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Politics

New Pembrokeshire County Council leader’s Cabinet chosen

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NEW LEADER of Pembrokeshire County Council Jon Harvey has picked his Cabinet, with some notable changes, including the face of the council’s finance stepping down.

At the May 10 annual meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembroke St Mary North member Cllr Harvey beat fellow leadership hopeful Conservative group leader Di Clements by 30 votes to 27, following former leader David Simpson announcing he was to step down after seven years in the top job.

Cllr Harvey said the responsibility of taking the role of leader was “not one I take lightly,” saying he would bring “compassion, transparency, and integrity”.

He said there was a need for the political groups to work together for the good of Pembrokeshire.

He added: “If we work together for a common purpose and common goals, we can make a real difference for the residents we serve.

“Let’s work together; neither I nor the Cabinet have a monopoly on good ideas, speak to us. To this end I look forward to meeting with all the political groups on a regular basis.”

At that meeting he said Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller would continue in his role, the other Cabinet positions being decided this week.

Cllr Harvey, yesterday, May 14, announced his new Cabinet, with two councillors Joshua Beynon and Jacob Williams joining the Cabinet for the first time.

It also sees the face of council finances and budgets, Cllr Alec Cormack stepping down from Cabinet duties.

Cllr Beynon will be responsible for the Corporate Finance and Efficiencies portfolio while Cllr Williams will be responsible for Planning and Regulatory Services.

The rest of the Cabinet will see many familiar faces remaining.

Leader Cllr Harvey said: “I am delighted to announce my Cabinet which retains a strong mix of experienced Members who know and understand their portfolios, but also adds new ideas and new ways of thinking through Cllrs Beynon and Williams.

“I thank Cllr Cormack for all his work as Member for Corporate Finance over the last few years during a testing economic period and I now look forward to getting to work with my Cabinet colleagues and delivering on the council’s priority of working together, improving lives.”

Cllr Beynon, who has an economics degree and previously worked in budgeting for Hywel Dda University Health board in Ceredigion, said: “What I bring to the role is a willingness to listen and will also ensure we get value for money in public services and what matters to people.”

The Pembroke Dock Central councillor, first elected seven years ago, added: “I’m looking forward to the role, it builds on my educational and professional experience, I’m really looking forward to listening to all sides of the chamber.”

Cabinet meets for the first time on Monday, May 20, at 10am.

The full Cabinet is:

  • Cllr Jon Harvey, Leader of Council.
  • Cllr Paul Miller – Deputy Leader of Council and Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change.
  • Cllr Tessa Hodgson – Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding.
  • Cllr Michelle Bateman – Cabinet Member for Housing.
  • Cllr Neil Prior – Cabinet Member for Communities, Corporate Improvement and the Well-being of Future Generations.
  • Cllr Jacob Williams – Cabinet Member for Planning & Regulatory Services.
  • Cllr Joshua Beynon – Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies.
  • Cllr Rhys Sinnett – Cabinet Member for Residents Services.
  • Cllr Guy Woodham – Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language.

News

New social services out of hours emergency contact goes live soon

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THERE is now a new number to contact social services in emergency situations outside normal work hours with a bilingual call centre on hand to support residents.

Calls to the Emergency Duty Team will be answered out of hours by Galw Gofal, a compassionate, supportive and professional service designed to assist residents during evenings, weekends and Bank holidays.

The team is trained to handle a wide range of urgent social care calls.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Emergency Duty Team are here to help people with personal, family or accommodation problems which may have reached a crisis point and cannot wait until the next working day.

This can include difficulties with children and young people, concern about a child outside your family, acute mental health problems, older or people with a disability at risk and emergency housing advice.

The Galw Gofal team will liaise with the emergency duty team and arrange contact with an experienced social worker.

It’s hard to think straight when there’s a crisis, and many callers can be helped by advice given over the phone. If you already have a social worker, the team can offer advice to help you until you can make new plans with your social worker, and can send them a message to let them know what has happened. If you do not have a social worker, a referral can be made to your local daytime social work team if this would help your situation.

The new out of hours emergency contact number – 0300 123 5519 – goes live on February 19, 2025.

Anyone with concerns or issues during working hours can contact Pembrokeshire County Council on 01437 764551.

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News

Councillor faces vote on job with Henry Tufnell MP

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A SENIOR member of Pembrokeshire County Council will be able to speak and vote for himself in a forthcoming call for him not to be allowed to work for the local MP.

