News

County council hid £10m overspend

Published

10 years ago

December 9, 2014

council IN 2013/14 the council’s approved cost reduction target of £1.6m was said to have been achieved. This was accepted by Cabinet without query. However, a retired auditor, John Hudson, has revealed that there was actually a £10m overspend during that financial year. Our correspondent questions who is accountable for the way the Authority spends our money, and who is actually running the Council. MANY years ago, in 1995, I became aware of a significant spend on refurbishing the Garden Room at the Haverfordwest Community Learning Centre, with furniture and carpet way above the standards expected for a class room.

I naively thought that details of this project would have been reported to a committee of Councillors for approval. After considerable toing and froing, the then Education Officer, Gerson Davies, informed me that this £40,000+ project was an initiative of the newly installed Chief Executive of the new PCC. No report or Councillor approval was sought, or deemed necessary in order to spend our money. This room was apparently required as a temporary meeting room for the Council, before building of the new £10m County Hall.

Having been involved in budgeting and monitoring in a previous precomputer life, I became interested in the Council’s budget and financial monitoring processes and concerned at the lack of information and explanation provided to Councillors (and us) by officers in Budget and Monitoring Reports. Nevertheless, a lack of information has never affected the readiness with which the Cabinet have supported the officer’s proposed Budget recommendations to Councillors, or accepted monitoring reports without comment or question.

Some broad guidelines are appropriate:- The Council is responsible for approving the annual budget, income and expenditure, and for setting the Council tax, based on a report and recommendations made by the Cabinet.

• Directors of Services are responsible for ensuring the annual cash limited service budgets as set by Council are adhered to.

• The Cabinet is charged by the Council to undertake the monitoring of financial performance through the financial year on a quarterly basis against the approved annual budget by way of reports from the Chief Financial Officer. Reports are submitted to relevant to Overview and Scrutiny Committees for Scrutiny, with the opportunity to report back to Cabinet. (This has never happened).

• The Council’s budget position is long stopped by a Statutory duty placed on the Chief Financial officer by Section 151 of the LG ACT 1972 as amended, whereby he/she is responsible for ensuring that the Councils Budget is balanced, i.e annual expenditure is matched by annual income and is required to recommend remedial action if necessary. Officers and the Cabinet prefer to focus attention on the Council’s Net cost of Services.

Perhaps it is considered that the finer details of budget control are beyond the capabilities of comprehension of mere councillors and us, or perhaps it is an easier life for officers if the mystique and secrecy can be preserved with support by a supine Cabinet which requires no explanation of priorities or detailed changes to the levels of service provision bought by officers during the year as determined by events. As the following headline figures illustrate, the Council’s Revenue Net Cost of Council Services is an element of the whole financial picture.

Using the Actual expenditure and Income figures from the 2013/14 accounts and for comparison, this year’s Approved budget, an interesting picture emerges. The figures on the left show that the overall statutory required “ balanced” budget requirement for 2013/14, was more than met with an excess of Council Tax income that, in accordance with approved priority policy was allocated to the 21st Century Schools programme Reserve. Actual Net expenditure on providing services, £211,894,000, narrowly equalled the Budget amount of £211,845,000.

However, closer examination reveals that the Gross cost incurred in providing Council Services to us in 2013/14 was actually some £9.8m MORE than the original Council Approved 2013/14 budget. This increase in gross expenditure was mostly met by additional income of £9.5m. All this behind the Preferred Net reporting curtains, with councillors kept in the dark about how officers had “controlled” departmental expenditure within the Council approved budget. Here it must be said that the 2013/14 out-turn Monitoring report was only submitted to Cabinet, who “received” the report without comment and may not even have been made aware of the £10m overspend on providing services matched by income.

Contrary to the Council’s Standing Orders, the out-turn monitoring reports were never submitted to relevant scrutiny committees for investigation, comment or even information. What about the Council’s Annual Accounts? This weighty (and incomprehensible) document is only submitted to the Corporate Governance committee, in draft, pending formal Audit. The Audited accounts are submitted to this Committee and the Audit Committee. The majority of councillors, assuming they are remotely interested in what officers do with our money have no formal opportunity to consider the annual financial performance in committee or Council.

Community

Special guests for Torch showing of ‘Attack on Sorpe Dam’

Published

38 mins ago

November 17, 2024

Tom Sinclair

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY was the most appropriate day for the screening before a Pembrokeshire audience of a remarkable film, narrated by the last surviving ‘Dambuster’ of the RAF’s 617 Squadron.

The RAF’s Air Officer Wales, Air Commodore Rob Woods, and World War II Veteran Duncan Hilling, of Saundersfoot, were chief guests at the Torch Theatre for the showing of ‘Attack on Sorpe Dam’, one of three large dams in Germany attacked by 617 Squadron in May 1943.

