UNISON says outsourcing under Dan Thomas cost council millions more than planned

REFORM UK Wales leader Dan Thomas has come under attack from UNISON Cymru, which says his record in local government should serve as a warning to Welsh voters ahead of the Senedd election.

In a report released on Wednesday (Apr 15), the union claimed Barnet Council became one of the most far-reaching outsourcing experiments in British local government during Thomas’s time as a Conservative councillor, deputy leader and later council leader.

UNISON says core services were handed to private contractors on a huge scale, costs increased sharply and public scrutiny was weakened.

The report claims decade-long contracts with Capita ended up costing Barnet Council £229 million more than originally planned, while around 790 jobs were transferred out of the public sector, including roles in cleaning, IT and customer services.

Jess Turner, regional secretary for UNISON Cymru, said: “Barnet’s outsourcing disaster shows the price staff and residents have to pay when politicians hand public services to private contractors and weaken scrutiny.

“Wales needs high quality services that are properly funded, publicly delivered and accountable to the communities they serve. Staff and residents have every right to judge politicians by what they did when they had power.

“This report gives Welsh voters the chance to look at Dan Thomas’ track record and draw their own conclusions.”

John Burgess, Barnet UNISON branch secretary, also criticised Thomas’s record, claiming he had been hostile to criticism during his time at the authority.

He said: “I watched Dan Thomas operate for the best part of two decades in Barnet. He is adversarial, arrogant and hostile to anyone who challenges him.

“When residents tried to ask questions, he shut down public scrutiny at council meetings.

“People in Wales need to understand what he did when he had power. He championed contracts that cost the council £229m more than planned, left basic financial controls in tatters and saw Barnet become the first local authority fined by the Pensions Regulator.”

Reform UK rejected the criticism when approached by The Herald.

A party spokesperson said: “Dan has experience in cutting taxes while protecting frontline services.

“Other party leaders in Wales do not.”

Thomas served as a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Barnet from 2006, became deputy leader in 2011 and council leader in 2019. He resigned as a councillor in December 2025 and now leads Reform UK Wales.

The exchange is the latest sign that Thomas’s record in local government is becoming a political battleground in Wales as parties seek to define Reform’s approach to public services before polling day.

Conservative candidate says farmers feel under pressure as parties battle over support, regulation and the future of Welsh agriculture

FARMERS from across the region raised concerns about rising costs, regulation and future support during an agricultural hustings in Aberaeron on Tuesday (Apr 14).

The event, jointly hosted by the Farmers’ Union of Wales, NFU Cymru and Ceredigion Young Farmers’ Clubs, brought together members of the farming community to question candidates on the challenges facing the sector ahead of the Senedd election.

Among those responding was Samuel Kurtz, Conservative candidate for Ceredigion Preseli Pembrokeshire, who said the mood in the room reflected growing frustration among farmers.

Mr Kurtz said: “The hustings made one thing very clear: farmers feel let down, ignored and under increasing pressure from Labour in Cardiff Bay and in Westminster.

“As the Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, I have been warning for some time that the direction of travel is wrong. Farmers are being asked to do more and more with less and less support.

“Rising costs, burdensome regulation and uncertainty over future funding are placing real strain on farm businesses and family livelihoods.”

He said many in the industry were worried that current policies could undermine food production and place further strain on rural economies.

Mr Kurtz also raised concerns about long-term food security, saying farmers wanted stronger backing for domestic production and more confidence about the future.

He said: “Our farmers are the backbone of rural Wales. They produce our food, support local jobs and care for our countryside.

“But right now, too many feel that decisions by Labour, backed by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, are being imposed on them rather than made with them.

“That has to change.”

The Welsh Conservatives say their proposals for the sector include an extra £100 million for the agriculture budget over the next Senedd term, placing food security and productivity at the heart of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, increasing the amount of Welsh food served in schools and hospitals, and moving away from an all-Wales NVZ policy in favour of a more targeted, catchment-based approach.

The party has also pledged to continue campaigning against the so-called family farm tax and to take stronger action on bovine TB in livestock and wildlife.

Mr Kurtz said: “We need a government that backs farmers, not one that creates barriers and uncertainty.

“We will continue to fight for a better deal for rural Wales and ensure that farmers’ voices are heard loud and clear.”

The hustings formed part of wider engagement with the agricultural sector during the election campaign, with farming remaining one of the key issues in rural parts of west Wales.

While Mr Kurtz used the event to attack Labour’s record in Cardiff Bay and Westminster, the discussion also reflected broader concern within the industry over funding, regulation and the future direction of farm policy in Wales.

PLANS for a special tower in rural Pembrokeshire to help protect a Welsh bat species in decline have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Jenny Surname O’Neill of Vincent Wildlife Trust sought permission for a five-metre-high bat roost tower structure at Llwyngoras, Felindre Farchog.

A supporting statement said: “The building will be used exclusively for wildlife conservation as a dedicated roosting site for bats. It will not serve any other function, and access will be strictly controlled, as disturbing bats is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

“Historically, a maternity roost for lesser horseshoe bats was present within one of the farm buildings on the wider site, notable as the only known maternity roost in North Pembrokeshire. However, numbers at the roost have declined in recent years.

“Greater horseshoe bats have also been recorded at the site over several years and concerns have been raised that interactions between the two species within a roost can negatively affect lesser horseshoe bat colonies, including roost abandonment and cessation of breeding. The decline in lesser horseshoe bat numbers may partly result from greater horseshoe bats discouraging their use of other onsite buildings.

“The proposed new structure is intended to provide an additional nearby roost option for lesser horseshoe bats. The sole purpose of the proposed development is to support local bat populations.”

It added: “The proposed bat roost structure forms part of a Wales-wide project, Landscape for Lessers, delivered by Vincent Wildlife Trust. The project is funded through the Nature Networks Programme, administered by the Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government and in partnership with Natural Resources Wales.

“The project aims to secure the future of Wales’s nationally significant population of lesser horseshoe bats by enhancing existing protected sites and building bespoke bat roosts in areas where the species is in decline, range-restricted, impacted by anthropogenic threats or impacted by the presence of other species invading their roosts.

“This project aims to take a strategic approach to facilitate the recovery of LHB populations across Wales. We will build roost structures in critical lesser horseshoe habitats, linking the network of protected sites and providing stepping stones in the landscape, allowing the species to recolonise their former range.”

The application was conditionally approved by park planners.