In a Notice of Motion submitted to the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy appeared to target deputy leader of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies Cllr Joshua Beynon, the man who will present the county council’s budget.

In the registration of interests for the eight members of Leader Cllr Jon Harvey’s Cabinet, only Cllr Beynon lists a politician as an employer, in his case newly-elected Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell.

Cllr Murphy’s motion said: “While it is acceptable for Cabinet members to hold other employments, no serving county councillor should hold a Cabinet position within Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) while simultaneously being employed by a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Senedd (MS).

“Cabinet members hold executive responsibilities, and such dual roles risk potential conflicts of interest, particularly if Cabinet decisions conflict with the policies of their employer, often a political party. This concern is heightened in a council where most members are Independents.”

Cllr Murphy’s notice of motion was heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, where it was agreed the matter be referred to a future Constitutional Review Committee.

At Pembrokeshire County Council’s standards committee meeting of February 13, Cllr Beynon sought a dispensation to both vote and speak on the notice of motion, describing it as “a politically motivated effort to target my lawful employment as a Cabinet Member and a part-time parliamentary employee”.

“The assertion that such roles inherently create a conflict of interest is unfounded. My professional obligations are entirely distinct, and I have taken all necessary steps to ensure that no conflicts arise.”

He added: “To adopt such a motion would not only contravene established principles of fairness and freedom but also set a dangerous precedent of overreach by the council.”

At the February 13 meeting, chair Nick Watt said he had been a member of the committee since 2018 and had “never seen anything like this before”.

Cllr David Edwards – who moved Cllr Beynon be allowed to vote and speak on the matter – expressed his concerns: “I’m a bit concerned that what we seem to be addressing is an application by a member to be able to speak as a member of the county council just because he has a particular form of employment.”

He added: “I’m at a loss to see really why Cllr Beynon should need a dispensation to be able to work as a normal member. The motion, what it seeks to do is fetter the council leader as to his choice of who he has in his Cabinet; I find that a little bit difficult to get my head around as well.

“Having considered everything, I’m quite happy to support Cllr Beynon in what he’s seeking to do.”

He finished: “I find it difficult to see any reason to curtail a member’s rights to be able to speak on who should be appointed to any particular role in the authority.”

A voice of concern was raised by Moira Saunders, who said her only concern was “the public’s idea of what is happening,” adding there could be “a public worry about him [Cllr Beynon] voting and speaking on his own behalf”.

Members backed the proposal by five votes to one, with two abstentions.

Cllr Beynon will now be allowed to vote and speak on matters connected with this notice of motion.

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Ceredigion farmer’s plea to build bungalow on his own land

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A CEREDIGION farmer’s call to convert a derelict building last occupied in the 1930s as a downsizing home on land he has farmed all his life has been put on hold while planners visit the site.

At the February meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee, members were recommended to refuse an application by Mr and Mrs I and A Evans, of Fronlwyd, Llangrannog to erect a dwelling, agricultural shed and associated works on the site of the nearby abandoned dwelling at Fronlwyd/Pen-yr-Allt, just over a mile from Llangrannog, which was last occupied in 1936.

It was recommended for refusal on grounds including it was “unjustified new housing in open countryside”.

Giving an impassioned plea to be allowed to build the bungalow, Mr Evans, who warned he was “not a big fan of public speaking,” said: “I have farmed the land all my life, I live in a five-bed house, just me and the wife, we’re getting older.

“We want to build a bungalow just so we can future-proof as we get older; I don’t want to leave the land I’ve farmed all my life, I like being out in the fresh air and listening to the birds and the animals.”

He said there was more of the ruined building present when he was a child, the building declining after “years of not being looked after”.

He told members he wanted the site to go back to “what I remember as a kid”, adding: “In the olden days they knew how to build houses, it’s in a little dip and only visible from one direction, it’s ideally situated.

“I would look after the land and me and my wife in our old age; I just want to satay there, that’s where I’ve lived all my life, and I want to stay there.”

A site inspection panel visit before any decision was made was proposed by Cllr Gareth Lloyd, with Cllr Maldwyn Lewis saying: “In my mind heritage is important for Ceredigion, the backbone of the fabric of the community.”

Members unanimously backed a site inspection panel viewing of the application, the application returning to a future meeting.

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