News

Welsh broadcasting authority plan sparks row over powers and cost

Published

2 minutes ago

July 16, 2026

Working group will begin meeting next year, but any shadow authority would initially have no formal regulatory powers

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has committed £45,000 to begin developing a new broadcasting and communications body for Wales, despite broadcasting regulation remaining under the control of the UK Government.

Culture and Sport Minister Heledd Fychan has announced plans to establish a working group as the first step towards creating a Shadow Broadcasting and Communications Authority for Wales.

The proposed organisation would examine the state of broadcasting, journalism and communications in Wales, advise ministers and press the case for powers currently exercised at a UK level to be transferred to the Senedd.

However, it would not initially have the legal powers of a regulator. Television, radio and communications regulation remain reserved to Westminster, with Ofcom continuing to license and oversee broadcasters throughout Wales.

The announcement has triggered criticism from the Welsh Conservatives, who say ministers are spending public money on a body with no immediate authority while failing to explain its eventual cost.

Two-year process

The Welsh Government will initially create a Shadow Broadcasting and Communications Authority Working Group.

Its members will advise ministers on the proposed authority’s structure, legal status, remit, research programme and engagement with broadcasters, publishers and the public.

A recruitment campaign is expected to begin in September, with appointments completed by the end of 2026.

The group is then expected to hold its first meeting in early 2027.

Detailed recommendations about establishing the authority are not expected until early 2028, with Ms Fychan planning to make a further formal statement in spring 2028.

The £45,000 allocated from the Creative Wales budget will fund the working group’s activities during the current financial year.

It is not yet known how much the working group will cost in later years or what annual budget would be required if the shadow authority is eventually established.

Ms Fychan said the phased timetable would allow the government to gather evidence and ensure that any new organisation addressed genuine gaps in the present broadcasting system.

She said: “These plans have not been developed in isolation. They are based on evidence that a UK-wide framework for broadcasting does not cater to the realities of how a devolved UK operates.”

The minister added that organisations including the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales had called for Wales to have a stronger voice on broadcasting and communications.

What would the authority do?

The idea was first examined by an expert panel established in 2022 under the former Welsh Government’s co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru.

Its report, published in August 2023, concluded that Wales needed an independent body to increase scrutiny and visibility of broadcasting and communications at a Welsh level.

The panel recommended that the organisation’s remit should include journalism as well as broadcasting, and that it should be publicly funded but independent of government.

Its possible responsibilities could include gathering Wales-specific audience and industry data, examining the health of Welsh journalism, supporting media plurality and promoting the Welsh language across traditional and digital platforms.

It could also develop proposals for a future Welsh regulatory framework if broadcasting and communications powers were eventually devolved.

The new body would not, however, replace Ofcom under the current constitutional arrangements.

Ofcom already has a team based in Cardiff and an Advisory Committee for Wales, which feeds Welsh interests and concerns into the UK regulator’s work.

During a previous Senedd inquiry, S4C warned that establishing a shadow authority would not itself change broadcasting regulation unless powers were first transferred from Westminster.

Local media funding dispute

Ms Fychan said the recently announced UK Government Local News Fund demonstrated why Wales needed a stronger voice.

The fund will distribute up to £6 million during 2026-27, with up to a further £6 million potentially available the following year.

Three-quarters of the first-year funding is reserved for qualifying local news organisations in England and Wales, with individual publishers and broadcasters able to bid for grants of up to £125,000.

Applications will be considered through a UK Government process, with final decisions made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport following advice from an industry steering board.

Ms Fychan described the scheme as an example of plans being made “for and about us” without the Welsh Government having a role in shaping or implementing them.

She said: “This work will be guided by a commitment to ensuring our plans add value, and result in positive change and better outcomes for Wales.

“I am certain that any resource channelled towards a Shadow Broadcasting and Communications Authority for Wales will pay dividends.”

She described the working group as the first step in pressing for broadcasting powers to be devolved to Wales.

Conservatives question value

Welsh Conservative culture spokesman Paul Davies opposed the proposals, describing them as a distraction from health, education and economic problems.

He said: “The Welsh Government is wasting time and taxpayers’ money on setting up a shadow authority in an area that isn’t even devolved, while the issues people actually care about are being neglected.

“The Welsh Government has already committed £45,000 to this project, but this is just the start. Ministers have failed to explain what the total cost will be, how much more public money will be spent or what practical difference this body will make.”

Mr Davies said the Welsh Conservatives did not support devolving responsibility for broadcasting.

“Rather than campaigning for more constitutional change, the Welsh Government should concentrate on delivering on the responsibilities it already has,” he added.

