News
‘Greater scrutiny’ needed for council budget

County Hall
THE PAIN of the council’s budget settlement has been the subject of a press briefing, seminars for council members and public consultation. The headline figures are stark and staggering. Pembrokeshire County Council has to find savings amounting to a quarter of its overall budget over the next few years. With education and social care budgets ‘protected’, the way in which our local authority will deliver future services is bound to change. Services cut previously to the bone, will be sliced to the marrow. All of these cuts are also scheduled to take place against the background of threatened forced reorganization of local government and the end of local democracy in Pembrokeshire. In a time of deep and savage cuts to their budgets, the Welsh Government is expecting local authorities to fund the tens of millions of pounds it will cost to merge authorities out of their own resources.
Cardiff Bay claims there will be great savings to be made but has not produced one single shred of evidence to support that contention. Indeed, earlier this year this newspaper interviewed Kevin Madge, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, who told us: “Any new structure will take five to eight years to ‘bed in’ and it could take eight to ten years for a new authority to fully get to grips with things. Things won’t improve overnight. Reorganization is not a magic wand.” With budgets squeezed and pressure being applied from Cardiff to stifle local democracy it is imperative that councillors take every step to scrutinise what Pembrokeshire County Council is doing with the money under its control.
Only in that way can it be shown that our councillors are fit for purpose and have a clear grasp of the council’s finances. The Pembrokeshire Herald has been looking at the systems the council has in place in relation to its finances and how spending priorities are set. That investigation has shown that figures produced by officers are being approved without interrogating the data or assumptions that underpin the financial forecasts produced and routinely approved without query or inquiry by the Cabinet and the majority of councillors. For example, the public and the council are routinely told that the council’s annual budget is around £200m. But that is only the nett figure. The gross council budget is significantly higher.
Assumptions made about income and expenditure are often adjusted before figures are present for democratic scrutiny, so that members are always presented with a balanced budget, even when forecasts are wrong or overtaken by events. For example, the budget approved at the beginning of the coming municipal year contained assumptions about the closure of Narberth Pool and income to be derived from charging for day services for the elderly. Both of those assumptions were overtaken by events. However, such is the opaque nature of local government finance that councillors have practically no way of properly interrogating the information given to them by officers and reaching a balanced and informed conclusion on the authority’s true financial position and future plans. This summer Pembrokeshire County Council organised a series of budget seminars for councillors to try and tackle this knowledge gap and address concerns that councillors were being asked to make uninformed judgements on future service provision.
At a media briefing in October, Jamie Adams told journalists: “We are at a tipping point in local government finances.” Speaking subsequently about the council’s public consultation on the budget, Jamie Adams told Jon Coles, this newspaper’s deputy editor: “Matters which councillors think are important to the public are not always those that people find important. By and large what has come across clearly are concerns about senior officers’ pay and councillors’ remuneration. There is a commitment to look at the whole cost of senior management. In terms of where we go, the opportunities to trim around the edges is no longer there, we are going to have to look more dispassionately at the services we provide and what communities can provide.”
With a six-month review of the council’s financial performance due to be discussed in the near future, we asked Pembrokeshire Alliance leader Bob Kilmister, whose party is engaged in drawing up an alternative budget, for his view on the challenges councillors face in trying to make sense of complex financial information. He told us: “My experience is that Local Government finance is made extremely complicated and much more difficult to understand than it needs to be. I like to think that I can follow balance sheets especially those of stock market listed companies but trying to work out the complexities of my local Council often leaves me totally bemused. “Councillors have been given very little training in this area and most take very little interest at all.
In my experience very few questions if any are asked when scrutiny is supposed to take place in cabinet or on committees. I have the greatest respect for the Officers and the Authority always appears to be on track financially despite Councillors taking such little interest. Government lays down the way this is carried out and I think it is time they took a long hard look at this and urgently brought in reforms to simplify matters. I am sure this would result in savings but more importantly it could lead to greater scrutiny by elected representatives.”
