News

Badger smells more than a rat

Published

11 years ago

September 29, 2013

Readers will have read exclusively in this newspaper about the collusion of certain Councillors in a scheme intended to help top boss Bryn Parry-Jones avoid tax.

There are times when even Badger is astonished by the way in which some members of the Council, having found one level, appear to find murkier depths to plumb with ease.

Look at the six faces opposite: The leader of the Council, his predecessor, a former deputy leader of the Council, a former cabinet member, a current cabinet member and the former leader of Pembrokeshire’s Conservatives: there they are.

These are the faces of the Councillors who sat behind closed doors in a meeting that, in a time of brutal cuts to Council services, decided that a man paid more than the Prime Minister needed a big tax break to make ends meet in his retirement.

Well that condensed milk and those tinned pilchards won’t buy themselves, will they?

Let’s look at some of the sorts of figures involved in the calculations of the Staff Remuneration Committee to see if we can get close to the size of Bryn’s Big Break. The Council, as is usual, have decided that such is Bryn’s importance and magnificence that the public should not have the details of the pot of public money he gets for his part in bringing such shame to Pembrokeshire that the Welsh Government had to intervene in the Council’s operations.

Readers may be surprised to learn that not only is Bryn’s salary actually a matter of public record – although Pembrokeshire County Council held out against revealing his hefty salary for many moons– but calculations used in other local authorities are widely available online.

In 2011, Haringey Council produced the following figures for someone on a salary of £150,000 (much less than his Bryn-ness):

Salary at beginning of year	£150,000
Service at beginning of year	25 years
Pre-2008 service at beginning of year	22 years
Increase in Pay	6.6%
Salary at end of year	£160,000
Service at end of year	26 years
Pre-2008 service at end of year	22 years
Inflation over year (Consumer Price Index)	2.5%
Pension accrued at beginning of year	£48,750
Lump Sum accrued at beginning of year	£123,750
Pension accrued at end of year	£54,667
Lump Sum accrued at end of year	£132,000
Value of “pension savings”	£80,323
Excess over annual allowance of £50,000	£30,323
Tax charge if 40%	£12,129
Tax charge if 45% (from April 2013)	£13,645
Tax charge if 50%	£15,161

Local government pensions work on the basis that employers and employees make contributions to the scheme. In order to permit Bryn to avoid tax what the IPPG led Committee did was to make it possible for Bryn Parry-Jones – as well as his fellow highest-paid officers – to choose to salt away the equivalent value of the Council’s contribution to their pensions to somewhere the tax man wouldn’t be able to get his mitts on it.

The change in the tax laws which brought about this tax dodge “arrangement” only affects those described as ‘very high earners.’ In fact the reason the change was brought in, ostensibly, was because of a quarter of all pension tax relief was going to only 1.5% of members of the pension scheme.

Bryn is one of the 1.5%.

These members – and take a good look at the mug shots opposite – thought that in a period when services were being cut and the wages of the lower paid employees were being slashed, they would give the best paid of their best paid employees a chance to avoid paying tax.

They have colluded to give those most able to afford tax to avoid it at the expense of everyone else.

Cosy and complacent: it appears they sat around a table in secret session to carve out a sordid tax dodge.

They should be ashamed. They won’t be.

Five of these sat together and decided to cut low-paid workers’ pay knowing that Bryn is trousering a big tax-free wodge of Council Tax payers’ cash.

It stinks.

The members of this Committee have colluded to let their very well remunerated Chief Executive avoid tax.

The Welsh Audit Office don’t seem to like it. Why should we?

Let’s also put this in context. At the time this meeting took place, the Council had just been the subject of the report that led to Welsh Government intervention in Pembrokeshire’s affairs. That report said this about our County Council (emphases added):

“The absence of effective governance in relation to safeguarding and protecting children REFLECTS FAILURES WITHIN THE CULTURE OF THE AUTHORITY AS A WHOLE. The shortcomings with the authority’s arrangements to safeguard and protect children are longstanding and systemic. This is indicative of the deep-seated nature of these problems and failings within the authority … THIS IS INDICATIVE OF A CLOSED, NOT AN OPEN OR TRANSPARENT CULTURE.”

