News

Update on Lockdown easing measures from First Minister Mark Drakeford

Published

6 years ago

August 21, 2020

WELSH MINISTERS are required to review the need for the requirements and restrictions and their proportionality every 21 days.

The scientific and medical advice continues to show the level of coronavirus transmission in Wales remains low. However, the rise in cases we can see in other parts of the UK and further afield continues to remind us that the threat from the virus has not gone away. We are learning the lessons from those places, which indicates people meeting indoors remains a significant risk.

It is a priority for Welsh Government that schools in Wales should be able to open in September as planned. All the easements we make to restrictions have a cumulative effect on transmission rates and the headroom we have available. We will use the headroom we have to ensure children can resume their education next month.

In line with advice from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales and the scientific evidence of the risks from indoor settings, the conditions still do not permit me to ease the general restrictions on the ability of people to meet indoors. This is kept under continuous review and changes will be made when it is safe to do so.

This still means that we must not visit someone else’s home indoors unless we are part of an extended household with them or providing care. It also means we can only visit a business or premises indoors, such as a pub or restaurant, with members of our own household or extended household. It is, of course, possible to meet different people outdoors as long as social distancing is maintained.

Mr Drakeford said “We fully appreciate how difficult these continued restrictions can feel and the negative effects they might have on people’s wellbeing. Therefore during this review period I am keen to provide relaxations to recognise the vital importance everyone places on being able to spend time with family and friends.”

The First Minister said that he can confirm that up to four households will be able to join together in an extended household from Saturday 22 August. This might take the form of two existing extended households joining together, or households not already part of one to join existing or new extended households.

Extended households have enabled families be reunited and helped those suffering from loneliness and isolation. They have also supported caring arrangements. I know families have had to make difficult choices however in deciding with whom they should form their extended household.

This change will benefit those previously not able to form an extended household as well as providing opportunities for people to meet with more friends and family. More people can visit each other indoors, go out and do things together, and stay overnight without social distancing.

Changes will also be brought forward to the Regulations to allow for some limited indoor celebrations following a wedding, civil partnership, or funeral for up to 30 people from 22 August. For now, these will be limited in scope, such as an organised meal in a hotel or restaurant, and must take place in a regulated setting. This will ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to limit the risks of infection and spread of coronavirus. We will learn the lessons from this relaxation to consider how they might be applied to other events in the future.

The risk from coronavirus is much lower outdoors, which has led to us easing restrictions more quickly in those areas. Our approach throughout this process has been to plan, where necessary pilot activity to learn lessons, and then ease restrictions further. Over the next few weeks we will pilot some limited outdoor events for up to 100 people.

With an aim to do this through proposals that are in development for:

• Outdoor theatre events organised by Theatr Clwyd (over weekends beginning Friday 27 August);

• Small scale car rally at Trac Mon on Ynys Mon; and

• Welsh Triathlon’s planned ‘Return to Racing’ competition at Pembrey Country Park.

To be clear, no other outdoor events of this sort will be allowed during the next three weeks. These pilots are being trialled to enable us to learn lessons, in the hope that more such events can be permitted in future.

Looking forward to the remainder of the three weeks of this review, we will use this time to look at how we can safely restart more activity indoors. This is important preparation for the autumn and winter when options to meet outdoors become less possible.

A number of people, including the Older People’s Commissioner, have raised the growing concern about the impact restrictions on visiting care homes is having on people’s emotional, mental and even physical health. I understand the distress this is causing.

The Welsh Government has been working closely with partners, to develop guidance that sets out the stringent considerations that care home providers should take in order safely to resume indoor visits. Everybody is concerned to ensure we prevent the spread of the virus amongst our most vulnerable citizens.

The intention is to provide for indoor visits to recommence from Saturday 29 August subject to the strict controls set out in the guidance and conditions remaining favourable.

Subject to the completion of final preparatory work, casinos in Wales will also be able to reopen on Saturday 29 August.

Mark Drakeford said: “Once again I am grateful to the people of Wales for their support as we collectively Keep Wales Safe.”

We will publicise a summary of all the key dates as soon as we have the information.

Pembrokeshire County Council Leader, Councillor David Simpson, has provided a further coronavirus update for Friday, 21st August, as follows:

‘Hello to you all. I hope you are all keeping well.

‘The last week we have seen mixed weather across our county and we are now seeing Storm Ellen battering our county.

‘It can be argued that we have been dealing with Storm Covid-19 since March; this has been a long road and testing for all of us.

‘I do feel the last few weeks has given us all hope and it is nice to see people enjoying themselves across the whole county. However, without sounding to critical or authoritative, we all need to maintain social distancing.

‘As I said last week, we are all making small steps but these steps are moving us forward to a more normal position.

‘I suppose going back to normal is something that will take a long time so we are now carving out for ourselves a new normal and we have to adjust to different ways.

‘I’m very pleased to hear that visitors are spreading themselves across all of the county and relieving pressures on our traditional tourist “hot spots.” We have a beautiful county, so please explore all of it.

