnover is generated from outside of the UK. And Concateno, a Cardiff drug and alcohol testing company, was awarded for its innovation and commercial performance.

Environment minister Jane Davidson this week announced a £1.75m grant to local authorities across Wales to improve local planning service delivery. All 22 local authorities and three national parks will each receive a grant allocation of £70,000 over the year. Funding will also be provided to the online Planning Portal and to Cardiff University’s City and Regional Planning department for post-graduate bursaries. The announcement follows the commissioning of a study into the planning application progress by the Assembly Government.

Mark Taylor, the commercial and venues director for London’s Barbican arts complex, is to be the next chief executive of the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC). Taylor is credited with boosting the Barbican’s commercial net income from an average of £2.3m per year to £4.4m over his time as commercial director, and previously worked for the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau. He will join Cardiff’s WMC at the end of August.

Jane Davidson, minister for environment, sustainability and housing, has announced two appointments within the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW). Richard Jarvis’ appointment has been extended to the end of February 2011, and Dr Dyfed Elis-Gruffydd has been re-appointed to the council for a further three years. The CCW is the government's statutory adviser on sustaining natural beauty and wildlife in Wales and its inshore waters.