News
Carmarthenshire council tax rise of 8.9 percent confirmed
A MAJORITY of councillors have voted in favour of spending £524.6m on key services in Carmarthenshire next year, increasing council tax by 8.9% and making savings of £8.1m.
It’s a rise in expenditure of nearly £35m compared to the current financial year with all departments getting more money.
The Plaid-Independent administration had been proposing a 9.75% council tax rise but this was trimmed to 8.9% when councillors met on February 26 to set a balanced budget.
Labour opposition councillors accused the administration of failing to curb overspending by schools resulting in what they said was a 3.5% higher council tax rise than would otherwise have been the case.
Plaid councillors agreed the council tax rise could have been 3.5% lower but said it was due to increases in employer national insurance contributions brought in by the UK Labour Government which the authority would have to cover.
The council is getting £25m more from central government to fund its revenue budget than this financial year – a 4.1% increase – but rising costs and demand for key services like adult social care has required a council tax hike, savings, and increases in certain charges.
Introducing the proposals Plaid cabinet member for resources, Cllr Alun Lenny, said the extra £25m fell well short of what was needed to maintain services at an “acceptable level”. He said: “Although siren voices call for no cuts and a council tax freeze I must remind everyone that we have to set a legal budget.”
Cllr Lenny added that unpopular proposals for a 10% rise in council car park charges and the closure of public toilets if they couldn’t be transferred to other groups had been shelved following public consultation.
Cllr Linda Evans, deputy council leader, said the authority had been forced to make cuts every year bar one since 2008 when she was first elected due to what she said was under-investment by central government. “None of us want to see cuts, none of us want to raise council tax, but we have to. We have no choice,” she said.
Cllr Kevin Madge led Labour’s riposte, saying the council would be in a worse position had Labour not won last year’s general election and increased its funding for the Welsh Government, which in turn funds councils.
Cllr Madge branded overspending by schools in Carmarthenshire “unacceptable” and said the administration had failed to stop it for years. This was unfair on schools which balanced their books, he said, and on residents as council tax would be 3.5% higher next year in order to protect school budgets.
Labour colleague Cllr Martyn Palfreman said the proposed 8.9% council tax rise was still “eyewatering”, despite coming down from 9.75%, and that his party would take “bold steps” to transform council services and achieve better outcomes which cost less if it was in charge.
Cllr Alex Evans, of Plaid, said Labour should have approached the administration with its “bold ideas” and that , in his view, the only real change at a national level since last year’s general election was a negative one.
That drew a response from Cllr Michael Thomas, of Labour, who said it was all too easy to blame external factors. He accused Plaid of deflecting, prevaricating, and of mismanaging school budgets. He said educating children at small schools was more expensive than larger ones and that 14 out of 17 schools with fewer than 50 pupils were in Plaid wards. Cllr Thomas said the administration’s budget proposals stemmed from “the fear of making unpopular decisions in Plaid wards”.
Labour leader,Cllr Deryk Cundy said his party hadn’t had a chance to submit alternative budget proposals to the ruling coalition. He recommended more use of artificial intelligence by the council and more effective procurement on projects such as new schools, citing the fact that only one company had come forward with a price for a new Ysgol Heol Goffa, Llanelli.
Plaid cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Hazel Evans, said Labour’s employer national insurance hikes would undermine growth and the planned council tax rise would be 5.4% without them. This, she said, was because the authority would have to pick up the national insurance bill for services it commissioned from the private sector.
Cllr Gareth John, also Plaid, said he’d hoped there would have been a consensus in recognition of “the dire financial outlook facing local government as a whole”. Instead, he said, the opposition did what it always did and blamed the administration. Cllr John said the Welsh Local Government Association, which represents the country’s 22 councils, had “made it perfectly clear” to the Welsh Government that councils needed an extra 7.5% of funding in 2025-26 just to stand still, which put Carmarthenshire’s 4.1% uplift into perspective.
Council leader, Cllr Darren Price, said the gap between what local authorities needed and what they received had very real impacts. “There is an £18m gap which we have to fill either by cutting services, increasing council tax, or a combination of both,” he said. Not increasing council tax, he said, would require £8.5m of cuts on top of the £8.1m that were already proposed.
The Plaid leader said Labour was not happy with increasing council tax or making savings and asked what they’d do. “It’s very fundamental, it’s very basic, and you have zero answers,” he said. “And that’s where my frustration will start to kick in.”
Cllr Price also accused Cllr Cundy of lying about not having an opportunity to put forward options saying there had been meetings for example last July, December, and also last Friday when this could have happened. He also said the opposition could have tabled an amendment at the budget meeting with alternative proposals.
Cllr Cundy said there had been meetings but they weren’t really to discuss policy and that Labour had tried to suggest ideas at meetings with other cabinet members and with council officers.
The council tax rise will come into force in April and mean band D households paying £1,745,43, excluding the Dyfed-Powys Police precept and any community council charge.
By Richard Yule, Local Democracy Reporter
THE RNLI Lifeguards are set to return to beaches this weekend ahead of the Easter Holidays. The RNLI are advising that anyone visiting the coast, should choose a lifeguarded beach.