They were joined by service representatives, air cadets and many locals – the evening being a fundraising event for the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincolnshire.

Exquisitely created in digital format, the film describes the story of Avro Lancaster bomber AJ-T which attacked the Sorpe Dam, with the narration by the late Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson, who died in 2022. He was the bomb aimer on the aircraft which dropped an ‘Upkeep’ bomb on the dam.

It is the culmination of six years of work by film producer Andrew Panton and Pitor Forkasiewicz and is now part of the IBCC archive. Also shown was a short film ‘Remembering the Avro Lancaster’ in which four wartime aircrew visit a preserved Lancaster at a Lincolnshire museum. The film was launched that day by the IBCC, with the Torch audience being the first to see a live screening.

The event was organised by Andrew Panton’s brother, Ian, of St Davids, who commented: “There was no doubt that many found this a very special occasion for Remembering Them, and so many others, on Remembrance Sunday.”

On display during the evening was a Lancaster bomb aimer’s panel, re-created by Dr Andy Watkin, a Trustee of the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre.

Entertainment

Two-day Christmas fair set for Pembrokeshire

Published

16 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s annual Christmas Fair will run for two days this year, on Thursday, December 14, and Friday, December 15.

Held at the Parkhouse Building on the Haverfordwest Showground, the venue will transform into a festive shopping destination, offering an expanded range of stalls, live music, Santa’s Grotto, and an outdoor food court.

Expanded event

Event organisers Judith Roach and Emma Thomas expressed their excitement about the extended format. They said:
“We are thrilled to announce that our Christmas Fair will run for two days instead of just one. We are building on last year’s success with twice the opportunities to attend and even more stallholders. The Parkhouse Building will become a one-stop shop for everyone preparing for Christmas.”

The fair will be open from 10:00am to 4:00pm on both days, with free admission for all visitors.

Festive treats and unique gifts

Attendees can expect to browse an extensive selection of unique gifts, handmade decorations, artwork, and homeware. Local food and drink producers will also showcase festive delights, including chocolate brownies, fudge, spirits, and Welsh cheeses.

An outdoor food court will cater for visitors on the go, with a variety of hot and cold options.

Santa’s Grotto

Santa himself will make a special appearance, with children able to visit him for £3 per child. Each child will receive a small gift, with all proceeds going to the Sandy Bear charity. Advance bookings can be made via the Sandy Bear website.

Community effort

Adam Thorne, president of the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society, praised the efforts of the event’s organisers:
“The society would like to thank Judith and Emma for their dedication in organising this two-day event. We’re delighted to offer visitors a chance to do their Christmas shopping while enjoying the festive atmosphere.”

The Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society encourages visitors to follow the Pembrokeshire County Show’s Christmas Fair event page on Facebook for updates and a complete list of stallholders.

The event promises to be a perfect start to the holiday season, welcoming families and shoppers alike.

News

New hope for rare dormouse after forest find

Published

17 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Tom Sinclair

A RARE hazel dormouse has been discovered in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, bringing fresh hope for the survival of the endangered species in the area.

The golden-brown rodent, known for its distinctive big eyes and long whiskers, has seen a dramatic population decline across Britain—down 70% since 2000. It is now one of seven vulnerable mammals in Wales.

Conservationists made the significant find during a project aimed at linking habitats across the park. Volunteers had set up nesting boxes in the Nevern woodland, roughly five miles west of the dormouse’s known habitat in Pengelli Forest.

A lucky discovery

Park conservationist Mary Chadwick said the team had been trying to connect isolated dormouse populations across the park’s ancient oak woodlands, including Pengelli Forest and areas near the Pentre Ifan Neolithic site.

“We were looking at linking up those important sites and checking whether populations were isolated,” she explained. “A licensed dormouse volunteer took on a new site and set up the boxes. It can take years for dormice to use the boxes, but we got lucky this year.”

The discovery marks the first recorded dormouse population in the Nevern valley, raising hopes for the species’ ability to spread across the landscape and bolster genetic diversity—key to its long-term survival.

Supporting conservation efforts

To ensure a brighter future for dormice, conservationists are calling on farmers and landowners to adopt wildlife-friendly practices, such as cutting hedgerows less frequently.

“We’re asking people to trim hedges on alternate sides each year,” said Ms. Chadwick. “That would be much better for our dormice.”

Building a future

With ongoing conservation efforts and discoveries like this, researchers hope the dormouse can move closer to recovery in Pembrokeshire. The new find has confirmed their belief that dormice could thrive across the Nevern valley, creating vital connections between isolated populations.