News

One third less for new Chief

Published

11 years ago

December 18, 2014

Former Chief: Bryn’s rate of £195,000 a year has been cut for the new chief

A REPORT from the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) has recommended a massive cut in pay for any new Chief Executive at Pembrokeshire County Council.

Former Chief Executive Bryn Parry Jones’ rate of £195,000 a year, plus extra for his duties as returning officer, will be replaced with a significantly lower but still eyewatering salary of £130K per year.

The council had argued that the replacement salary should be £145,000 a year. The board, whose recommendations must be taken into account by the local authority when setting the pay for a new Chief Executive, have said that Pembrokeshire’s size does not justify paying even the Council’s proposed salary, itself £50,000 lower than that paid to Bryn Parry-Jones.

In relation to Chief Executives, the Panel’s role is limited to taking a view and making a recommendation. Although the Local Authority/ Authorities concerned must have regard to this opinion, they are not obliged to follow it. It is true other legislation will require any such decision to be made through a vote of full council.

It is also the case the decision would be open to scrutiny, not only by the authorities’ internal scrutiny processes, but also by external regulators such as the Wales Audit Office. The authority would need to explain why they did not agree with the Panel’s recommendation, if it set a different salary than that suggested by the Remuneration Panel.

QUESTIONS RAISED ON PAY

The setting of the Chief Executive’s salary at a level a third lower than Mr Parry-Jones’ raises a number of questions about the way in which his salary and the salary of senior officers has been set. IPPG Leader Jamie Adams, and others within the governing group, have repeatedly claimed that to get the best the authority needs to offer large and attractive wage packages to senior officers. In the past, the same councillors have used IRPW recommendations as a basis for arguing that high pay was justified.

It would be, however, a remarkable situation indeed if the Head of Paid Service had a smaller remuneration package than staff notionally junior to them in the Council hierarchy. From an examination of similar roles in other authorities, The Pembrokeshire Herald has discovered that the salary of those staff at director level – for example, the same as Pembrokeshire’s own Director of Development Dr Steven Jones – are paid between 75% and 80% of a Chief Executive’s salary.

If that was followed through to its logical conclusion, setting the salary of the Chief Executive at £130,000 would produce director level salaries in the region of (at most) £104,000 a year, a pay cut of around one fifth of those directors’ current salary level.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has looked at a number of authorities in England of comparable size to Pembrokeshire and has noticed that salaries for senior officers in Wales appear to be significantly higher than those of comparators across the border. One noticeable factor in the ratio of pay between the lowest paid full-time council employees in England is that Chief Officers’ pay is often pegged to the pay of the authorities’ lowest earners.

In the case of Hertfordshire, for example, this means that the median Chief Officers’ pay of £127,000 is between seven to eight times the pay of the lowest (non-school) members of council staff.

If Pembrokeshire County Council set its pay on such a basis, this would mean that the lowest paid full-time worker at the authority when Mr Parry-Jones was its Head of Paid Service would have been approximately £26,000. Almost 3,000 of Pembrokeshire’s County Council’s 6,129 workforce are paid less than the so-called ‘living wage’ of £7.65 per hour. An hourly rate of £7.65 per hour equates to an annual wage of around £15,000 pa.

if worked on a full-time basis. Paul Miller told us: “The pay of the former Chief Executive was allowed to reach a level completely out of kilter with the lives of the ordinary people Pembrokeshire Council is elected to serve. Future Chief Officer remuneration needs to be much lower and needs to be very clearly related to the pay of rest of staff body.

I’m pleased that the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales has sought to significantly reduce the salary offered to the next Chief Executive. I will, at next weeks meeting, be calling for a much more wide ranging review of senior officer pay in Pembrokeshire.”

‘TIME TO MOVE FORWARD’

Bob Kilmister agreed: “On the basis of the evidence I have seen so far, the recommendation from the Remuneration Panel for Wales is in my view is extremely sensible. The Pembrokeshire Alliance said at its launch, ‘We want to see an end to the excessive pay of senior staff.’ It is clear the Remuneration Panel for Wales agree with this conclusion. How successive ruling administrations have allowed such excessive pay over a such a long period of time remains a mystery to me and I am sure most of the residents of Pembrokeshire.”

