Politics
‘Sort finances before service changes’

ONE of west Wales’ Labour Constituency Parties has called for the Health Board not to proceed with its plans for major health service change until its long-standing financial crisis has been resolved.
On Friday, May 25, Ceredigion Constituency Labour Party passed a motion calling on the Board to think again.
In the last financial year the health board overspent its £760m budget by £70m, or 9%, and the board itself describes its regular overspends as ’growing year on year’.
Ceredigion Labour Party points out that although the changes in service provision which are being proposed may provide better patient care, they cannot also be expected to deliver savings if standards of care are intended to be maintained.
Dinah Mulholland, spokesperson for CCLP, said: ”We welcome all attempts to improve local health services. But acceptable proposals must be based on sound financial projections and dependable financial commitments.
“For instance, all three of the board’s alternative proposals for the delivery of clinical services involve the building of a new major urgent and planned care hospital `between Narberth and St Clears’, to replace other hospitals that would be closed or downgraded. Yet the Welsh Government has offered no commitment to provide capital funding for this scheme.
“We are calling for a `Stop and Fix’ approach because unless the financial arrangements are stabilised we see a very real threat that at some point during the next few years progress with major changes in service provision could be overtaken and overwhelmed by a sudden financial collapse.
“And if the board is preoccupied with delivering major changes in service provision it will be paying less attention to managing its ongoing financial problems.
“We would welcome a commitment from Hywel Dda not to proceed with any major reconfiguration of clinical services until it has secured resources to remedy the chronic and ingrained underfunding of health services in mid and west Wales. This proposed reconfiguration cannot and should not be expected to solve Hywel Dda’s long-standing problem with underfunding.”
Last week (May 23) the Welsh Health Secretary announced an annual increase of £27m in Hywel Dda’s revenue funding, but CCLP describes this as “sticking plaster” as it represents only 39% of the deficit in the last financial year.
The Health Secretary has said that this new funding puts Hywel Dda on a “fair funding basis”, but CCLP points out that if the board’s funding has only just become “fair” this raises additional questions about how much the local NHS budget has been “short-changed” in every year since the National Assembly began.
A review by the Welsh Government, as part of the Targeted Intervention support provided to Hywel Dda Health Board, found that two factors, demographics and scale, generated excess costs that were unavoidable to the Board.
The review, undertaken by Deloitte LLP, confirms the view held by many people in Ceredigion and mid and west Wales that Hywel Dda faces a unique set of healthcare challenges.
Hywel Dda is consulting the public on three alternative proposals for providing clinical care, closing and/or downgrading Withybush Hospital, Prince Philip hospital in Llanelli and Glangwili hospital in Carmarthen. In all three proposals community care would be strengthened so that more people can be treated and supported closer to home. In all versions Bronglais hospital in Aberystwyth would remain as a District General Hospital.
The 12-week public consultation began on 19 April and will end on 12 July. Ceredigion CLP is also critical of the board’s plans for obtaining the views of the public, which it points out do not include any meetings with platform speakers open to the general public. CCLP says this is unacceptable.
News
MPs back historic move to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales

MEMBERS of Parliament have voted decisively in favour of changing the law to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales.
The amendment, introduced by Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, will remove the threat of criminal prosecution for women undergoing abortions after the current 24-week limit. Antoniazzi argued passionately that women facing late-term abortions are in “desperate situations” and need “compassion, not criminalisation.”
MPs were allowed a free vote on the issue as a matter of personal conscience, and the measure passed comfortably by 379 votes to 137—a majority of 242.
Currently, abortions in England and Wales are legal up to 24 weeks, with exceptions permitted beyond this period if the woman’s life is at risk or under other specific conditions. Antoniazzi’s amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill ensures that women can no longer face arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment for ending a pregnancy at any stage.
Highlighting her argument in Parliament, Antoniazzi pointed out that nearly all abortions—99%—occur before 20 weeks. She emphasised that the small percentage who undergo late-term abortions are often vulnerable and facing complex personal circumstances.
“Each case represents a profound tragedy enabled by an archaic law,” she said. “This outdated Victorian legislation, created by an all-male parliament, has increasingly been weaponised against vulnerable women and girls.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy urged colleagues to consider broader changes to abortion laws, including repealing the 1861 Act entirely and formally recognising abortion access as a fundamental human right. Despite receiving significant initial backing, Creasy’s amendment did not proceed to a vote following concerns from abortion providers such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, who suggested it was not the optimal path to long-term reform.
Meanwhile, a Conservative amendment introduced by shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson, proposing to end the practice of allowing abortion medication by post without an in-person consultation, was rejected by MPs, with 379 voting against and 117 in support.
The landmark vote marks a significant step in abortion law reform, removing longstanding criminal penalties and shifting towards a compassionate framework for women’s healthcare.
News
Welsh Government publishes first Supplementary Budget for 2025-26

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has today (June 17) published its First Supplementary Budget for the 2025-26 financial year.
The updated budget reflects adjustments made since the Final Budget was agreed in February and includes several allocations from the Welsh Government’s reserves. It also incorporates changes to baseline funding following UK Government fiscal decisions earlier this year.
According to the written statement issued by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford MS, the revised budget is designed to keep public spending aligned with shifting economic conditions and priorities.
The Supplementary Budget outlines how money will be reallocated or drawn down to address emerging pressures or policy changes. It forms part of the normal financial planning process and gives the Senedd an opportunity to scrutinise government decisions taken since the Final Budget.
A debate on the Supplementary Budget has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, in the Senedd.
The Welsh Government said the changes ensure financial flexibility while remaining within overall spending limits.
Further details, including the full budget breakdown, are available on the Welsh Government’s website.
Photo caption:
Finance lead: Mark Drakeford MS will present the Supplementary Budget to the Senedd on July 8 (Pic: Herald)
News
Council begins settlement-by-settlement review of 20mph limits in Pembrokeshire

Listening exercise complete – local feedback now under review
PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has begun a comprehensive review of 20mph speed limits across the county, following a wave of public concern and a major listening exercise.
The review follows widespread concern over the Welsh Government’s blanket 20mph policy, introduced in September 2023. Residents, businesses and community leaders across Pembrokeshire raised concerns that the one-size-fits-all approach fails to account for the county’s rural road network and varying local conditions.
Councillor Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, confirmed that the council is now reviewing the feedback on a settlement-by-settlement basis and will contact residents directly in areas where speed limit changes are under consideration.
“Where a speed limit review has been proposed, we will engage directly with local residents before moving to wider consultation and any formal changes,” said Cllr Sinnett.
While the initial public response to the 20mph policy has been mixed, data from police shows a 28% drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads across Wales since the change. In Pembrokeshire, recorded casualties fell from 125 to 89 over the same period.
Although the council is no longer seeking new suggestions, the review process will continue throughout the current financial year. Formal changes to speed limits will be implemented where appropriate via the statutory Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process.
Meanwhile, the council has also reported a number of 20mph signs being vandalised or removed across the county, with the cost of replacement now exceeding £4,000. Despite this, the reduced limits remain fully enforceable.
The Herald understands that the next steps will include direct communication with residents in affected settlements, followed by formal consultation where required.
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