News
Goodwick dominate Hakin to tighten grip on title race

Manderwood Pembrokeshire Football League – Division 1
Goodwick United 4-1 Hakin United
GOODWICK United took a significant step toward retaining their league title with a dominant 4-1 victory over fierce rivals Hakin United. The result, captured by Sgorio TV cameras, extends Goodwick’s lead at the top to four points, putting them in pole position to lift the trophy once again.
With both teams unbeaten heading into this crucial clash, something had to give. Goodwick asserted their authority early, racing into a 3-1 lead by half-time before sealing the win with a fourth goal in the second half. Now, with just five league games remaining, Hakin’s hopes of mounting a late challenge rely on Goodwick slipping up twice while they win all their remaining fixtures.
Fast start sets the tone
Goodwick wasted no time in making their mark, breaking the deadlock within two minutes. A long throw-in found Rhys Dalling, who set up Will Haworth to fire home a well-struck effort from 18 yards.
Dalling, a constant threat throughout, turned provider again in the 18th minute. Cutting inside, he unselfishly squared the ball to Rhys Jones, who drilled a precise shot into the far corner to double the lead.
The home side continued to press, forcing mistakes from Hakin’s defence. Their persistence paid off in the 36th minute when a poor clearance from goalkeeper Gareth Fawcett landed at Dalling’s feet. With quick thinking, he lofted a superb 30-yard lob over the stranded keeper to make it 3-0.
Hakin responded just three minutes later. Ryan Wilson’s corner found Jack Britton at the far post, and he powered home a well-taken header to give the visitors a glimmer of hope before the break.
Goodwick stand firm, then seal the win
The second half was a more tactical affair, with Goodwick’s backline standing firm. The defensive unit of James Bryan, Matthew Delaney, Scott Delaney, and Sean Pemberton expertly nullified the attacking threats of Ashley Bevan, Alfie Stotter, Mark Jones, and Shane Walsh.
As Hakin pushed for a way back, Goodwick delivered the killer blow. Jonny Horgan’s excellent work down the left saw him deliver a pinpoint low cross into the box, which Haworth calmly slotted home for his second of the game, sealing an emphatic victory.
Hakin’s frustrations boiled over in the dying moments when Ashley Bevan was shown a straight red card by referee Stefan Jenkins, rounding off a disappointing afternoon for the Vikings.
Rivalry set to continue
These two sides won’t have to wait long for another battle, as they are set to face off again in the Senior Cup quarter-final at Phoenix Park in two weeks’ time.
News
Crown Estate profits soar – but Wales sees little return, says MP

THE LAND and sea assets in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion are amongst the most lucrative of those owned by the Crown Estate.
In 2023, they helped accumulate a Welsh financial handover totalling £853m, resulting in a record net profit to the UK public finance coffers of £1.1billion. This represented a marked increase in Wales’ contribution, compared to its 2007 asset value of just £21.1m.
The escalation is being driven by the rising demand for renewable energy projects, and with the offshore investments that are currently taking place in seabed of south Pembrokeshire, Wales’ contribution to the Crown Estate looks set to soar even further
But how much of this contribution finds its way back to Wales? The answer, sadly, appears scant.
Instead of finding their way back to the Welsh public purse, profits generated from Wales’ green wealth are being distributed to the HM Treasury and the monarch’s Sovereign Grant, which funds a handful of senior members of the Royal family. In 2023-24, the sovereign grant amounted to £86.3m.
Now, in a bid to ensure greater transparency and a fairer financial management, pressure is being put on the Government to allow the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales, putting it on equal footing with Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“The value of the Crown Estate in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion is hugely significant,” commented Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion and Preseli.
“The Crown Estate owns 65% of Wales’s foreshore and riverbeds, and more than 50,000 acres of land. And a considerable amount of this lies in the foreshores around south Pembrokeshire and the more rural areas of Ceredigion.
