News
Huge 12.5% council tax hike backed by cabinet
PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL’S Cabinet has recommended that Council Tax should go up by 12.5% at its meeting on Monday (Feb 12).
At the meeting, councillors unanimously supported the rise which would see the council achieve a balanced budget.
A 12.5% rise would equate to an extra £2.11 per week or £110 per annum.
The Council has been holding a number of consultation exercises including two Facebook Live sessions to gauge the views of the public.
It was also pointed out that they had received over 1300 responses to its consultation, whereas it only received just over 100 to its previous exercise.
Cllr Bob Kilmister reminded members that the funding gap for 2018/19 was £16.4m and that of that they had identified cost reductions of £10m.
The 60 members of Council will meet on Thursday 8th March to make the final decision on whether to approve the Cabinet’s recommendation of 12.5%, or alternative increases of 5.1% or 8.1%.
The meeting of Council on 8th March will also consider the proposed 2018-19 budget, and the ongoing public consultation to consider the proposed 5%, 8% or 12.5% Council Tax increases. The consultation closes on February 16th.
The financial pressures on the Authority were detailed in a report to today’s Cabinet meeting by the Director of Finance, Jon Haswell.
His report read: “Due to Pembrokeshire having the lowest Band D Council Tax in Wales since 1996, it was £15m worse off in 2017-18 than it would have been if its Council Tax was at the average level for Wales.
“Pembrokeshire has the largest shortfall between its actual
spending and what Welsh Government predicts it needs to spend to deliver services, its Standard Spending Assessment (SSA).”
The report continued: “The Welsh average Band D Council Tax for 2017-18 was £1,162 – £279 more than Pembrokeshire at £883.”
Cabinet members heard that a 12.5% increase for Band D properties (equating to a rise of £110.39) would still mean that Pembrokeshire would have the lowest Council Tax in Wales – even if all the other Authorities had no rise in their Council Tax.
Cllr Kilmister said: “If we go with a council tax increase of 12.5% there would be a £5.7m contribution from council tax and that would give us a balanced budget.
“There is £1.3m that has come out of the cost reduction figures in terms of the schools budget.
“People will see that there is a change and that’s because there is a constantly moving scene in terms of the budget, it almost moves by the day and we’ve had decisions by Cabinet on the IT strategy, alterations to the council tax reduction scheme and we’ve made alterations to the schools budget which is why the original figure of £11.2m in cost reductions has now gone down to £10m.
“In terms of where we are, the budget has been debated at all the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the majority view from those was that 12.5% or option 3 was the correct choice. There was one committee were two members voted for 8% and for some reason nobody else took part so it wasn’t a unanimous decision.
“We’ve also conducted four finance seminars to members across the year and I honestly believe there has been more scrutiny and more information has been provided to members than ever has been before.
“We’ve conducted two Facebook live sessions since the last Cabinet meeting which were extremely useful and the numbers viewing those has been quite exceptional and I think we learnt an awful lot from doing them and very valuable.
“We’ve still got a public consultation which is carrying on that doesn’t end until February 16, and that’s going to be much more meaningful than we’ve ever had in the past.
“As of Friday night (Feb 9), we’d had over 1320 responses to that consultation, the last consultation produced 135 so I’m looking forward to seeing what that consultation says.
“I’m determined that we should do the right thing and not dodge the issue. We have to make a step change on our council tax levels.”
Cllr Kilmister stated that they either needed to do something or services would be reduced to a level that most people would see as unacceptable.
He moved the recommendations and added that option 3 (12.5% rise) should be put to the next meeting of full council.
Cllr Phil Baker said it was ‘not going to be easy’ to sell the 12.5% rise but added that in his ward people would prefer to see the rise rather than cuts to services.
Cllr Neil Prior added there was a ‘grudging acknowledgement’ that this was what they needed to do while Cllr Paul Miller said he could not see ‘any other option’ for them to take.
The Cabinet unanimously supported the recommendation from Cllr Kilmister that a 12.5% council tax increase be suggested to full council.
News
Closure of Tata Steel’s coke ovens sparks political and union backlash
THE recent announcement by Tata Steel to close the coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in South Wales has ignited a firestorm of political and industrial action, highlighting the deepening crisis within the British steel industry and the challenges facing the transition to green steel.
Jo Stevens MP, the Shadow Welsh Secretary, expressed her concerns over the impact of the closure on the Welsh steel industry and the workers affected. Stevens emphasized the need for assurances about the workers’ immediate future and pledged that a UK Labour government would invest in the steel industry to support the transition to green steel, harnessing the skills, talent, and ambition of Welsh steelworkers.
The closure, slated for Wednesday due to concerns over the ovens’ “operational stability,” has been criticized by regional Senedd Members for South Wales West, Tom Giffard MS, and Dr. Altaf Hussain MS. They accused the Labour Welsh Government of neglecting its support for the Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot, highlighting a lack of financial assistance since 2019 and calling for a change in response to the current developments.
Unite, the UK’s leading union, has been vocal in its opposition to Tata’s decision, describing it as a shock and a “result of years of betrayal.” The union criticized Tata for not disclosing the imminent risk of closure during recent consultations and announced a ballot for industrial action among 1,500 Tata workers. Unite insists there should be no job losses at Port Talbot or Llanwern and that a blast furnace should remain operational.
Peter Hughes, Unite’s regional secretary for Wales, called for Tata to halt its closure plans in anticipation of Labour’s promised £3 billion investment to rejuvenate the UK steel industry. He accused Tata of managing the decline of UK steel while accepting government subsidies, describing the company’s actions as “deliberate industrial vandalism.”
The closure has not only raised concerns about the future of steel production in the UK but also spotlighted the political and economic strategies required to ensure the industry’s survival and transition towards more sustainable practices. The unfolding situation underscores the need for a collaborative approach between the government, industry stakeholders, and the workforce to navigate the complex challenges ahead.
News
Firefighters tackle blaze at block of garages in Monkton
ONE person was injured as a result of a sunday afternoon garage fire in a block of garages in Monkton.
A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service told The Pembrokeshire Herald said: “At 1.31pm on March 17, Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven crews were called to extinguish a fire in an alight central garage and were forced to use two breathing apparatus and two hose reels.
“The firefighters reportedly left the scene at 3.02pm after continuing to dampen the fire and check for fire spread.
“The casualty was treated by ambulance service personnel also in attendance.”
The police confirmed that a garage fire had been dealt with by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Welsh Ambulance Service attended.
News
Air ambulance called following incident at Aldi Pembroke Dock
THE WALES AIR AMBULANCE, along with the Welsh Ambulance Service and police were called on Monday morning to an incident at the Aldi supermarket car park in Pembroke Dock.
The Herald understands that the alarm was raised after a car hit a person in the car park after 9am.
We have been told that the incident involved a local taxi.
The emergency services have been asked for a comment.
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