The Third Minister In Wales With Responsibility For Tourism In Less Than One Year
Sarah Murphy MS - Will she investigate and respond to Wales Outdoors?
Email trail to Sarah Murphy MS. Let’s see if another change at the top, on this occasion caused by the shit show that is Vaughan Gething’s Welsh Government and has likely perjury when giving evidence to the Covid inquiry. He sacked Hannah Blythyn claiming she was the person responsible for leaking his texts indicating he would delete ministerial WhatsApp’s as those messages could be revealed by FOI requests…
Dear Sarah Murphy MS,
Congratulations on your new position.
I wrote to Hannah Blythyn, your predecessor, on the 5th April. She responded on the 16th April with a standard response that did not answer my urgent questions regarding Visit Wales staff including my serious allegations of nepotism, which are now with South Wales Police.
I then responded on the 19th April and to date I have not received a response.
I copy the emails below and request an urgent meeting with yourself to look at the serious allegations I raise and to 'put to bed' this costly matter in both time and money for both parties, as soon as is possible.
Yours Sincerely
Andrew Lamb
Email to Hannah 5th April
Hi Hannah, as the new minister with responsibility for tourism I am hoping that you will be able to engage and answer serious accusations of malfeasance within Visit Wales, questions that your predecessor Dawn Bowden refused to answer.
My MS Mark Drakeford will be contacting you after the easter recess to discuss my evidence of Visit Wales promoting some businesses but refusing to platform my similarly placed business. This has been ongoing now for four years and I demand a resolution, and in good time.
I am happy to meet to discuss and happy to provide all of the evidence I have at my disposal.
In the meantime, I will be maintaining pressure on Visit Wales in any way that I can. This pressure will involve further costs to the Welsh Government, which has I believe already spent well over £100,000 in defence of my accusations. I seek either a platform on the Visit Wales website OR the de-platforming of all businesses that do not comply with the current rules PLUS an apology to me and my business and discussion of reparations to me for my time, distress and loss of business. I assert that I have lost business either by non-inclusion on the Visit Wales platform or by the unfair promotion of my similarly placed competitors.
This is a very serious matter as I can only see gross negligence or nepotism as the reasons for Visit Wales staff acting in the manner that they have and do. Visit Wales staff have been regularly informed of their inconsistent approach to platforming legitimate Welsh businesses and I have ensured all management and data input staff are aware of these matters.
Kind Regards,
Andy Lamb.
Response from Hannah 16th April
Dear Mr Lamb,
Thank you for your email of 5 April outlining your concerns about the promotion of Wales Outdoors and other activity providers on the Visit Wales website. I understand that Visit Wales has been conducting a review of its Adventure Activity Assurance Scheme and I was glad to hear that you have had the opportunity to input your views during this process. The review will shortly be concluded, and I have asked officials to get in touch with you once the outcome is known. There will then be an opportunity to explore next steps. I have asked Visit Wales to keep me informed of progress.
Yours sincerely,
Hannah Blythyn AS/MS
Email to Hannah 18th April
Dear Hannah Blythyn,
Thank you for your response which does not in any way address my complaint.
To be absolutely hones this is exasperating. Surely someone in government should be responsible for ensuring that employees are not acting in a manner unbeftting their office, department or the Welsh Government itself. But to date, following four years of contact, discussion and campaigning, no one has felt it necessary to explain why some businesses remain platformed whilst others are denied the same. Worse still, some businesses are promoted over and above others, by being given 2024 partner status, while they should not even be listed, according to the onboarding rules. I demand an explanation!
Yes, their is a review. No, this will not address the matter that I have asked you to consider.
I refer you back to my original email asking for a meeting at which I can, within ten minutes, clearly point out the malfeasance at play here, or, if you are unwilling to meet, please look at the evidence I submitted to the Ombudsman for Wales, which the ombudsman had sympathy with but could not investigate due to restrictions on their remit, and please answer the questions raised.
You'll find links to my evidence supplied to the Ombudsman for Wales and additional evidence supplied post submission of the complaint here:
https://walesoutdoors.substack.com/p/complaint-against-visit-wales-sent
https://walesoutdoors.substack.com/p/50-of-visit-wales-2024-travel-trade
A key question that remains unanswered despite being asked multiple times is:
'I ask again, please tell me what is the difference between the Visit Wales partner for 2024, Adventure Tours UK and Wales Outdoors?'
Let's see an end to this matter and the end to wasting my time and the Welsh Governments time.
Kind Regards,
Andy Lamb.
Standard response from Welsh Government received 26th April
Dear Andy Lamb
This is a standard acknowledgement to confirm receipt of your correspondence to the Welsh Government dated 19/04/2024, your reference . Our reference for this correspondence is TO/HB/05040/24.
We aim to respond within 17 working days from receipt in the Welsh Government. This means you should receive a response before 22/05/2024. We will respond via e-mail, but it may not be from this e-mail address – so please ensure that you check your junk mail folder.
My response dated 26th April
Dear Hannah,
You received it on the date I sent it, the 19th, April and so I expect a full response and answer to my question with details of what you intend to do about the issues I raise by 6th May, which is 17 days from receipt.
Mark Drakeford MS is asking the same questions on my behalf and so you should be fully informed of the accusations I make against Visit Wales, especially as I have forwarded in my previous email links to relevant evidence.
The question remains,
‘Why does Visit Wales wilfully and in full knowledge continue to platform and promote some businesses that ought not to be on the Visit Wales platform?’
This has been the case since I first raised the issue in March 2020 and despite multiple assurances of cleaning up the site Visit Wales continues to take no action in the removal of businesses I have highlighted and have gone further making 2024 partners of some that I had flagged!
Since 2020 therefore my business has been disadvantaged in the marketplace in a number of ways and most definitely has suffered loss of market position and income. I have personally spent very many hours seeking an answer to the question I pose and in the main, despite Welsh Government protocols stating enquiries should be responded to, my question, even when asked by detailing a specific provider, remains unanswered.
To stop the wasted effort of obfuscation by Visit Wales, who in this matter have already wasted a great deal of money (I estimate well over £100,000) and to stop my ongoing campaigning to seek answers, an apology and reparation which includes the detailing of named Visit Wales staffs interactions with me and their inaction regarding the serious matters I raise, my pursuance of the South Wales Police to make investigations and a court action that I am about to instigate, I advise that this matter is for once taken seriously and ended with a definitive and clear response.
Kind Regards,
Andy Lamb.
Follow up email dated 8th May
Dear Hannah, as expected your response did not arrive within the window the Welsh Government set for responding to enquiries and I also note that you have still not responded to Mark Drakeford MS.
Please can you let me know what the issue is as I may be able to assist with that. I think you just need to engage and discuss with me or simply have staff at Visit Wales reply to the simple question, something they have been unable to do since March 2020...
I expect your response within a couple of days. Why the urgency? Each and every day that passes my business is disadvantaged in the tourism marketplace and unfairly so and by Welsh Government employees. And as this has been ongoing since March 2020 I think it's about time that Welsh Government staff stop playing games with peoples livelyhoods and behave in a manner that is befitting a Welsh Government department.
Kind Regards,
Andy Lamb.
You can book our walks through the Wales Outdoors Website or, if you are a group, you can book us for a bespoke adventure, you choose the date and time, using the ‘Book Your Guide’ option.
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