News

Week in Week Out: 1st Grade Care accused of ordering a client to be abandoned

Published

11 years ago

June 9, 2015

Tom Sinclair

Marie Perry – George’s wife

A Welsh council is investigating a case made in a Week in Week Out programme where a care worker was ordered to leave a distressed 92-year-old woman alone on the floor of her home, following a fall.

That careworker is employed by a firm which tenders for work in Pembrokeshire and Cardiff.

Vale of Glamorgan Council-contracted 1^st Grade Care is accused of ordering the care worker to abandon Doris Jones from Barry, and attend their next call before an ambulance or relative arrived.

The care worker told Week in Week Out: “I rang the paramedics straight away and all the time she’s on the floor. I then rang the office to say my lady is on the floor and was told to leave the call within the time I was allocated and go to my next call. I asked if somebody could do my next call for me because I didn’t feel happy leaving her, and I was told no. I had to leave her and to leave the door open for the paramedics.”

The care worker says she felt so awful about what she was asked to she do she challenged the order: “I asked if they would be happy if it was their mother lying on the floor and somebody left. I was told it was just the job.”

It’s a shocking accusation. We spoke to the son of 92-year-old Doris Jones who took the call. He told us there had been many concerns with 1st Grade Care including missed and shortened calls. When his mother came out of hospital she was placed with another care company at the family’s request. Doris Jones passed away last year.

1^st Grade Care has been in operation since 2011 and was set up by former property developer Michael Poole.

log-final-2015-300x119 The allegation levelled against the company is just one of a series made on Week In Week Out by families unhappy at the level of care provided as well as care workers who say the company failed to train them and they found it impossible to meet the demands of their everyday rotas.

In a damning report by the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) published in January this year, 1^st Grade Care was said to be putting service users in “unnecessary and significant risk to their health, safety and well-being due to a lack of sufficient training for a high percentage of staff.” Issues surrounding rotas were also found. The company was served with a non-compliance notice and the CSSIW have been back to re-inspect. They say they expect to publish a new report by the end of the month.

Jackie Toom worked for the company in Pembrokeshire as a care worker and admits to being regularly late to assist clients as she struggled to follow a rota that only gave 15 minutes to travel from St David’s to Newport, or ended one call in Milford Haven and started the next at a location north of Haverfordwest, at the same time.

“You can’t be in two places at the same time. To get from A to B in zero minutes. We are not given any travel time so we could get more working hours – more calls.”

Marie Perry from Pembroke has Parkinson’s Disease and needed a care package to help her get to the bathroom four times a day but her husband George tells the programme visits were regularly late or even missed.

Mr Perry, who has had major heart surgery and whose condition is deteriorating, was left to lift his wife when care workers were late or didn’t turn up. He says he is angry over the experience and doesn’t understand why the authorities haven’t investigated the company earlier. Mr Perry told The Herald: “I don’t know how much control the local authority has over them. It’s not being properly policed otherwise they would have lost their contract some time ago”.

Week in Week Out has discovered that 1^st Grade Care has come under scrutiny by both Pembrokeshire and Vale of Glamorgan but neither council has thought it appropriate to cancel the company’s contract.

In a statement 1^st Grade Care, said that the company admits they have been failings managing care workers appointments but they now have a new monitoring system in the Vale of Glamorgan. But they had no comment about why problems with rotas and training had continued in Pembrokeshire despite a damning inspection in the Vale, and targets set by both councils.

Welsh councils have been under pressure to save money and drive down costs with Welsh Local Government Association figures showing £55 million shortfall in adult services over the past financial year.

There are over 400 registered care companies in Wales. The industry argues that for them to operate effectively a minimum payment of £15.74 per hour is needed, with even more in rural areas. But Week In Week Out has discovered that only three councils in Wales are paying this basic rate.

Industry insiders say the hourly rate councils are prepared to pay means they are increasingly unable to deliver services to home users effectively as they drive down their own costs to survive.

In Cardiff a new tendering system has been introduced that sees care companies bid against each other in a live auction for care packages. Professor Luke Clement from Cardiff University and an expert in social care law says he is worried by a system he believes lacks humanity and dignity.

Cardiff Council has defended the system saying it is offering value for money, improving quality as well as attracting new companies. But Week In Week Out has learned that the UK’s largest care company Allied Healthcare has pulled out of Cardiff, saying their decision was due in part to the new auction system.

Professor Clement is also critical of the inspectorate CSSIW. He told the programme: “If it is their job to make sure the sort of abuses and failures we are discussing don’t happen then clearly it’s not doing its job properly. If things go wrong there may be a letter or a slap on the wrist but companies are not being closed down”.

The Inspectorate has the power to shut down care companies that aren’t complying with regulatory standards. In the programme the CSSIW said the last year they had shut down five following inspections and 14 companies had been given strict conditions to conform to. David Francis, Assistant Chief Inspector of CSSIW said more people were coming forward with complaints tripling over the last four years, but they wanted to hear from more. He said: “If there are people out there who wish to make contact with us we welcome that. We would welcome them raising their concerns with us.”

Last year plans by Powys to reorganise home care fell into chaos and hit the headlines after companies failed to deliver and were shut down. Assembly Member Kirsty Williams says there were a number of issues that caused the new system to collapse. She wants councils to respond quicker when things go wrong. She said: “They simply do not know what is happening on the ground and then that makes the system really vulnerable. It relies on individuals making complaints and what we know about people in receipt of domiciliary care is often they are really frightened to speak out because they are worried that their carers are going to be taken away from them, they are worried that they will get people into trouble and often people are so grateful have any kind of support they are very reluctant to speak out if things are going wrong.”

The Welsh Government is working on a new law to strengthen the inspection of Domiciliary Care companies. Health Minister Mark Drakeford told the programme: “Our bill allows us to be helpful to those companies when we can help them to improve. But where there are companies who provide services of the sort that would not be acceptable to you or me or the people watching this programme. We want the law to be quicker, more effective and to make sure these companies are no longer part of our landscape”

Please watch BBC Week in Week Out, Tuesday, June 9, BBC One Wales, 10.35pm

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.”