Bluebirds face court showdown in London after HMRC files insolvency petition

HAVERFORDWEST County AFC is facing one of the gravest financial threats in its recent history after HM Revenue and Customs filed a High Court winding-up petition against the company behind the club, Haverfordwest County A.F.C. Ltd.

The petition was presented on February 23 and is due to be heard at the High Court in London on Wednesday, April 15 at 10:30am.

A public notice in The London Gazette states that HMRC is seeking to wind up Haverfordwest County A.F.C. Ltd, registered at Bridge Meadow Stadium, Bridge Meadow Lane, Haverfordwest, claiming to be a creditor. Any person intending to support or oppose the petition must give notice by 4:00pm on April 14.

The notice does not reveal how much is allegedly owed, or whether the claimed debt relates to VAT, PAYE, National Insurance contributions, corporation tax, or a combination of liabilities.

What is clear is that a winding-up petition is a serious insolvency step. If the matter is not resolved before the hearing, the company could face compulsory liquidation.

HMRC declined to comment on the Haverfordwest case itself, citing taxpayer confidentiality. However, in a statement to The Herald, an HMRC spokesperson said: “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.”

That statement does not disclose the exact nature or size of the alleged debt, but it underlines the seriousness of the action taken by the tax authority.

The case is all the more striking because only three months ago the club announced that it was in the latter stages of an exclusivity agreement relating to “significant investment” from a US-based investment fund. In that January statement, Haverfordwest said it wanted outside backing to help deliver its ambitions of moving towards full-time football and pushing deeper into UEFA competition.

That followed an earlier announcement in April 2024 saying further funds were being made available through Morley Sports Management and Swedish entrepreneur John Harmander. In that statement, chairman Rob Edwards said his aim had been to create an “aspirational and investable business proposition” at Haverfordwest and that the model formed part of “a bigger picture” that could be replicated in other countries and regions.

Those public statements painted a picture of a club with momentum, strategic ambition and access to new money. The HMRC petition now raises obvious questions about governance, cash flow and financial stability, even if the full picture has not yet been made public.

Questions are also likely to be asked about Edwards’ wider business interests beyond west Wales. Recent coverage has linked him and Morley Sports Management to the relaunch of Ohio Valley Wrestling in the United States, underlining the scale of the broader commercial vision that has surrounded Haverfordwest’s rise.

County councillor Huw Murphy, a club sponsor who said he had no role in the day-to-day running of the club, described the petition as “a matter of considerable concern” and said he hoped the issue could be resolved quickly so the club could focus on delivering Welsh Premier League football to Pembrokeshire.

For supporters, sponsors, staff and creditors, the immediate question is whether the matter will be paid, challenged, adjourned or otherwise resolved before next week’s hearing. Until then, one of Welsh football’s most talked-about recent success stories is facing a deeply serious test off the pitch.

We have asked the club for a comment, and will publish this in full, once received.

THE SYSTEM supporting children and young people with Additional Learning Needs in Wales is facing serious pressures that could threaten its long-term sustainability, according to a new report from Audit Wales.

Published on Tuesday (Apr 7), the report examines support for children and young people with Additional Learning Needs, or ALN, in the context of changes introduced under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018.

Audit Wales said public bodies do not have a full understanding of demand, workforce capacity, skills, costs or outcomes, leaving them without the information needed for effective planning, budgeting and value-for-money assessments.

The report raises concerns about whether the current system is performing well enough to help learners achieve their full potential.

In 2024-25, 48,257 learners aged from nought to 25 were recorded as having ALN or Special Educational Needs. However, Audit Wales said that figure is incomplete and does not capture the full picture across all settings.

Available data shows the number of school learners recorded as having ALN or SEN fell by 58 per cent between 2018-19 and 2024-25, although the reasons for that drop are disputed. Over the same period, the number of school learners receiving statutory support through a statement of SEN, or now an Individual Development Plan, increased by 164 per cent.

The report says spending on supporting learners with ALN has also risen significantly, adding pressure to already stretched public budgets. While Audit Wales said it could not put an exact figure on total spending, identifiable annual costs are approaching £1 billion, with the true figure likely to be higher.

