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Care company criticises Council

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Care provision: Prestige Care is asking “Is it an even playing field?”

Care provision: Prestige Care is asking “Is it an even playing field?”

A PEMBROKE DOCK business has expressed concerns regarding how Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) operates its tender process for Care provision companies. Martyn Shipton of Prestige Care, told The Herald that he is struggling to compete with another local company who are offering higher pay rates and a £200 signing on bonus for staff that join them, something he says he is unable to afford to do. Prestige Care was set up in 2012 and employs 22 care staff that provide domiciliary care in the community.

He explained that over 90% of his clients come through the Council, rather than from private sources. He went on to say that his company are paid £13.84 an hour from the county and therefore are forced to offer staff between £7 and and £7.70 an hour. In contrast, his competitor are offering a minimum of £7.75 an hour, along with the £200 joining bonus. Mr Shipton went on to express his frustration, saying: “I’d like to ask the Council, if they are offering more money (to other providers), why? We went in at £14 an hour and were told it was too much, so we had to go down.

Why are we (care companies) not all getting paid the same? We do exactly the same things, have to follow the same standards and we have had excellent recent inspections. I want to pay my staff more, but I just can’t. With staff leaving, it means my existing staff are overworked.” The Herald asked PCC why care companies, that are all supposed to provide a uniform service, are being paid at different rates. A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council told The Herald: “In line with most other public sector organisations, Pembrokeshire County Council undertakes its tender process on a Most Economically Advantageous Tender basis.

This involves allocating both quality (compliance with Care Standards – CSSIW requirements) and price scores to a tenderer’s bid with the aim of appointing providers who are able to meet the service requirements by providing the highest quality at the most competitive price. The recent tender was for a Framework Agreement and 20 providers were successful in gaining a place on the Framework. Each provider submitted their required rate and quality offering, with all tender submissions being evaluated to determine the order of ranking.Tenderers will score higher points for better quality, and equally, higher points for a competitive rate.

Hourly rates charged by each provider are commercial and in confidence and as such are not disclosed. Care Standards (CSSIW) is the organisation which determines the standards of care that agencies should work to and who provide registration accordingly, without which providers would be unable to operate. The Council thereafter monitors provider compliance with the contract.” In response to the Council’s comments, Prestige care said: “Our inspection reports from CSSIW are very good, and our feedback on the homecare.co.uk website is also very good. We are number 15 on the tender list, and a lot of the companies that have been awarded higher than us are more expensive. The council are saying that our quality of care is poorer than others, if so how? We are not asking for a higher rate, we just want fairness, but how can it be fair when another care company advertise for staff and state that they are the only care company in Wales to pay a living wage and other care companies should follow suit, we would like nothing more than to be able to do this, and if we were paid the same as this company we would be able to, if not bring their rate down so everybody is on the same playing field.”

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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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Business

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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