The issue of the high salary paid to former Chief Executive Bryn Parry-Jones was highlighted by Cllr Jacob Williams: “It would appear from the Panel’s recommendation that Bryn Parry-Jones was overpaid for his role for nigh on twenty years. With several pay rises during that time, there was plenty of scope to bring it back to a reasonable figure but as your readers know, the ruling independent party are easy with other people’s money.

Always have been, always will be.” Cllr David Simpson told The Herald: “I think that the Council should listen to the advice given from the Independent Remuneration Panel. When I was a Cabinet Member, we were told time and again that the Welsh Assembly Government ‘had it in’ for Pembrokeshire because the Independents were the ruling group! Look where this Group mentality thinking has got us.

The attitude that the Independent Group is always right is the reason that Pembrokeshire County Council is the laughing stock of Wales. The arrogance of members of the Independent Group has prevailed for far too long, when Education was put into Special Measures help and assistance offered to us by the Ministerial Board was constantly fought against.

The Chairman of the Ministerial Board, who was himself a retired Judge, could not believe the resistance he met. He once stated to me that whenever he pointed out a problem with the system the Council would retaliated with thirty excuses! It took the Council 12 months to realize that the Board was right and we either worked with them or they would take over the authority. The Panel’s knowledge is far superior to that of lay members of the Council and it’s time for us to put excuses behind us. It is time to move forward.”

Farming

Basic Payment Scheme 2025 balance paid to 95% of Welsh farmers

Published

7 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Final year of BPS as transition to Sustainable Farming Scheme begins

The WELSH Government says more than ninety-five per cent of farm businesses have now received their full or balance payment under the final year of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), ahead of the introduction of the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) in 2026.

Announcing the update on Friday (Dec 12), Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, confirmed that over 15,400 Welsh farm businesses have been paid £68.7m. This comes on top of the £160m issued in BPS advance payments since 14 October.

Final round of BPS payments

The Basic Payment Scheme, which has been the backbone of farm support in Wales for a decade, provides direct income support to help farmers plan and manage their businesses. BPS 2025 marks the last year in which full BPS payments will be made before the scheme begins to be phased out.

The Cabinet Secretary said officials would “continue to process the outstanding BPS 2025 claims as soon as possible,” adding that all but the most complex cases should be completed by 30 June 2026.

Payments issued today represent the main balance due to farmers following earlier advances, giving many businesses the cash flow they need during the quieter winter period—traditionally a challenging time in the agricultural calendar.

Shift to Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2026

From 1 January 2026, the Welsh Government will begin rolling out the Sustainable Farming Scheme, a major reform to how agricultural support is delivered. The SFS will reward farmers for environmental outcomes such as habitat management, carbon reduction and biodiversity improvements, alongside continued food production.

The government has argued that the new scheme is essential to meeting Wales’ climate and nature targets while ensuring long-term resilience in the sector. However, the transition has been closely watched by farming unions, who have raised concerns about the administrative burden, income stability, and the speed at which BPS is being phased out.

Mr Irranca-Davies reaffirmed the government’s stance, saying: “This government is steadfastly committed to supporting Welsh farmers to sustainably produce quality food. This is demonstrated today in our payment of the BPS 2025 balance payments and will continue throughout the transition period.”

Sector reaction

Farming unions are expected to scrutinise the detail of today’s announcement, particularly around remaining unpaid cases. Last year, late payments led to frustration in parts of the sector, with unions calling for greater certainty as the industry faces rising input costs, supply chain pressures and continued market volatility.

The move to the SFS remains one of the most significant agricultural policy changes in Wales since devolution. Ministers insist the shift is designed to support both food production and environmental stewardship, while critics warn the transition must not undermine farm viability—especially for family-run livestock farms that dominate rural areas such as Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

What happens next

Farmers still awaiting their BPS 2025 balance will continue to be processed “as soon as possible”, the Welsh Government said. Officials will also publish updated guidance on the Sustainable Farming Scheme ahead of its launch.

