FOLLOWING a recent Church in Wales legal threat against Pembrokeshire’s council over plans to remove church status from Cilgerran’s school, Wales Humanists has supported the council plans.

The Humanist support comes after the Church in Wales issued a formal notice that it will take legal action against Pembrokeshire County Council if it presses ahead with plans to remove church status from Cilgerran Voluntary Controlled Primary School.

Back in May, the council voted to remove the Voluntary Controlled status of the Welsh-speaking rural school and to establish it as a 3-11 community school despite 97 per cent of the responses to a consultation about its potential discontinuation opposing it.

That consultation followed a review which “considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population,” the council has previously said.

Hundreds opposed the proposed changes, with a petition on the council’s own website gaining 391 signatures.

During the consultation, 203 responses were received; 97 per cent (197 responses) against the proposal, with just 1.5 per cent (three) in favour.

Following this, a letter was sent to council officers on behalf of the Diocese of St Davids and the Church in Wales saying that, if the council persists with this course, the Church will take legal action on the grounds of claims of “public misrepresentation and unqualified legal assertions made by Pembrokeshire County Council officers,” and “discrimination against faith schooling”.

The letter also says that, if the council removes VC status from the school, the Church will not make the site available for a successor school, which it says will render “the case on which the proposed removal of VC status is based untenable”.

The legal warning described “the gratuitous attack on the church status of Ysgol Cilgerran” as amounting to “a targeted assault on the inclusive Christian education which Church in Wales schools have provided to their communities for generations”.

Since then, Wales Humanists has welcomed the move, which would remove church status from Cilgerran Voluntary Controlled Primary School, and has written to Pembrokeshire County Council expressing its support for the proposal “on behalf of the area’s substantial non-religious community”.

It says, according to the 2021 Census, almost half of people in Pembrokeshire identified as having no religion.

Kathy Riddick, Campaigns and Policy Manager for Wales Humanists, said: “Schools should exist to serve their whole community. Where publicly funded schools no longer reflect the beliefs of the communities they serve, it is entirely appropriate for local authorities to consider whether they should continue to have a religious character.

“The question is whether publicly funded schools should continue to be legally designated as belonging to one particular religion when they serve increasingly diverse communities.

“We believe education should be equally welcoming to every child, regardless of their religion or belief, and call on local authorities across Wales to keep the religious character of maintained schools under review so that school organisation reflects local demographics and the needs of modern communities.”

PLANS to upgrade a Pembrokeshire early learning centre so it will comply with fire safety regulations have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, the council, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, sought permission for external and internal improvements for fire safety at Neyland Early Learning Centre, Clements Road, Neyland.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “Externally, the building comprises a curtain wall of single glazed windows and doors. These are in a poor state of repair, with some doors no longer opening easily.

“Further to this, the existing fire escape arrangements are unlevel and do not comply with building regulations at present. Therefore, to improve the existing arrangements of the building and to future proof it for continued use, this proposal seeks to replace the existing curtain glazing with like for like double glazed units.

“These will contain outward opening fire escape doors in the same positions as the existing doors. The double glazing will thermally improve the building, and the exits will serve as appropriate means of escape. Further to this, the external path is proposed to be regraded to provide a level threshold for disabled access.

“Overall, this application seeks minor like for like external alterations and necessary upgrades to meet building regulations and comply with both fire safety and means of access requirements.

“The proposal does not seek to introduce a new use or alterations that would impact upon neighbouring and local amenity. To enhance biodiversity on the site a sparrow terrace and rainwater garden is proposed.”

An officer report recommending approval said no response had been received from Neyland Town Council, and no third-party representations about the scheme had been received, concluding: “It is considered that the application would comply with policies of the Pembrokeshire Local Development Plan and that planning permission shall be granted.”

The application was conditionally approved by officers under delegated powers.

Former Greater Manchester mayor promises radical devolution agenda after sweeping Makerfield victory

ANDY BURNHAM has used his first major policy speech since returning to Westminster to set out a blueprint for government, promising the biggest transfer of power away from Whitehall in modern times and unveiling plans for a new “No 10 North” in Manchester.

Speaking at the People’s History Museum on Monday, Burnham presented himself as the politician capable of breaking what he described as Britain’s cycle of economic stagnation, political division and over-centralised government.

The speech is widely being seen as his opening pitch to the country ahead of his expected move into Downing Street next month.

Burnham enters the contest from a position of strength after winning the Makerfield by-election earlier this month with a landslide majority. The result marked his return to Parliament and cleared the way for his challenge to succeed Keir Starmer.

At the heart of the speech was a promise to deliver “good growth in every postcode”, with Burnham arguing that Britain can no longer rely on decisions being made almost exclusively in London.

He said the UK remained one of the most centralised countries in the developed world and claimed the current system was failing the north, the south, London and the wider regions alike.

“The whole country suffers when the regions and nations are not meeting their potential,” he said.

Burnham argued that economic growth should be driven from communities and regions rather than directed from Whitehall, promising what he called “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”.

The headline announcement was the creation of a permanent northern operation for the Prime Minister’s Office.

Burnham said a new No 10 North would be based in Manchester, but insisted it would not simply move power from London to one city.

“The job of No 10 North will be to make power flow into the Midlands, into the South West, into the East of England and yes, into London,” he said.

Burnham used the speech to outline what he calls “Manchesterism” — an approach shaped by his years running Greater Manchester.

The model combines sound public finances, local leadership, infrastructure investment, housing, universities, business, public services and trade unions working together to drive growth.

He said his time in Greater Manchester had shown that a different style of politics was possible, based on “place first, not party first” and “problem solving, not point scoring”.

Burnham also attacked Westminster culture, saying Parliament had become increasingly fragmented and disconnected from the communities MPs represent.

He promised a more collaborative style of government and said MPs should be allowed to be “authentic representatives” rather than being controlled by fear of the whipping system.

He also said local government had been left “threadbare”, with councils struggling to meet basic responsibilities while national government had grown larger since the pandemic.

The speech was quickly attacked by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who dismissed Burnham’s proposals as “more public control, more regulation, more taxes”. Reform UK figures also criticised him for not taking questions from journalists after the speech.

For Wales, the speech will be watched closely because of its focus on devolution, regional growth and shifting power away from Westminster.

His argument that decisions should be taken closer to communities is likely to resonate with ongoing debates about transport, healthcare, economic investment and local government powers in Wales.

With Labour’s leadership transition expected to conclude within weeks, Burnham’s Manchester speech offered the clearest indication yet of how he intends to govern: less power concentrated in Whitehall, more influence for regions and nations, and a long-term focus on rebuilding local economies and living standards.