Councils’ budgeted expenditure on ALN or SEN rose by 34 per cent in real terms between 2018-19 and 2025-26.

Audit Wales said its conclusions were based on evidence showing that the system lacks good enough data to understand growing demand and complexity, while patchy workforce information makes it harder to assess staffing capacity and skills gaps. It also found that public bodies do not have a strong enough understanding of costs, raising concerns about financial sustainability.

The report adds that although the goals of the ALN system are clear, there is only limited evidence on whether it is delivering strong outcomes for learners, and that the system remains adversarial despite some signs of improvement.

Its recommendations are aimed mainly at the Welsh Government, particularly in its national leadership role, although Audit Wales said successful implementation would require action from a wide range of public bodies.

Auditor General Adrian Crompton said: “Children and young people with Additional Learning Needs include some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“There has been a significant amount of work involved in efforts to reform the system for the better over recent years. However, the system remains under strain and there is still a lot more that can be done to ensure it does as well as it can for our children and young people, both now and for future generations.”

The 2018 Act introduced a new system designed to create a more integrated, collaborative and person-centred approach to supporting learners with ALN. It extended statutory provision to learners aged nought to 25 and replaced the previous separate systems for under-16s with SEN and post-16 learners with learning difficulties or disabilities.

A major part of the reform was the introduction of Individual Development Plans, which replaced both non-statutory SEN support and statutory statements of SEN. Under the new system, every learner with ALN is entitled to an IDP.

Audit Wales stressed that the figure of 48,257 learners does not include all settings for learners aged nought to 25, including further education, meaning the overall scale of need may be higher than official data suggests.

For more information, contact Rhian Jones at Audit Wales on 02920 320 575 or by email at [email protected]
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FOOD hygiene checks have not been carried out in parts of a Welsh county since 2019 due an inspection backlog, a council has admitted.

Carmarthenshire council said its struggle to recruit food safety officers means hygiene inspections are currently overdue at three high-risk food premises in the county, with hundreds more lower risk food sellers also behind on checks.

Councillor Colin Evans told a scrutiny committee meeting he felt the situation was “quite serious”, adding: “Should something go wrong, it could go wrong very quickly.”

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said councils were making progress on checks despite increased workloads and a UK-wide need to train more inspectors.

The council was told last month it probably would not meet its hygiene checks and interventions for high-risk food businesses.

Despite offering £60 to £70 per hour to recruit qualified staff through agencies, the council said recruitment remained difficult.

Ian Jones, the council’s head of leisure and public protection, said despite a lot of professionalism and expertise within the service it was “highly unlikely” the end-of-year targets would be met.

Councillors were told other authorities were in a similar position and the committee referred the matter to cabinet for consideration.

No checks for seven years

Food premises are checked based on risk categories ranging from A to E, with A, B and C considered high risk due to food handling.

The council said there were three highest-risk category A premises with overdue hygiene inspections in the county – two of them within a 28-day overdue period, and the third subject to an “ongoing presence from inspectors” since the previous intervention.

There were also two category B premises and 228 category C premises with overdue inspections, and 467 overdue hygiene inspections for category D and E establishments.

The council said inspection frequencies depended on the risk category but varied between “at least every six months to at least every 36 months”.

But a council website showing food ratings suggests no food hygiene inspections have been done at some premises in the north of the county in seven years.

The council said inspectors carried out other work, such as food standards and hygiene visits.

It said the average backlog was 16 months for category C premises, 35 months for category D and 38 months for category E.

And it said 405 of the 467 category D and E premises with an overdue inspection were eligible to do a self-assessment questionnaire.

The council said it had a statutory duty to enforce food law “as effectively as possible, using means that are most appropriate to the circumstances”.

The hospitality trade body UK Hospitality said despite pressure on the sector in recent years, “the safety of our customers remains non-negotiable and food hygiene is a major focus for businesses – alongside work on allergens and food crime”.

The FSA’s head of delivery Sarah Aza said last month the agency was liaising with governments and others to increase the inspection workforce.

She said councils were making good progress on food safety and standards checks but a rise in new businesses was increasing the workload.

“If a local authority is concerned about meeting its legal inspection duties, we ask them to get in touch with us early,” she said.

Report by Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporting Service