Politics

Short Circuit for Wales

Published

8 years ago

July 7, 2017

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has been accused of misleading the public, ambushing investors, and using the Circuit of Wales project as a political football intended to shore up its vote in the South Wales Valleys after refusing to back the project last week.

NO TO GUARANTEE

The Welsh Government had been asked to provide a loan guarantee of £210m to private investor, the insurance giant Aviva. Had the Circuit gone bust, the Welsh Government would have been left liable for the loan balance but Aviva would have retained ownership of the Circuit.

Last week, Economy Secretary Ken Skates announced that the Welsh Government had decided against backing the project by providing a guarantee to key investor Aviva, claiming that late in the day the Welsh Government had received advice from HM Revenue and the Office of National Statistics that financing the deal would amount to state aid and affect Wales’ capital grant from the Westminster Government.

Mr Skates claimed that the presence of the Circuit of Wales on the books would have meant education and health services would have had their budgets squeezed.

However, Mr Skates’ version of events has been met with withering scorn from opposition parties who say that the Welsh Government’s version of events is disingenuous nonsense and that the Welsh Government has twice delayed pulling the plug on the project for Labour’s own electoral benefit .

INDEPENDENT INQUIRY CALL

Both the Conservative Party and Plaid Cymru have called for an independent inquiry into the Welsh Government’s conduct of the Circuit of Wales deal.

Andrew RT Davies, the Conservative leader in the Assembly said: “The Circuit of Wales has been a Welsh Labour car crash of epic proportions.

“After so many years of uncertainty and false hope, it’s clear that Welsh Government have plenty of questions to answer.

“Whilst I have had longstanding concerns that the Heads of the Valleys Development Company may not be right vehicle for this project, it is hugely disappointing to see it crumbling away in such dramatic and overnight fashion.”

Plaid Cymru Shadow Cabinet Secretary Adam Price claimed that evidence has come to light that the First Minister may have misled the public.

Adam Price said there was ‘compelling evidence the Welsh Government has been guilty of serial mendacity ‘.

“Sadly this project has been characterised by a series of inaccurate and misleading statements made by the Government, ostensibly to justify its own position in the face of potential criticism ,” he added.

“An email written by an Aviva senior director – dated 14th July last year – pointed to the false assertion by the Welsh Government ‘that we requested a 100% underwrite a few days before the rejection (of the first proposal in April 2016), when in fact this deal had been worked up with the Welsh Government (through civil servants) for many months and nothing in our funding structure changed in the run up to the announcement’.”

Mr Price continued: “I have an email from Welsh Government presenting a proposal based on a Welsh public sector guarantee of the debt dated January 26th 2016, confirming Aviva’s assertion. And yet speaking in Ebbw Vale on April 11th last year, as reported by the Western Mail, Carwyn Jones repeated the falsehood when speaking about the rejection of the proposal: ‘It was in the last few days beforehand. We weren’t to know the guarantee would be inflated’.

“These are not isolated instances. They are part of a pattern of duplicity that have characterised the Welsh Government’s approach to this project throughout, constantly shifting goalposts and covering their tracks.”

Mr Price called for an independent inquiry to investigate the matter: “Since the First Minister himself can now be shown also to have misled the public on the Circuit of Wales – all the more pointedly as it was in Blaenau Gwent and in the middle of a keenly fought election campaign – it’s no longer appropriate that he makes this decision as he will now need to be a subject of that investigation, not its judge and jury.

“As things currently stand no-one – business, media, Parliament or public – can be confident our Government is being straight with us. Only a full independent inquiry can begin to rebuild public trust. “

HAMILTON SLAMS GOVERNMENT INSULT

Neil Hamilton AM, UKIP Group Leader in the National Assembly for Wales stated in the Senedd chamber: “Are we really expected to believe, that the government accounting conventions about whether something should be classified as public expenditure or private by the ONS and the Treasury have come as a blinding revelation yesterday, and the cabinet was totally unaware of these conventions hitherto?