So it was – as the minutes of the meeting put it – to aid the retention of the person in charge at the time the Council failed most spectacularly in its duty to us that the Committee members opposite decided that so essential was Bryn’s contribution that he needed an annual five-figure sweetie to stay.

Shortly after the child safeguarding issue came to prominence, a vote of no confidence in Bryn was tabled by Councillors who were, to say the least, “disappointed” in his management. He survived the vote as ‘Cwmbetws’ and his cohorts rallied round him.

Smell a rat?

It stinks of other odours, too: those more associated with the dairy farming with which John Davies and Jamie Adams will be familiar.

Badger was thinking of illustrating this point with the quote from Animal Farm about some animals being more equal than others. Instead, he remembered something he read when being taught history by former Director of Education, Graham Longster.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was notorious for helping create the ant-communist hysteria in America during the early 1950’s. His claims became more outrageous and vindictive as time went on. He finally met his come-uppance before a Senate committee in 1954.

Joseph N. Welch, Counsel for the US Army, finally – exasperatedly – asked McCarthy the lethal: ‘You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?’

Shut a library. Close a school. Cut bin collections. End public toilets. Slash workers’ wages. Tell everybody the cuts are unavoidable. But for God’s sake give Bryn the Merciless a tax break.

Look at the faces opposite again.

Ask Joseph Welch’s question of them.

News

Too many children in Wales living in poverty – Lib Dems want action

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats renewed their demands for the implementation of child poverty targets.

According to a report from the Bevan foundation, 29% of children living in Wales are currently experiencing poverty (an estimated 190,000 children).

The same report highlighted that the largest percentage of children living in poverty are from working households or in couple households.

The Welsh Lib Dems are now renewing calls for the Welsh Government to create a set of targets for reducing child poverty, which the party argues will allow for more accountability.

The party has previously called for the implementation of targets, citing recommendations from the Calling Time on Child Poverty Report published in November last year.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “The latest statistics on childhood poverty in Wales paints a very distressing image of families across the country struggling to make ends meet.

Over the course of the last six years, the proportion of children in poverty has skyrocketed. Fuelled by worsening economic conditions and a complete lack of action from both governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.

We cannot act complacent about these figures nor accept the clear lack of progress in fighting child poverty, behind each statistic is a child that the state has failed.

It remains painfully clear that the Welsh Government is failing to make any meaningful progress in this fight, which is why they must follow through with the implementation of clear set targets that will allow for further accountability.

We as a party have continuously called for the creation of these targets and we will not be silenced. For the sake of future generations we urge the Welsh Government to listen.”

Crime

Welsh constabulary areas record another increase in shoplifting

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RETAIL trade union Usdaw is deeply concerned by today’s police recorded crime statistics showing that in 2023 there were significant increases in shoplifting across all constabulary areas in Wales. In the whole of England and Wales there has been a persistent upward trend since the pandemic, which continued with a 37% increase and has now risen to the highest level in 20 years.

The Office for National Statistics released figures showing a 39% increase in shoplifting incidents across Wales and by constabulary area as follows:

Dyfed-Powys +11%
Gwent +47%
North Wales +23%
South Wales +51%

Usdaw’s 2023 annual survey of over 5,500 shopworkers found that 60% had suffered incidents of violence, threats and abuse that were triggered by shoplifting and armed robbery.

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary says: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers. This 39% increase in shoplifting across Wales is further evidence that we are facing an epidemic of retail crime, which is hugely concerning.