The coming year will therefore become a pivotal moment for Welsh agriculture, as the long-standing BPS framework—which provided over £200m annually to Welsh farmers—makes way for a new results-based model that will shape the industry for decades to come.

News

Improved train timetable launches across Wales

Published

7 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Extra services, later trains and boosted Sunday routes as £800m rail investment takes effect

An improved train timetable has come into force across Wales today (Sunday, 14 December), with Transport for Wales (TfW) introducing more frequent services, stronger connections and additional late-night trains on key routes.

The winter timetable update brings one of the most substantial uplifts in recent years on the Wales and Borders network, forming part of the Welsh Government’s ongoing £800 million investment in brand-new rolling stock and reliability improvements.

More trains and later journeys

Among the upgrades, passengers will see:

A new hourly additional service between Chester and Wrexham, effectively doubling the frequency on one of the region’s busiest commuter corridors.
An extra train in each direction every day on the Heart of Wales line between Swansea and Shrewsbury.
Three later last trains from Cardiff to Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil, supporting shift workers and the night-time economy.
A new hourly Sunday service on the Coryton line in Cardiff.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, said improved connectivity was “absolutely vital” for economic growth and passenger confidence.

“These changes will make a real difference to customers, who will benefit from more services and greater connectivity,” he said. “This has been made possible by our £800m investment in brand-new trains for the Wales and Borders network.

“We will see the doubling of trains between Wrexham and Chester and a later service from the capital to valley communities. In South Wales, people will continue to benefit from simpler, fairer fares through TfW’s Pay As You Go service, and its forthcoming introduction in North Wales will help even more passengers access easy, transparent pricing.”

Full details of the updated timetable are available at: tfw.wales/service-status/timetables

News

Wrecked guard boat still under watch off north Pembrokeshire coast

Published

8 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Tidal changes monitored after dramatic early-morning rescue

A GUARD VESSEL that ran aground off the north Pembrokeshire coast in the early hours of Thursday morning (Dec 11) remains under close observation as tides continue to shift.

The Resolute, a 24-metre guard boat understood to be working for an offshore wind project off the Irish coast, had been sheltering in worsening weather when she was pushed onto rocks near Aber Hywel, Dinas, shortly after 3:25am.

Four crew members were onboard when the vessel grounded in rough seas and a strong southerly wind.

Major rescue effort launched

The crew issued an emergency alert, prompting a full multi-agency response.
A coastguard rescue helicopter, both Fishguard RNLI lifeboats, and coastguard teams from Fishguard and St Davids were sent to the scene.

Turbulent air made a winch rescue impossible and Fishguard’s all-weather lifeboat was unable to get close due to cliffs and submerged hazards. The inshore lifeboat was instead deployed to attempt a transfer in extremely challenging conditions.

During the evacuation, the third crew member descending to the vessel’s life raft slipped, fell into the water and was swept away. Speaking afterwards, RNLI crew member Cedwyn Rogers said the team immediately switched into “hyper-focused” mode as training took over.

Despite the casualty drifting, helm Warren Bean — a volunteer with more than 30 years’ RNLI experience — manoeuvred the lifeboat alongside, allowing crew to haul the man to safety. The remaining crew member was then retrieved, and all four were taken aboard the all-weather lifeboat and brought ashore to Fishguard.

All rescue units were later stood down.

Vessel still stranded and taking on water

The Herald understands that the Resolute remained aground on the rocks yesterday and was taking on water. The crew were later assisted back onboard by a local fisherman to assess damage on behalf of the vessel’s operators.

Management representatives from Ireland were due to arrive to draw up a recovery plan, including arrangements to remove fuel to prevent any potential environmental impact.

Further inspections have been taking place today as the team evaluates the next steps.

Coastguard statement

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “At 3.28am on Thursday morning, HM Coastguard was made aware of a vessel with four persons onboard aground on rocks at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. RNLI lifeboats and coastguard rescue teams from Fishguard and St Davids were sent to the scene. The four people aboard were rescued by lifeboat, and the helicopter was stood down. The vessel, which is still aground, is being monitored as tidal conditions change.”