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Young people with additional learning needs praised

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CHILDREN and young people with additional learning needs (ALN) who have faced a number of challenges in their education have been praised.

Pembrokeshire County Council has presented ten youngsters with special certificates and STAR awards for outstanding achievements in their learning.

The presentation took place at a recent ALN Achievement Event. Ten children and young people were invited, along with their parents/carers, schools representatives and members of the specialist service teams.

The recipients of the awards were:

Tia Best (Prendergast): Tia’s teachers describe her as “a ray of sunshine” who is always concerned about how her peers and friends are feeling and is always ready to help and support them.

Georgia Neilson (Portfield): Georgia has undergone multiple operations but is always positive and caring towards her peers. She works hard at her education despite all the challenges she faces. School staff say she is an “inspirational young person.

Ashlee Rees (Pembrokeshire Learning Centre): Ashlee has worked hard to develop positive relationships with school staff and has been entered for GCSEs. His enthusiasm for learning is greatly admired by the staff who work with him.

Theo Salter-John (Year 8 Pembroke): Theo has a hearing loss but has successfully settled into secondary school. He has supported and educated staff working with him on the use of his personal amplification system.

Miles Cooke (Elective Home Education): electively home educated, Miles passed GCSEs in English Language and Physics when in Year 9 He takes part in village life and has organised an art competition for the community.

Olivia Phillips (Year 7 Sir Thomas Picton): Olivia has cerebral palsy. She is very determined and plays wheelchair rugby for the Ospreys and for the Welsh team. She played a key role in planning for her transition to secondary school.

Sian Gwynne, Josh Flynn and Jamie Bailey (Pembroke School Autistic Spectrum Condition Centre):   Sian, Josh and Jamie have made significant progress in being able to access mainstream lessons and are managing to do so independently for a large proportion of time.

Freddie Nye (Year 6 Pembroke Dock): Freddie has cerebral palsy. He is helping to plan for his move to secondary school in September, 2018, and is determined to be as independent as possible.

The Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, Councillor Paul Harries, said: “I am so impressed with these young people and the hurdles they have had to overcome. It was an honouir to spend time in their company.”

Councillor David Lloyd, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, added: “It was lovely to meet such inspirational children and young people who have faced considerable challenges but have overcome them with determination and perseverance.  We were very pleased to celebrate and recognise their achievements.”

Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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News

Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

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NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

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