“Our members have reported that they are often faced with hardened career criminals in the stores and we know that retail workers are much more likely to be abused by those who are stealing to sell goods on. Our latest survey results show that 7 in 10 retail workers suffered abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. 60% of respondents said theft from shops and armed robbery were triggers for these incidents.

“The scale of assaults, abuse and threats towards shopworkers and extent of the retail crime epidemic has been a disgrace for many years. This has been made worse by police cuts and a failure to legislate to protect retail staff. Usdaw has long called for action that includes a standalone offence for assaulting a shopworker and that has been vehemently opposed by this Government and their Conservative MPs on many occasions.

“Recently the Government performed a long overdue U-turn after many years of sustained campaigning by Usdaw and others. Our members have had to wait too long for their voices to be heard and common sense to prevail. We will have to see the detail of what Ministers are proposing and we are clear that it must be at least what we won in Scotland three years ago. It also cannot fall short of Labour’s commitments to 13,000 more uniformed officers, patrols on high streets, banning repeat offenders and ending the perverse £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters.

“The dither and delay by this Government on this issue over many years, has led to thousands of shopworkers needlessly suffering physical and mental injury. Today’s stats should ensure that their promise to legislate is done speedily. We hope that whatever the Government is proposing will be substantial and effective in giving shopworkers, key workers in every community, the respect that they have long deserved and regrettably too often do not receive.”

Business

Paramount’s key role in transformation of McArthurGlen Designer Outlet

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

FAST-growing Welsh company Paramount is relishing the challenge of creating an “irresistible dining destination” after winning the contract to play a key role in the multi-million transformation of the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Bridgend.

The Cardiff-based design, build, fit-out and refurbishment specialist will spearhead the re-development project of the shopping centre after being handed responsibility for revamping its popular food court over the summer.

In the coming months, the development will see the Food Court transformed into three modern, and bright restaurants, welcoming new food and beverage brands to the centre and creating more than 100 new job opportunities for the local community.

Paramount’s Construction Director, Paul Thomas, said: “The team behind the scenes at McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Bridgend have fantastic plans for the future and we’re delighted to have been entrusted with the mission to help turn their exciting vision into a reality.

“Paramount prides itself on creating places where people want to be, and my team are relishing the opportunity to help create what will be an irresistible dining destination. It’s certain to be a complex project, but we have the expertise and local knowledge to deliver outstanding results in close collaboration with our project partners.”

The owners of the shopping centre, which has been attracting local people and visitors for more than 25 years, have promised a “substantial investment to redevelop the Food Court area and replace it with new and exciting restaurants”.

Now the Paramount team is ready to lay the groundwork by removing some existing structures around the Food Court and will then introduce a series of new features as part of the overall facelift. These include new glazed entrance doors within glazed curtain walling shopfront, render and a new entrance lobby with new stairs and lifts.

The work to completely develop the Food Court in the shopping centre starts this week, and is expected to be completed in late autumn. As a result, customer favourites including Nando’s, McDonald’s and Chopsticks will be closed while work is under way.

Patrick Finney, Head of European Construction, McArthurGlen Group, said: “After celebrating our 25th anniversary last year, we’re extremely pleased to welcome Paramount on board in this important step of revitalising the Food Court area.

“These are exciting times for everyone at one of South Wales’ best-loved retail complexes and we know Paramount will work closely with us to create a truly special place for diners and shoppers of all ages.”

Paramount, whose turnover reached £45 million in 2023, employs 60 people who own a majority shareholding of the business – 51 per cent – following completion of an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) scheme in 2021, a deal which marked a major milestone for Paramount after a period of sustained growth.

The company is well known across Wales and England where it has created high-quality inspirational space for a number of leading companies. These include the multi-million-pound redevelopment of Hodge House and Fusion Point One in central Cardiff, and the fit out of Par 59 bars in South Wales and South West.

Over the next few months, Paramount’s construction team will also be completing on a multi-million-pound social housing development in Porthcawl, Mid-Glamorgan with Valleys to Coast.