PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY has published its latest Welsh Language Standards Annual Report, setting out the work carried out over the past year to support and promote the use of Welsh across its services.

The report covers the period from April 2025 to March 2026 and outlines the Authority’s progress in meeting its statutory duties under the Welsh Language Standards.

The Standards require public bodies in Wales to provide services and communicate with the public in Welsh, ensuring that people can access information, take part in public life and engage with organisations through the language of their choice.

The legal framework for the Standards is set out in the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, which places duties on public organisations, including National Park Authorities, to treat the Welsh language no less favourably than English.

For Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, the report is not only a statutory requirement but also a reflection of the importance of Welsh to many communities across the county.

The Authority says its work under the Standards supports residents, schools, community groups, volunteers and visitors, while helping to ensure that Welsh remains visible and accessible in everyday life.

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said: “The Welsh language is central to the identity, culture and everyday life of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

“As an Authority, we recognise our responsibility not only to comply with the Welsh Language Standards, but to help create the conditions in which Welsh can be used naturally and confidently.

“For many people in Pembrokeshire, Welsh is the language of home, family and community, and it is important that they are able to engage with the Authority in their first language.

“This work is reflected across the Authority’s services, from the way we share information with the public to our work with schools, communities, volunteers and visitors.

“The Annual Report provides an opportunity to look at what has been achieved over the past year, while also recognising where further progress can be made.”

The Authority’s wider commitment to the Welsh language is also reflected in its Welsh Language Strategy, National Park Management Plan and Local Development Plan 2.

The full Welsh Language Standards Annual Report is available at: www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/welsh-language-standards/.

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council ended its recent financial year underspending its budget by more than £5.5m after massive overspends  in recent years, the savings being set aside for initiatives which it is hoped may help further savings.

In a report before the July 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, presented by Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies Cllr Jon Harvey, members heard the council ended the 2025-’26 financial year with an underspend of £5.6m, £1.6m better than the end-of-year forecast at the end of the third quarter of the financial year of £4m.

This was set against a net expenditure of £321m from a budget of £326.6m.

Speaking at the meeting, former leader Cllr Harvey said the majority of the council’s services were in, or below, budget, with more than 95 per cent of budget savings targets achieved.

He also referenced the report which said: “Additional council tax income has resulted in £2.4m more than anticipated being collected during 2025-26,” which would have effectively increased the underspend to £8m.

“A large proportion of this relates to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) backlog in assessment of self-catering properties, with a continued increase in properties moving from Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) and qualifying for Second Home Council Tax (SHCT) premium as a result of not meeting the required 182-day occupancy threshold.”

It said that council tax arrears had increased to £19.5m, with a £2.1m second homes premium level of arrears, relating “specifically to properties that have transferred from NDR to council tax and are currently subject to appeals to the Valuation Office, with the aim of reverting back to NDR”.

It added: “There is likely to be additional debt within this category that has not yet been quantified. It would be prudent therefore, for an element of the £2.4m surplus to be held in reserve for likely refunds following VOA determination and to support the collection of outstanding council tax arrears, and this is recommended.”

Members backed a recommendation to note the report, and to approve the appropriation of the £5.6m budget underspend to the initiative fund to provide resources for improvement and prevention projects to make further potential savings.

They also backed £1m of the additional council tax collected to make provision for repayment of second homes council tax premiums to those who successfully appeal the 182-days occupancy threshold with the Valuation Office Agency; the remaining £1.4m appropriated to the Initiative Fund reserve.

The previous £4m underspend prediction, back in February, In the previous financial quarter report, back in February, compared with a predicted end-of-year underspend of £1m in the previous financial quarter, and predictions of a £2.2m underspend from figures from the first quarter of the financial year.

Pembrokeshire County Council ended the previous 2024-’25 financial year underspending by £2m, in part due to an extra £1.2m raised through second homes tax.

In recent years the situation has been far bleaker, with third quarter projections for the 2023-24 budget of an overspend of £6.6m, £3m up from quarter two’s £3.6m, which in itself was a reduction of the previous quarter one figure of a £4.8m predicted overspend.

The end of the 2024 financial year reduced that to a £3m overspend.

PEMBROKESHIRE is to introduce an additional separate kerbside waste collection service for soft plastics following a backing by senior councillors.

At the July 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, members backed a recommendation to introduce a weekly kerbside soft plastics collection service for all households in Pembrokeshire, joining the existing recycling collections.

The service will enable the separate collection of soft plastic packaging such as carrier bags, food wrap, and plastic film alongside the council’s existing kerbside recycling system, in line with Welsh Government expectations, a report for members said.

Cabinet was asked to approve the scheme be implemented by the end of March 2027 and to procure the necessary materials and treatment arrangements to support delivery.

At present soft plastics are not included in the ‘core’ set of materials collected by Pembrokeshire County Council.

A report presented by Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said the four UK governments have previously stated that “recyclable plastic film and flexible packaging is to be collected for recycling from both households and businesses across the UK by March 31, 2027”.

The Pembrokeshire proposal could generate approximately 419 tonnes of recyclable soft plastics a year.

Residents will be issued with an initial supply of red tie-handle bags (equivalent to 52 weeks’ supply), the same colour as the existing plastics and cans recycling bags; the proposed plastics bags collected on a weekly basis alongside existing kerbside recycling.

The additional plastics bags will be placed inside the existing red cans/plastics bags for collection, Cabinet members heard.

In order to meet the Welsh Government’s target implementation deadline of March 31 of next year, it is proposed that bag distribution will take place from mid-February, with free additional bags available after the initial roll-out.

The report says, at present, the recycling costs for soft plastic is above the cost for the material to be sent to Energy from Waste, but it is anticipated that the cost difference will decrease over time, with all costs for rollout and recycling offset through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding.

The report added: “The cost of implementation is expected to be lower than the long-term financial risk of non-compliance, including increased residual disposal costs (following the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028) and loss of EPR income.”

It was recommended to approve the introduction of the scheme, along with a procurement exercise for the supply of soft plastics collection bags and a supporting offtake arrangement for the treatment of collected materials, with an estimated contract value of £272,000.

Members heard from Cllr Sinnett the changes would improve recycling performance by some 0.7 per cent, adding that, although the figure sounded small, it would be “significant in terms of overall waste” collected, with “around half a black bag” per collection that could be included in the new red bags.

He said “doing nothing isn’t an option,” citing the reasons given in the report, adding there would be no additional costs to the council in adopting the scheme.