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Council row over accounts sign-off

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PEMBROKESHIRE County Council has today controversially voted to sign off last year’s accounts in a lively meeting of the Corporate Governance Committee.

Seven members to six voted in favour of a motion by leader Cllr Jamie Adams that the Council were able to ratify the financial statements despite legal concerns by the Welsh Audit Office. The Council and WAO are currently locked in a “legal dispute” over the legality of pension arrangements which help senior members of council staff avoid paying tax on their pensions.

During a heated discussion at County Hall the representative from the Welsh Audit Office said his organisation was not in a position to sign off the accounts. The Welsh Audit Office will be holding a meeting on Thursday to discuss the legal position, following which they may qualify the authority’s accounts, issue a statement in the public interest, or possibly commence legal action.

Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Michael Williams said in a response to a statement by Cllr Adams: “Things aren’t as rosy as they should be, I hear your words but I accept them with a pinch of salt”.

Councillors were asked to vote in favour of signing off the accounts with a caveat over the controversial element, something which Cllr Michael Williams was unable to support, telling the meeting: “We have been asked to park the issue over pensions at the side, and sign off the accounts anyway. I’m uncomfortable with this. We shouldn’t be able to separate something potentially illegal from the rest of the accounts.”

Cllr Paul Miller said after the Leader explained how the pension plan was introduced: “You must be aware of the ridiculousness of the story you have cooked up in a venue which is not open to the public, after no legal advice had been given, that members of the Senior Staff Committee without intervention from officers read half an A4 page report and voted in favour of this tax scheme.”

Cllr Adams replied: “You have painted a dark picture Cllr Miller, if any public had turned up they would have been shown to the chief executive’s office. This is an office open to the public.”

Disputing that the chief executive’s office was accessible and open to the public, Cllr Jacob Williams, who held up his security key-card, said: “You have to use an electronic pass to open locked security doors to get as far as the chief executive’s room. It’s simply not true that this is an office open to the members of the public.”

Cllr Mike Stoddart, who earlier in the meeting commented on the council’s transparency by way of a reference to “political democracies such as Russia or Zimbabwe,” told members of the committee that he thought that when the Senior Staff Committee went into private session in 2011 this also was potentially unlawful. Under section 100 of the Local Government Act, the Committee can go into private session, but there is a public interest test which was introduced in 2006.

‘’I wonder whether the public interest was considered in this case. I don’t think that in this instance the law in excluding the public was applied correctly,’’ he added.

Cllr Stoddart also questioned if the Chief Executive, Bryn-Parry Jones, should have declared an interest during the controversial meeting.

“If a member had failed to declare an interest and acted in this way, they would probably be lead of in handcuffs,” he said.

Cllr Jacob Williams said: “The legal advisor has read out to us a Local Government Act section 117 guidance note which says interests like this don’t need to be declared by an employee if the matter under discussion relates solely to that single employee, as the interest will be automatically presumed declared. This seems wrong to me, but despite that, this was not a situation where the matter related only to the chief executive or even to named employees, it was a whole change of policy which affected all senior staff members of the council, so I disagree entirely that no interest needed to be declared.”

In reply, the council’s legal advisor, Mr Huw Miller, stood by his own interpretation of the law saying the Chief Executive did not need to declare an interest in the pension policy change.

All the members of the Independent Plus Political Group voted to adopt the accounts, and all other councillors not in the IPPG voted against.

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Sewage spills: Carmarthenshire the most affected area in the UK

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IN a recent analysis of environmental data, Carmarthenshire has been identified as the UK region most plagued by sewage spills, according to research conducted by the Reboot SEO agency, highlighting a concerning escalation in pollution incidents across the nation’s water bodies. The study, leveraging data from the Environment Agency, underscores a disturbing trend with sewage spills into rivers and seas more than doubling in the past year, rocketing from 1.75 million hours in 2022 to a staggering 3.6 million hours in 2023.

Carmarthenshire, a picturesque county in Wales known for its breathtaking landscapes and rich history, now faces an environmental challenge of considerable magnitude. The locality recorded an alarming 11,195 sewage spills over the course of last year, cumulatively amounting to 86,603 hours of spillage. This surpasses figures from other affected regions across the UK, spotlighting a dire need for robust interventions and sustainable wastewater management practices.

This surge in sewage spills paints a grim picture of the state of the UK’s rivers and seas, with potential ramifications for public health, wildlife, and tourism. The data sheds light on the pressing issue of aging infrastructure and the capacity of existing sewage systems to handle storm overflows, particularly in times of heavy rainfall.