‘This week as an Authority we have seen some of our services re-opening such as fitness suites at our leisure centres and access to computers in our libraries.

‘I would like to congratulate all our students, on their recent exam results.

‘Awaiting the results is always a stressful time, so I want to thank all our students for the way they changed and adapted the schooling regime during Covid-19. As an Authority we are preparing and looking forward to the new school term in September.

‘I also want to thank the team in our Contact Centre who have carried on dealing with calls, emails and service requests throughout the pandemic.

‘I appreciate that at times they receive a high volume of calls and customers can be in a queue.

‘Just to remind everyone, we can also handle service requests via the My Account facility on our website:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/my-account
or by asking Penfro, the Council’s chatbot, which appears on all of our website pages.

‘You can also pay your Council bills online at:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/make-a-payment
or by using our automated payment line on 01437 775164 available 24 hours, seven days a week.

‘So once again, we head into another weekend and I hope you all have time to relax and enjoy days out.

‘The following coronavirus-related press releases have been issued since my previous update last Friday:

• County Views With A Safety Message:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/stunning-county-views-with-a-message

• Keeping Care Providers Safe:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/pride-at-hard-work-to-keep-county-care-providers-safe

• Hospitality Outlets Reminded About New Grant:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/bars-cafes-and-restaurants-urged-not-to-miss-out-on-new-grant

• Haverfordwest Airport Partially Re-Opens:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/airport-partially-re-opens-to-visiting-pilots

• Schools Re-Opening Information:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/keep-up-to-date-with-school-re-opening-information

• Childcare Grants:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/council-offers-childcare-grants

• Promoting Social Distancing:
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/banners-promote-social-distancing

‘Public Health Wales is updating and adding to their resources regularly. Please find all assets here: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-resources/

‘Also, please keep an eye on our newsroom at: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom

‘For service updates visit: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/emergency-planning/service-changes
‘And to get daily email updates, log onto our website and sign into My Account at:
https://myaccount.pembrokeshire.gov.uk

‘Remember, please travel safely.’

Useful links:

• www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus
• www.sir-benfro.gov.uk/coronafeirws
• https://phw.nhs.wales/
• Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru – Coronafeirws Newydd (COVID-19) – Cyngor hunan-ynysu
• https://gov.wales/coronavirus

Crime

Teen denies attempted murder of Milford Haven teacher

Published

2 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

TEENAGER REMANDED AHEAD OF JULY TRIAL

A 15-YEAR-old boy has denied attempting to murder a teacher during a stabbing incident at Milford Haven School.

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (May 8).

He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and unlawful wounding with a knife.

The charges relate to an incident at Milford Haven School on Thursday, February 5, when emergency services were called after reports that a teacher had been assaulted by a pupil carrying a weapon.

The school was placed into lockdown and pupils were later safely evacuated.

The injured teacher was taken to hospital with stab wounds, but was discharged later the same day.

Police said at the time that specialist officers were supporting the victim and the wider school community.

The teenager was remanded in custody following Friday’s hearing.

A trial is due to begin on July 6.

News

No overall majority in the Senedd: What happens next?

Published

18 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Staff Writer

By Owen Venables

WALES is facing a new political reality after the latest Senedd election produced no overall majority, leaving parties preparing for negotiations that could shape the next Welsh Government.

Plaid Cymru emerged as the largest party following major gains across Wales, while Reform UK recorded a significant breakthrough and Labour suffered its worst Senedd result since devolution began in 1999. However, despite Plaid’s success, the party fell short of the numbers needed to govern alone.

Under the Senedd’s expanded system, 49 seats are required for an outright majority in the 96-seat chamber. No party reached that threshold, meaning Wales has entered a hung Senedd.

This is the first time since devolution that Labour has failed to emerge as the largest party in the Welsh Parliament. The scale of Labour’s losses was further underlined by the defeat of First Minister Eluned Morgan, who lost her own Senedd seat before announcing she would step down as leader of Welsh Labour.

Since the creation of the Senedd in 1999, Labour has either governed alone or led every Welsh administration, sometimes through coalition agreements or cooperation deals with smaller parties.

Attention will now turn to what happens behind closed doors over the coming days.

The most likely immediate step is talks between parties to determine whether a formal coalition government can be formed. Plaid Cymru, as the largest party, will almost certainly have the first opportunity to attempt to form a government, with party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth expected to begin discussions with other parties and independents.

One possible outcome is a coalition agreement involving smaller progressive parties such as the Greens or Liberal Democrats. Another possibility is a confidence-and-supply arrangement, where smaller parties agree to support a government on key votes, such as budgets and confidence motions, without formally entering government themselves.

Labour’s reduced numbers may still leave the party influential despite its heavy losses. In previous Senedd terms, Labour has governed through cooperation agreements, including its 2021 deal with Plaid Cymru. Some political figures may favour cross-party cooperation again in order to provide stability and prevent repeated deadlock votes in the chamber.