“It is an insult to the people of Blaenau Gwent that such a shoddy excuse has been used and a disgrace that so much public money and time was wasted on this decision.

“The Welsh Government now plans to build a £100m automotive business park in Ebbw Vale. What we have now is a proposal from the government to spend £100 m over ten years. Shedloads of money to build a series of empty sheds,” continued Mr Hamilton

“Interestingly the Welsh Government announced this decision after the election; a decision beforehand would clearly have damaged Labour in the polls. What a cynical political decision, a terrible betrayal of the people of Blaenau Gwent and a shoddy excuse for what amounts to the replacement of the Circuit of Wales with a Scalextric set.”

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee the day before the Welsh Government pulled the plug, a senior Welsh Government civil servant, James Price, told Committee members that he regarded the £9.3m as a fair price to pay for the due diligence that it had enabled the Welsh Government to undertake and suggested that the Auditor was wrong to decide that business risk assessments carried out before providing the money were deficient.

One thing that emerged from that Committee meeting was the broad agreement that due diligence had to take place before the Welsh Government exposed itself to further risk. It was surprising, therefore, that the following day in the Assembly one of those members who had been singing the praises of due diligence taking place committed a complete about face.

Deriding the Welsh Government’s involvement as being an exemplar of ‘the dead hand of government’, UKIP’s leader in the Assembly Neil Hamilton appeared to have forgotten his words of little over twenty four hours earlier: ‘Personally, I think it was a very reasonable punt you took (with the grant and loan). Now we’re talking about much, much larger sums of money, it’s right that a considerably greater degree of examination be undertaken’.

COMPANY DENIES GOVERNMENT CLAIMS

A spokesperson for the Heads of the Valleys Development Corporation (HVDC), the company behind the Circuit of Wales, said: “Along with my team and commercial partners, I am hugely disappointed and saddened that the Welsh Government has failed to support The Circuit of Wales, what would be a game changing development for Wales and in particular the people of Blaenau Gwent.

“We strongly disagree with the decision and the rationale behind it.

“We have always believed passionately, and continue to do so, in this project’s ability to transform and provide opportunities and hope to one of the poorest parts of the UK, not just Wales. The project is totally defined, finance is in place, and construction and hiring could start immediately.

“My team and I will now analyse the Welsh Government’s reasons not to support the development and are actively seeking additional clarification from them. We will then very shortly issue a detailed response before deciding on our next course of action.”

That detailed response, when it arrived, savaged the Welsh Government’s reasoning and claimed that the reasons given to the Senedd for refusing to back the deal were either wrong, specious, or had not been raised with the developer or its investors. In addition, the statement revealed that the Economy Secretary had not met with representatives of the company for over twelve months before making his decision.

A spokesperson for HVDC said: “ This is a real loss for the people of Ebbw Vale, the immediate community and a missed opportunity for Wales as a whole. This is a project that has been totally defined; it is fully financed (with finance in place) with construction and hiring ready to start immediately.

“At a time when the Welsh Government is trying to demonstrate that Wales is ‘ppen for business’, the rejection of this significant infrastructure project will do little to breed confidence within the private sector for future investment in the country.”

Most tellingly, perhaps, HVDC made a concerted attack on the Cabinet Secretary’s assertion there was a very significant risk that the full £373million debt of the entire Circuit of Wales project would be classified against Welsh Government capital spending.

The statement from the Company expressed amazement at the lack of notice given to it that any problem had arisen: ‘The company was never informed or made aware of this ONS and HM Treasury advice during the due diligence process. We were promised by Welsh Government officials that we would be consulted if any significant issues arose during due diligence and given an opportunity to respond.

‘We were not notified that this was a serious roadblock prior to Tuesday’s meeting and never given a chance to respond.

‘The Welsh Government has known about the latest structure of this project since well before February 2017 and could easily have obtained clearer guidance from Treasury and ONS prior to Tuesday’s meeting and informed us’.