The spotlight on Carmarthenshire’s predicament also prompts a broader discussion on the accountability of water companies, with the study revealing significant disparities in the performance of these entities across the country. For instance, Severn Trent Water was found to have the highest number of storm overflows, with United Utilities not far behind in terms of the total spill hours contributed to the environmental crisis.

The revelation of these statistics has ignited calls for action from environmentalists, local communities, and policymakers alike. There’s a growing consensus on the urgent need for infrastructural upgrades, alongside more stringent regulatory oversight to ensure water companies adopt more sustainable practices.

Local authorities in Carmarthenshire, in concert with environmental agencies and water service providers, are now faced with the critical task of devising and implementing comprehensive strategies to mitigate the impact of sewage spills. This includes investing in modern wastewater treatment solutions, enhancing the resilience of sewer systems against extreme weather conditions, and fostering greater transparency and accountability in the environmental stewardship of water companies.

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Surrogacy: Carmarthenshire solicitor calls for legal reform

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ON the anniversary of the Law Commission’s call for surrogacy law to be overhauled, JCP Solicitors’ Angela Killa, Director in the Family team, is calling on prospective surrogates and parents to better understand the legal rules around this complicated path to parenthood.

Proposing a new regulatory route for surrogacy arrangements in the UK, the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Government puts forward a change to the law so that intended parents would become parents of the child from birth in certain circumstances. Currently, intended parents must wait months to obtain a parental order ¾ which causes stress and anxiety, not to mention administrative difficulties when registering the child.

A Surrogacy Register would also be created under the new proposals, allowing surrogate children to trace their birth origins later in life. Overall, the recommendations laid out in the report would improve regulation of domestic surrogacy to dissuade UK residents from going abroad, as international surrogacy agreements can bring greater risk of exploitation of women and children in some countries.

A year on from the reform suggestions, surrogacy rates continue to rise in the UK – surging by 350% over the past 12 years. Now, legal experts say it is more relevant than ever to understand the full implications of entering a surrogacy agreement.

Angela Killa, Director in the Family team at JCP Solicitors, explains: “In the UK, a surrogate (and her husband or male civil partner, if relevant) are considered the mother (and father) of a child at birth. Intended parents must apply for a Parental Order, which is heard before the Court ¾ making it highly advisable for those involved in surrogacy cases to appoint a Solicitor.

“We often see immense stresses from both the parents and the surrogate, as the current law means that the parental order can take months to obtain which can be incredibly anxiety-inducing.

“For example, intended parents may worry that the surrogate will change her mind or will not give her consent freely, whereas surrogates may also worry that the intended parents may change their mind(s) or make unreasonable demands during pregnancy.

“This feels particularly difficult given the fact that many intended parents are likely to have dealt with a lot of trauma before considering surrogacy: many have faced fertility struggles and may even have dealt with the devastation of failed pregnancies or baby loss. For LGBTQ+ couples, there may have been additional challenges faced due to discrimination or prejudice. Therefore, empathy and consideration is of paramount importance when discussing this issue.”

The government published an interim response to the report in November 2023, with Maria Caulfield MP stating: “While we appreciate the importance of this work, parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment.” Despite this response, legal experts working in surrogacy encourage the Government to take action and fully consider the proposed amendments. 

Angela explains: “The reforms laid out in the Surrogacy Reform Act by the Law Commission may help to ease the stress and pressure for all involved. The Government are encouraged to provide a full response as soon as possible so progress can be made in this important area of law”.

Angela Killa is a member of Resolution, a family law organisation advocating for a constructive approach to family issues.

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Mayor of Bergen visits Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre

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IT was a Mayoral gathering when the Burgermeisterin of Bergen, in Germany, paid a visit to Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in the company of Councillor Aden Brinn, the Mayor of Bergen’s twin town, Pembroke.

There to meet Burgermeisterin Claudia Dettmar-Muller and her colleague Silvia Bothe were two former Mayors of Pembroke Dock, Councillors Pam George and Maureen Colgan, and trustees and volunteers who run the Centre. Joining them was Pembroke’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ann Mortenson.

Trustee Peter Mitchell and colleagues gave a guided town of the Centre which has extensive displays on Pembroke Dock’s rich maritime and military history spanning just over two centuries, and its connections with RAF flying boats.

Pic By Martin Cavaney.

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