“Welsh County Councils, including Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, are having to make payments to the Crown in leasing fees and in 2023, this sum was nearly £300.000 Yet this is happening at a time when local services in Wales are under severe pressure. It doesn’t strike me as fair that we have these significant natural assets which are generating significant amounts of profit, yet they’re not returning back to Wales.
“The UK government says it’s spending money here, but when it comes to the provision of health, education and social services, Wales only gets a Barnett formula of roughly just under 5%.”
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In 2024, Scotland, which devolved from the Crown Estate in 2017, saw more than £100m enter its coffers as a result of its offshore energy.
“And the potential for Wales is just as significant,” said Ben Lake. “Engineers and experts are all pointing to the fact that the regeneration of renewable energy in Wales is going to be big and over the next ten years, the waters around Wales are going to see some of the biggest developments in offshore wind. But unless the Crown Estate is devolved, Wales is going to be severely shortchanged.”
The Crown Estate owns more than £603m of land in Wales which includes:
65% of Wales’ coast and riverbeds;
- The seabed which extends up to 12 miles out to sea;
- 50,000 acres of land;
- 250,000 acres of mineral deposits and
- All gold and silver deposits.
Last week Westminster blocked the transfer of Crown Estate management to the Welsh Government by voting down an amendment tabled by Plaid Cymru to the Crown Estate Bill.
The Liberal Democrats also tabled an amendment calling for Crown Estate assets to be handed to Wales. But both amendments were blocked by Labour MPs.
The stance contradicted recent comments from Wales’ First Minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan, who said she was “fighting very hard” for more control.
The Bill is expected to return to the House of Commons later this month for further debate and a bid to enforce a vote on the issue,
“Even if we’re able to get a small percentage of what Scotland is generating, Wales will be able to start investing in its public services given the acute pressures that are currently being placed on the NHS and the county councils,” concluded Ben Lake. “This will go a long way to alleviate the pressures they’re under.
“And further down the line, it’s possible that Wales could then start considering its own Wealth Fund, similar to what has happened in Norway as a result of its oil and gas licensing. Through its profits and interest, the Norwegian Wealth Fund has become one of the largest in the world. In 2024 it generated $220 billion to subsidise a significant amount into public services
“And Wales is no different.
“It’s now time for the money that’s being generated from Wales’ natural assets to come back for the benefit of the people who live here.”
News
Wales set to ban supermarket junk food promotions

New rules could reshape the way snacks are sold
SHOPPERS in Wales may soon find fewer tempting offers on unhealthy snacks as the Welsh government plans to ban the promotion of junk food in supermarkets.
Under the proposed regulations, retailers with 50 or more employees will be prohibited from placing sugary, salty, and fatty foods near tills, store entrances, or at the end of aisles. Similar restrictions will apply online, preventing junk food promotions from appearing on homepage banners, category pages, or checkout screens.
The crackdown, which could come into effect in March 2026 if approved by the Senedd next month, would also spell the end for buy-one-get-one-free deals and free refills on sugary drinks.
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles defended the measures, highlighting concerns about childhood obesity. “With nearly a quarter of children in Wales overweight or obese by the time they start school, we must take action to help people make healthier choices,” he said.
Retailers who fail to comply with the new rules could face fines of up to £2,500.
Industry concerns
The proposed legislation is similar to rules introduced in England in 2022 and follows a consultation launched last year. However, the Welsh Retail Consortium has raised concerns, particularly over limits on promotional pricing, arguing that price competition benefits customers.
“Restricting meal deal offers and category promotions could impact affordability for consumers,” a spokesperson warned.
Some smaller businesses, such as independent sweet shops and specialist chocolatiers, will be exempt from the restrictions.
The Welsh government says the new rules are designed to curb impulse buying of unhealthy foods and encourage better dietary habits across the nation. However, with opposition from some in the retail sector, the debate over balancing public health and consumer choice is set to continue.
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