Last year (2024) RNLI lifeguards in West Wales of responded to 654 incidents, aided 1,055 people, made 96,388 preventative actions and saved five lives.
This Saturday 12 April, RNLI lifeguards are returning to their posts to keep visitors safe at beaches in Pembrokeshire.
The RNLI will be patrolling at Whitesands Beach every day from 10am-6pm from 12-27 April. Lifeguards will also be patrolling at Tenby South Beach from 10am-6pm from 18-21 April.
From Monday 1 April, the service will continue on weekends only at Whitesands until 25 May when the beach goes live full time. Tenby South will also be patrolled at weekends only until 25 May.
The RNLI encourages beachgoers to swim between the red and yellow flags. Lifeguards position the flags in the safest area of the beach and patrol this area at all times.
Anyone intending on intend on surfing or participating in hard craft activity, should stay between the black and white flags.
At this time of year, when the sea is at its coldest, cold water shock is a possibility. Water temperature below 15 degrees can affect breathing and movement, which often causes panic and can lead to drowning.
Anyone planning a dip is advised to wear a wetsuit, to minimise the risk of cold water shock and the carrying of a floatation device is recommended.
Stuart Penfold Lead Lifeguard Supervisor for North Pembrokeshire said: ‘We’re very much looking forward to having our lifeguards back on the beach. Our team have recently gone through intensive training in preparation for the Easter Holidays.
‘Should people plan on going in the sea during the holidays, we encourage them to visit on of our patrolled beaches. We can keep an eye on you between our flags. Our goal is to keep everyone safe.
‘If you go in the sea at a non-patrolled beach, make sure you someone knows where you are at all times and that you have a means for calling for help.
‘If you find yourself or see anyone else in difficulty, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. If you fall in the water unexpectedly, try to relax and float to live.’
RNLI Float to Live advice:
· Tilt your head back with your ears submerged
· Relax and try to breathe normally
· Move your hands to help you stay afloat
· It’s okay if your legs sink, we all float differently
· Spread your arms and legs to improve stability
Media Contacts
For more information, please contact Anya Walton Communications Placement at Anya_Walton@rnli.org.uk or call 07977468268. Alternatively, contact the RNLI Press Office at PressOffice@rnli.org.uk or call 01202336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube
. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI – public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.
PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has launched a public consultation on its School Transport Policy, inviting residents to share their views as part of a wider review into the future of school transport provision.
The local authority currently provides daily transport to school or college for more than 4,500 eligible learners, at an annual cost of over £8 million.
While no specific changes are being proposed at this stage, the Council says public feedback will help shape future policy. Any changes arising from the review would need to be both deliverable and affordable, taking into account ongoing driver shortages and the wider financial pressures faced by the authority.
Should any amendments be made to the policy, they would come into effect from September 2026.
Residents have until Sunday, May 18, 2025, to complete the survey, which can be accessed online at:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/have-your-say/school-transport-policy-consultation
Paper copies are also available by calling the Council’s Contact Centre on 01437 764551 or by emailing: school.transport@pembrokeshire.gov.uk
TWO teenagers have now fully admitted being involved in cocaine dealing and conspiring to obtain a handgun — including a youth who crashed a stolen Mercedes-Benz into a house in Milford Haven last year.
Harrison Billing, 18, of Jury Lane, Haverfordwest, and Danhiellen Raji, 18, of no fixed abode, appeared again at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (Apr 4) for an adjourned plea and trial preparation hearing.
Billing had already admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine between January 14 and February 13 this year, as well as conspiring to possess a handgun without a firearms certificate. He also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine on February 12, and denied a charge of possessing a knife on the A477 in Pembrokeshire on the same day.
The court heard that the Crown Prosecution Service had now accepted his not guilty plea to the knife charge, and Judge Catherine Richards entered a formal not guilty verdict.
Raji, who had originally denied possession with intent to supply cocaine on February 12, changed his plea to guilty at the hearing. He had already admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and the firearm conspiracy, and had pleaded guilty to possessing a knife on the A477.
Prosecutor Ashanti-Jade Walton confirmed that no trial would be required for Raji or Billing, and that the Crown would proceed to sentencing.
The court was told that pre-sentence reports would be prepared for both defendants. Judge Richards warned Billing that he should expect an immediate custodial sentence. “He’s fully aware of that,” said his barrister, Dyfed Thomas.
Billing is known locally for a dramatic crash on Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven, in December 2024, when he ploughed a Mercedes-Benz into a house during a high-speed police pursuit. A large zombie knife was discovered on the road near the scene the following day and was later recovered by officers.
The pair’s co-defendants — Casey Gregory, 28, of Cromwell Heights, Milford Haven, and John Phillips, 36, of Pen Puffin, Steynton — continue to deny charges of possession with intent to supply cocaine and a lesser alternative of simple possession.
Phillips has admitted a separate charge of possessing cannabis.
Gregory and Phillips were re-admitted to bail, with their trial scheduled to begin on August 4. Billing and Raji remain remanded in custody and will be sentenced following the outcome of that trial.
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