A CALL for an independent public inquiry into the ongoing situation at Withyhedge landfill site has been made by local Senedd Member Paul Davies. Mr Davies made the call in the Senedd Chamber, whilst asking the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs just how bad the situation had to get before the local community could receive some support from the Welsh Government.

Resource Management Ltd (RML), which operates the Withyhedge site has already been issued several Enforcement Notices by Natural Resources Wales and yet local residents are still living with potentially toxic odours and emissions.

Mr Davies said, “Week after week I have stood up in the Senedd Chamber and asked for the Welsh Government to intervene to support the local community. People have complained of coughs, nausea and swollen eyes and yet despite the sympathetic words of Government Cabinet Secretaries, there has been no support forthcoming.”

“The people of Pembrokeshire deserve better and so I’m calling for an independent public inquiry to fully understand why this situation has been so poorly handled and why my constituents have been so badly let down.”

A FORMER minister urged the Welsh Government to cough up cash for a culture sector in crisis after being deprioritised in budget decisions since the start of devolution.

Alun Davies, the Labour MS for Blaenau Gwent, criticised cuts in the Welsh Government’s 2024/25 budget, warning arts funding has been down the pecking order for decades.

He said: “The politics of devolution has been that this government has deliberately taken a decision to deprioritise culture funding in terms of its overall budget.

“Not just because of the crisis today or yesterday but over the period of devolved self-government.”

With fears for the future of Wales’ national museum, library and opera, Mr Davies, a member of the Senedd culture committee, warned funding cuts are undermining cultural expression.

Pressing Wales’ new culture secretary, he said: “I think if the Welsh Government is serious about what it says – then it has to put its money where its mouth is, quite frankly.”

Lesley Griffiths, who came into post in March, responded: “I don’t disagree with you about the funding and, obviously, we had to make some very difficult choices.

“I’ve come in at a time when, as you say, the budget has been cut significantly.”

She added: “The first week I was in post – everywhere I go, there seem to be leaking roofs; we’ve got these iconic buildings, which are very old, etc.”

Ms Griffiths, who is also responsible for social justice, said the Welsh Government will be launching a new cultural strategy in the next couple of weeks.

Mr Davies highlighted an editorial in the final copy of Planet magazine, raising concerns its funding is worth less in real terms than when John Major was prime minister in the ’90s.

He told the committee: “The cuts, recently, have ended the magazine – it’s closed it.

“So, it’s very easy for successive ministers we see come here with strategies but if the people don’t exist, they disappear, they’ve gone.

“You’ve got a speech, you’ve got a strategy, you’ve got a press release but you haven’t got any substance behind it, and I think that’s the issue.”

Mr Davies said Welsh Governments of all complexions have deprioritised arts funding in relative terms, even despite wider funding increases when he was first elected in 2007.

Delyth Jewell, who chairs the committee, raised concerns about the Welsh Government’s written evidence on culture and the new relationship with the EU.

She said swathes appeared strikingly familiar to a paper submitted by Wales Arts International, the Arts Council of Wales’ international arm.

Plaid Cymru’s deputy leader said: “There were quite a few sections that, it seems, were copied and pasted from what we received from Wales Arts International.”

During the evidence session with the Welsh Government, Ms Jewell called for assurances from Ms Griffiths, who was previously responsible for rural affairs.

Ms Griffiths replied: “Yes, absolutely. I’m very surprised to hear that. Obviously, it was before, as you say, I came into portfolio…. But, yes, I can assure you that it won’t happen again.”

Llyr Gruffydd raised concerns about a “hugely disappointing” update from HSBC following the closure of its Welsh-language customer support phone line.

The Plaid Cymru politician, who represents North Wales, said the bank received 22 calls a day before moving to a system where customers can request a call-back in Welsh.

He warned: “It’s decreased to 17 calls every three months, which is a farce in terms of providing a service to customers.”

In a letter to the committee and Jeremy Miles, the Welsh language secretary, HSBC’s José Carvalho claimed customer feedback has been largely positive.

The head of wealth and personal banking said HSBC is reducing the maximum length of time for a call-back from three working days to the next working day.

THE Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh language, Jeremy Miles, has today set out his immediate economic priorities for Wales during a keynote speech at AMRC Cymru in Broughton.

In setting out the challenges and opportunities presented by a just transition towards a greener economy, the business and skills audience was left in no doubt as to the scale of the prize for being at the forefront of that transition – not just for the business community in Wales but across public services and wider society. Immediate action being taken will include:

• Establishing a national economic council, replacing the Ministerial Advisory Committee
• Short turn around reviews in five key areas, looking at practical and actionable delivery in areas such as net zero skills, AI, and maximising growth opportunities in renewables.
• A series of regional events where all businesses will be invited to share their views with the Cabinet Secretary directly
• Developing a national approach to future skills planning, spanning all sectors of the economy

The Economy Secretary explained: “I have always believed that the foundation of all that any progressive Government seeks to achieve, rests on the health of our economy and its ability to support our wellbeing.

“If we have an economy which is growing truly sustainably, delivering prosperity and more opportunities for better paid work, in all parts of Wales, then we have the best opportunity to ensure that people can flourish.

“All the other challenges which any government grapples with – tackling health and educational inequalities, alleviating poverty, delivering effective and supportive public services, in our case – ensuring strong communities for the Welsh language to flourish – these all ultimately turn on the strength of our economy and what it does to increase prosperity and solidarity.

Adding: “I want Wales to be a place where young people with great ideas want to start a business, whether they are from Wales, have come here to study or choose to come to live here because of the welcome they will get, the entrepreneurship and mentoring support they can rely on and that sense of optimism and belonging which runs through our country.”

“I want them to know they can make it in Wales – a can do, creative nation where people flourish. That’s the economic future I know we all want for Wales.”