The Welsh Government said the working group’s terms of reference and the names and biographies of its members would be published following the recruitment process.

Crime

Police searching for driver who abandoned car after Haverfordwest pursuit

Published

9 minutes ago

July 16, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Police are trying to identify a driver who ran from a damaged car following a pursuit into Haverfordwest.

The incident began at around 8.15pm on Tuesday, July 14, when Dyfed-Powys Police received reports of a vehicle being driven dangerously along Haven Road between Broad Haven and Haverfordwest.

Officers later found a blue Ford Fiesta which had significant damage to one of its tyres.

The driver did not stop when requested and continued towards Haverfordwest, with police following the vehicle to Jury Lane.

The car eventually came to a stop, but the driver left the vehicle and escaped on foot before officers could speak to them.

Police recovered the Fiesta at around 9.10pm.

Enquiries are now continuing to establish who was driving the vehicle and to locate them.

No further details have been released about how the car was damaged or whether anyone else was involved.

Local Government

Stepaside school saved as council abandons closure proposal

Published

31 minutes ago

July 16, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Governors welcome decision but maintain original plans were based on outdated information

STEPASIDE Community Primary School will remain open after Pembrokeshire County Council formally reversed its earlier decision to consider closing it.

Councillors approved the change at a meeting of the full council on Thursday afternoon, July 16, bringing months of uncertainty for pupils, parents, staff and the wider Kilgetty and Stepaside community to an end.

The decision rescinds the authority’s previous instruction to begin statutory consultation on proposals to close Stepaside and Saundersfoot primary schools and replace them with a new school for children aged three to 11 on the existing Saundersfoot site.

The governing body of Stepaside Community Primary School said it was “delighted” by the outcome and described it as a major achievement for the community.

Chair of Governors Laura Burnett said: “We are delighted to share the exciting news that Stepaside Community Primary School will remain open.

“This is a tremendous achievement for the community served by the school in Kilgetty, and it means our staff can continue providing a high-quality education in the nurturing and supportive environment for which the school is known.”

However, governors said they continued to believe the original closure proposal had been ill-informed.

They raised concerns that figures relating to the school’s capacity, projected pupil numbers and finances were outdated and did not provide a reliable basis for deciding its future.

The governing body also argued that the effect of closing the school on pupils, families and the wider community had not been examined thoroughly enough.

It said there had initially been limited engagement with those who would have been most affected and expressed disappointment that some of those involved in developing the proposal had not visited the school before it was put forward.

The decision to reconsider the plans followed a change in Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet responsibilities.

Deputy council leader and Cabinet Member for Place, the Welsh Language and Education Cllr Paul Miller recommended that the authority should no longer pursue Stepaside’s closure.

He previously said a review had concluded that the school was producing good educational outcomes for its local population and was sustainable in its present form.

Governors thanked Cllr Miller and the county councillors, MPs and Senedd Members who visited the school and listened to the concerns of families and campaigners.

They said the visits had allowed the school to demonstrate its educational standards, community values and the wider consequences that closure could have caused.

The school’s recent Estyn inspection described Stepaside as “a happy place where pupils feel safe and are eager to learn”.

Inspectors also praised its nurturing ethos and described the school as having a welcoming, calm and purposeful learning environment in which pupils made good progress and were proud of their achievements.

The campaign to protect the school received widespread community support, with a council petition started by Angela Robinson attracting 1,952 signatures.

Local county councillors Alistair Cameron and Alec Cormack were also among those who publicly opposed the proposed closure.

The governing body said the dispute had raised wider questions about the future of rural education in Pembrokeshire.

It said: “Closing successful schools is not the right approach to educational development.

“Rural schools are far more than places of learning. They are at the heart of their communities, and their loss has far-reaching consequences for local families and community life.

“Approaches that may be appropriate in cities should not automatically be applied to counties such as Pembrokeshire, where vibrant rural schools play a vital role in sustaining thriving local communities.”

The decision was also welcomed by Swansea City and Wales footballer Liam Cullen, a former Stepaside pupil whose family has been connected with the school across several generations.

He said: “Stepaside is a school that my family and I attended, from my mum and auntie to my nephew and niece today.

“It provided me, and so many other pupils, with an amazing education and prepared us perfectly for moving on to secondary school.

“I met many friends there who I am still in contact with today. Alongside giving me a brilliant education, the staff supported my ambition of becoming a footballer.

“My family and I could not have done it without the school allowing me to train and play while making sure I remained on top of my education.”

The governing body said it was now looking forward to welcoming pupils back in September and beginning a more settled chapter in the school’s history.

Families interested in applying for a place or arranging a visit can contact the school at [email protected].