The spokesperson continued: “We believe it is important for the people of Blaenau Gwent to have the details of these discussions with ONS and HM Treasury disclosed to the public. What were these discussions, who were they with and when were they undertaken?

“ We wholeheartedly disagree that the support for The Circuit of Wales would be on balance sheet and would require the Welsh government to limit its budget and compromise the building of schools and hospitals .”

The company also claimed that the £100m technology park – funded by public money – announced by Ken Skates as a sop to Blaenau Gwent was scheduled to cost £150m of wholly private money and be delivered in two years: not the ten announced by the Cabinet Secretary in the Senedd.

SCHEME UNDER SCRUTINY

However, the scheme has been the subject of scepticism for some time.

A BBC investigation for soon to be scrapped current affairs programme Week In Week Out, cast doubts on whether or not the company could achieve anything like the promises it had made either in terms of regeneration of Blaenau Gwent or in relation to delivering on its promises regarding the proposed facilities within the time and budget specified. Moreover, the same documentary revealed that £35,000 from HVDC – a company partly funded by the Welsh Government – had been used on landscape gardening on the home of the person fronting the scheme, Michael Carrick.

An investigation by the Auditor-General for Wales criticised the Welsh Government both for a loan guarantee a £7.3m provided to HVDC and a £2m grant provided as seed money. The Auditor discovered that part of the money had been used to acquire a small motorcycle manufacturing business in England and ruled that there had been insufficient regard as to whether the uses to which public money were being put were delivering value for money for the public.

Initial claims that 6,000 jobs would be created and claims of businesses flocking to set up working partnerships on the Circuit of Wales site had also come under scrutiny.

A reassessment of the project carried out by the University of South Wales as part of the due diligence process suggested that 2,000 jobs fewer than claimed would be created. In addition, jobs during the construction phase of the project would be temporary, with the Circuit ultimately employing around 150 full time staff, while the remainder of jobs would be created in spin-off enterprises over a longer period of time.

As this article was being prepared for publication, Michael Carrick, told BBC News: “We haven’t given up on it and I’m hoping government hasn’t.

“The project is too important to walk away. We’ve got the support of our investors, we’ve got the support of our development partners and we want to make it work for government and for the valleys.”

Whether Mr Carrick will be able to overcome the deep reservations of the Welsh Government and proceed with the scheme with their backing is open to question.

Whether the HVDC will be able to develop the Circuit of Wales on the scale planned – or at all – without that backing, is highly unlikely.

Business

Community council objections to Tenby Lidl store scheme

Published

5 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a new store on the edge of Tenby by retail giant Lidl, which has seen objections from the local community council, are likely to be heard next year.

In an application recently lodged with Pembrokeshire County Council back in October, Lidl GB Ltd, through agent CarneySweeney, seeks permission for a new 1,969sqm store on land at Park House Court, Narberth Road, New Hedges/Tenby, to the north of the Park Court Nursing Home.

The proposals for the latest specification Lidl store, which includes 103 parking spaces, would create 40 jobs, the applicants say.

The application follows draft proposals submitted in 2024 and public consultations on the scheme, with a leaflet drop delivered to 8,605 local properties; an information website, with online feedback form; and a public exhibition, held last December at the De Valence Pavillion in Tenby, with a follow-up community event held at New Hedges Village Hall, close to the site, publicised through an additional postcard issued to 2,060 properties.

Some 1,365 responses have been received, with 89 per cent of respondents expressing support for the proposals, the applicants say.

A supporting statement says: “Lidl is now exceptionally well established in the UK with the Company operating c.980 stores from sites and premises both within and outside town centres. Its market share continues to increase substantially, and the company is expanding its store network considerably. The UK operational model is based firmly on the success of Lidl’s operations abroad with more than 10,800 stores trading across Europe.

It adds: “The granting of planning permission for the erection of a new Lidl food store would increase the retail offer and boost the local economy. The new Lidl food store would create up to 40 employment opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, providing opportunities for training and career development. This in turn will create an upward spiral of economic benefits.”