Reform UK’s strong performance also changes the political arithmetic significantly. Although the party is unlikely to be part of any governing coalition, its rise means it could become a powerful opposition force within the Senedd. Reform’s gains in former Labour strongholds reflect wider political changes already seen across parts of England, where support for traditional parties has weakened.

If no stable agreement can be reached, the Senedd would continue holding votes to elect a First Minister. Under Welsh parliamentary rules, if no First Minister is successfully appointed within 28 days, another election could potentially be triggered.

The coming days are therefore likely to be dominated by negotiations, compromise and political pressure as parties attempt to determine who can command enough support to govern.

While the election has reshaped Welsh politics, the biggest takeaway is that the era of automatic Labour dominance in Wales has come to an end, and the Senedd is now entering one of the most politically unpredictable periods in its history.

News

Catastrophe for Labour as Plaid and Reform reshape Welsh politics

Published

19 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Jon Coles

ELUNED MORGAN LOSES SEAT AS OLD CERTAINTIES ARE SWEPT AWAY

THE VOTERS of Wales have delivered one of the most dramatic results in the history of devolution, sweeping Labour from power and handing Plaid Cymru a clear path towards forming the next Welsh Government.

After more than a quarter of a century of Labour dominance in Cardiff Bay, the party has been reduced to just nine seats in the Senedd, with its support collapsing across its traditional heartlands.

The final seat tally was:

Plaid Cymru – 43
Reform UK – 34
Labour – 9
Conservatives – 7
Greens – 2
Liberal Democrats – 1

Plaid Cymru is now by far the largest party in the new Welsh Parliament and is expected to seek to form the next government, either as a minority administration or with support from other parties.

Reform UK, which had been tipped to make major gains, finished in second place with 34 seats, an extraordinary breakthrough which places it ahead of Labour and the Conservatives.

But while Reform’s rise is one of the major stories of the election, the biggest political earthquake is Labour’s near-total collapse.

***Claire Archibold and Paul Marr, who both won seats for Reform UK***

The party, which has led every Welsh Government since devolution began, was gutted in the Valleys, south-east Wales, rural Wales and key urban centres.

First Minister Eluned Morgan’s defeat in Ceredigion Penfro will dominate the headlines. Her loss marks a stunning personal and political blow, with Labour failing to win a seat in the new six-member constituency.

In the same constituency, Conservative Paul Davies was returned, while fellow Conservative Samuel Kurtz narrowly missed out. Kurtz later issued an emotional statement saying it had been an “absolute honour and pleasure” to serve as a Member of the Senedd.

He wrote: “That’s the way the cookie crumbles, folks.

“What an absolute honour and pleasure it has been to serve as your Member of the Senedd.”

He said he was pleased Paul Davies had been re-elected, adding: “I owe him so much, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this job without his support and guidance.”

Kurtz thanked his family, staff and supporters, saying he had loved “every single second” of the job.

He added: “So for now, it’s so long. But I don’t think it’s farewell.”

***Emotional goodbye: Paul Davies with Sam Kurtz, who was not re-elected for the Conservatives***

Labour’s humiliation was not confined to west Wales.

Senior backbencher Alun Davies lost his seat after twenty years in the Welsh Parliament, while Huw Irranca-Davies, Eluned Morgan’s Deputy, clung on in sixth place in Afan Ogwr Rhondda.

Former Labour minister Sarah Murphy also only just survived in Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg.

In Carmarthenshire, Labour failed to return a single representative, with Plaid Cymru and Reform splitting the seats between them.

In Swansea Gower, Mike Hedges was the only Labour MS to survive, while Plaid took three seats and Reform claimed the remainder.

Ken Skates also clung on to the sixth seat in Flint Wrexham, where Reform and Plaid both took two seats.

The scale of Labour’s defeat was underlined by its failure to win a single seat in Caerffili and Blaenau Gwent, and by its reduction to two seats in Cardiff, where Plaid Cymru now has more MSs than it has ever had city councillors.

Labour returned just one candidate in Pontypridd and Newport, and only two in Torfaen, once regarded as a nailed-on Labour area.

Reform’s strongest gains came in the Valleys and south-east Wales, but the party also cut into Conservative support across rural, mid and north Wales.

The Conservatives finished on seven seats, a result which leaves them badly squeezed between Reform on one side and Plaid Cymru on the other.

The Greens won two seats, both in Cardiff constituencies. While the result gives the party its first real Senedd breakthrough, it falls well short of the more optimistic projections during the campaign.

Jane Dodds remains the sole Liberal Democrat in the Welsh Parliament.

Labour’s final humiliation came in Gwynedd Maldwyn, the last seat to declare, where the party finished fifth, behind Plaid Cymru, Reform, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Plaid took four seats there, with Reform winning two.

In her concession speech, Eluned Morgan said the “wind of change” had blown across Wales.

For Labour, that wind has swept away the old certainties.