Local community council St Mary Out Liberty Community Council has formally objected to the scheme, saying that, while it supports the scheme for a Lidl store in principle, recognising “the economic benefits a new retail store could bring,” it says the proposed location “is unsuitable, conflicts with planning policy, and cannot be supported in its current form”.

Its objections add: “The A478 is heavily congested in peak tourist months. A supermarket would worsen congestion, increase turning movements, and heighten risks to pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency access.”

It also raises concerns on the potential impact through “noise, lighting, traffic disturbance, and loss of quiet amenity” on a neighbouring residential care home.

An initial assessment by Pembrokeshire County Council, highlighted concerns about the visual impact, with the authority’s landscape officer commenting that the store would introduce “an intense urban function into an otherwise rural context”.

The report added: “It is not considered to be compatible with the character of the site and the area within which it is located; and furthermore, will lead to a harmful visual impact on the setting of the National Park.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

Local Government

£4m Plaid Cymru deal boost to Pembrokeshire council coffers

Published

9 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PEMBROKESHIRE’S financial situation for next year is some £4m better off after a higher settlement from the Welsh Government, but the council still faces difficult decisions, councillors heard.

While council tax makes up a proportion of the council’s annual revenue, a crucial area of funding is the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) rate from Welsh Government.

Pembrokeshire was to receive a 2.3 per cent increase on its settlement, a total of £244,318,000, amounting to an extra £5,493,000, placing it at joint 13th of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Now, following a Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru agreement, local authorities including Pembrokeshire have received a better financial settlement.

Speaking at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, while presenting a report on the outline draft medium term financial plan (MTFP) 2026-27 to 2028-29, Cabinet member for finance Cllr Alistair Cameron said the recent rise in the financial settlement from the Welsh Government had decreased the expected funding gap for the next financial year for the county from £17.7m to £13.6m, but stressed: “There are still increased pressures we are going to have to face.”

His report for members outlined some of the pressures faced by the council in setting its budget for the next financial year.

“Based on the revised projected funding gap of £13.6m, it is evident that major budget savings as well as a significant Council Tax increase will be required in order to deliver a balanced budget for 2026-27. The lower the Band D Council Tax increase, the higher the budget savings requirement will be, with the consequential adverse impact on the provision of Council services and on the medium-term financial sustainability of the council.”

His report also noted the decision in October by members to cut the council tax premium on second homes from 150 to 125 per cent, which on its own has increased the funding gap for 2026-27 by £1.3m.

The report, listing the many pressures and potential savings, said that where possible, discretionary fees and charges income has been budgeted to increase by 3.8 per cent, with any increases above this level included as part of the budget savings options presented.

The report for members, prior to the revised settlement from Welsh Government, gave council tax increase options ranging from five to 10 per cent with 7.5 per cent highlighted as the most favoured option, the 7.5 rate equating to a £2.38 a week increase for the average Band D property; each one per cent increase or decrease in council tax being worth £0.908m for council coffers.

Leader of the Conservative group on the council Cllr Di Clements made a plea to the leader, calling on the council to use the extra money from Welsh Government to “contribute to making this authority financially sustainable in the long term,” adding: “We know it’s tough out there for our council tax-payers, let’s hopefully give them a break this year.”

Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy said the better settlement was “a huge sigh of relief” for the council, adding: “The budget negotiations still won’t be any easier because we’ve had this pot of money; [but] we have to applaud Plaid Cymru on this.”

A long string of recommendations essentially noting the report, but including the fees and charges increase, was moved by Cllr Cameron, seconded by Leader Cllr Jon Harvey, backed by members by 46 votes to one, with three abstentions.

The actual setting of the budget and related council tax level along with any potential savings and cuts, will be decided at a later date, with a public consultation running to January 4, followed by committee scrutiny ahead of Cabinet considering a revised draft budget on February 9, before it is recommended to full council on February 20.

News

Kurtz criticises Tufnell over GP pressures at Argyle Medical Centre

Published

16 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Jon Coles

Local MS says Welsh Government decisions are root cause of crisis

CONSERVATIVE Senedd Member Sam Kurtz has criticised Labour MP Henry Tufnell after the MP suggested GP practice management should be held accountable for patient dissatisfaction at Pembroke Dock’s Argyle Medical Centre.

Patients registered at the surgery have for years raised concerns about access to appointments, particularly difficulties securing same-day consultations and long waits to get through on the phone.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Mr Tufnell said he had discussed the situation with the Health Board’s Chief Executive and claimed the senior official “feels powerless” to intervene.

He said: “I’ve spoken to the Chief Executive of the Health Board, and he feels powerless to do anything about it. We need to come together and hold the management of these surgeries to account; there must be transparency about what they’re doing, and, fundamentally, we need reform in the system.”

***Concerned about Argyle Surgery: Henry Tufnell MP***

Mr Kurtz responded angrily, arguing that responsibility for reforming NHS Wales rests with the Welsh Government, not GP surgeries or frontline staff.

He said: “I don’t think it’s very helpful to point the finger at the surgery and suggest the fault lies with them when staff are working incredibly hard.

“If he wants to point the finger, it should be at his Labour colleagues in Cardiff Bay, who have continuously piled pressure onto GP practices by imposing contracts that are extremely difficult to deliver. That is why surgeries like Argyle are under such strain.”

Mr Kurtz later told The Pembrokeshire Herald that the problems faced by GP practices across Pembrokeshire were the result of long-term policy failures rather than poor local management.

“As someone born and raised in Pembrokeshire, I have seen first-hand the damage caused by the Welsh Labour Government’s mismanagement of our local NHS, despite the dedication and professionalism of frontline staff who continue to do their very best in increasingly challenging conditions,” he said.

“Anyone seeking to place the blame on NHS staff should back off. The fault does not lie with them. Real improvement will only come through properly supporting GP practices, listening to their concerns and working with them rather than against them.”

Argyle Medical Group is the second-largest GP practice in Wales, serving around 25,000 registered patients with nine GPs — an average of approximately 2,800 patients per doctor. In 2021, the practice had the equivalent of 10.75 full-time GPs and was actively seeking to recruit more.

However, ongoing recruitment difficulties forced Argyle to withdraw from its contract at St Clement’s Surgery in Neyland and reduce hours at St Oswald’s Surgery in Pembroke. Following the Neyland closure, patients were transferred to the Neyland and Johnston Medical Practice, which later handed back its GP contract after retirements and further recruitment problems. Those patients are now treated by salaried and locum GPs employed by the Health Board.

Similar pressures are being felt across Pembrokeshire, from Tenby in the south-east to St Davids in the north-west. While Wales does not face “GP deserts” on the same scale as the well-documented shortage of NHS dentists, reduced access to general practice has contributed to more patients attending hospital for conditions once routinely dealt with by GPs. This has placed additional strain on hospital services and staff.

In 2018, the Welsh Government pledged to recruit 1,000 additional GPs into NHS Wales. While overall GP headcount has risen, the number of full-time GPs has continued to fall. Many newer recruits work part-time, as locums, or on limited contracts, meaning fewer doctors are available in practice on a day-to-day basis.

Newly qualified GPs have also tended to favour larger urban centres, particularly along the M4 corridor and in north-east Wales, where professional support and career opportunities are greater. Critics argue that Welsh Government recruitment and retention strategies have failed to address persistent shortages in rural and coastal communities.

There are also ongoing shortfalls in independent prescribing pharmacists and community nursing staff, limiting efforts to relieve pressure on GP surgeries.

Mr Kurtz said: “The foundation of NHS care — with GPs as the first point of contact — has buckled. Blaming GP staff is a distraction. The issues are structural, long-term and political, and ultimately the buck stops in Cardiff Bay.”