Commitment to local arts reaffirmed in St Davids meeting

ST DAVIDS was the backdrop for a show of cross-community support this week as MP Henry Tufnell met with members of the Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery Working Group on Wednesday (May 14).

The group, which has been instrumental in promoting and defending the gallery at Oriel y Parc, welcomed the local MP on a sunny afternoon to discuss the importance of retaining access to world-class art in Pembrokeshire.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Tufnell said: “It was a privilege to spend the afternoon with the brilliant Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery Working Group here in St Davids. I’m proud to support their work in protecting our state-of-the-art gallery at Oriel y Parc.”

He added: “Art enriches our communities, and having access to world class art right here in Pembrokeshire is so important.”

The gallery, which is run in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, plays host to a rotating programme of exhibitions. The current display, a celebration of the RNLI, runs until 1 June.

Local residents have praised the gallery for its diverse programme. Jill Simpson commented online: “The Gallery at Oriel y Parc hosts some brilliant and varied exhibitions. The present one, a celebration of the RNLI, is certainly worth visiting before it closes on 1st June.”

Mr Tufnell encouraged residents and visitors alike to check the gallery’s website to see what’s on: “If you haven’t visited recently, take a look at their brilliant range of exhibitions and activities.”

During the visit, the group discussed their shared vision for protecting and enhancing Pembrokeshire’s cultural offering, amid wider concerns over council cuts and the future of community spaces.

A photo of the MP alongside members of the group was taken outside the gallery under a bright blue sky, symbolising a hopeful outlook for the arts in rural Wales.

Photo caption: Support for the arts – MP Henry Tufnell meets with the Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery Working Group in St Davids (Pic: Supplied).

From cosy pubs to coastal gems, here’s where locals say you’ll find the tastiest roast dinner in the county

IF you’re looking for the perfect Sunday roast in Pembrokeshire, you’re spoilt for choice – and our readers have made that loud and clear.

In response to our question, “Where’s the best place in Pembrokeshire to get a Sunday Roast and why?” we were flooded with replies. From home kitchens to family-run pubs and seaside restaurants, there’s no shortage of passion when it comes to a plate of roast beef, crispy potatoes and rich gravy.

Some kept it close to home – Gavin Young simply said: “My house, no contest.” Jessica May Palmer and Chris Allen agreed, backing their own mums’ or partners’ dinners as unbeatable.

But among the public venues, some clear favourites emerged. The Rising Sun in Pelcomb Cross came up repeatedly, with praise for its warm welcome and “absolutely lovely” food. Sharon Williams called it “always excellent” and Sweetpea Lee summed it up: “Best of welcome and best of food – and plenty.”

The Bush Inn in Robeston Wathen was another front-runner, with multiple readers calling it a top choice for consistency, homemade flavour and generous portions. Bernie Wright said: “Tried many others but still keep going back to the Bush Inn!”

Kenny’s in Milford Haven also received a wave of support. Helena Davies said it’s all “home-cooked food and you get plenty of it,” while Amanda Cole Wheeler added: “Beautiful fresh and homemade with great service.”

The New Inn, Cross Saws, Boars Head in Templeton, Hibernia Inn in Angle, and Begelly Arms were all praised repeatedly for quality, atmosphere and value – with some readers calling them the “best carvery around” or simply “the one to beat.”

Other notable mentions included Wolfscastle Hotel (“elevated to Ramsay-style”), Slebech Park, The Shipwright Inn, Tregroes Pantry, The Ferry Inn, and The Jolly Sailor in Burton – each bringing something special to the table, from waterside views to local produce and hearty, home-style portions.

And for those after something truly traditional, The Glen in Haverfordwest, Carew Inn, The Farmers Arms in Mathry, and The Ship in Solva all came highly recommended.

So whether you prefer your Yorkshire puddings light and fluffy, or your roasties crispy and golden, Pembrokeshire has a Sunday lunch to suit every taste – and it’s clear that many places still pride themselves on doing it right.

Got a favourite we’ve missed? Let us know! You can email us at [email protected] or join the conversation on our Facebook page.

CARE HOMES will close and lives will be put at risk in Wales as a result of the “half-baked” immigration crackdown on social care workers.

That’s the warning from sector champions Care Forum Wales (CFW) who say the plan to end the recruitment of care staff from overseas will have a devastating impact on care homes and domiciliary care companies – with catastrophic consequences for the NHS.

The announcement by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper came at a time when the sector was already reeling from increases in National Insurance contributions and wage rises, which amount to a 37 per cent hike in costs.

CFW raised the issue as a matter of urgency at a meeting a meeting of the Five Nations group, which represents social care providers in Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire, where the condemnation was unanimous.

Both organisations are writing to Prime Minister Kier Starmer and the Home Secretary urging them to reverse the overseas recruitment ban for social care.

Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of CFW, said: “It really is a half-baked, ill-thought through idea that’s ignored commonsense for the sake of short-term political expediency.

“Calling these social care heroes low skilled is an affront. It’s shocking because we’re talking about some very special people who are highly skilled at caring.

“To treat them with such disdain as the Home Secretary has done is an absolute disgrace.

“We live in ageist society where older, vulnerable people are not valued.

“As a result, these social care workers are at the wrong end of the salary scale because of the model that local authorities and health boards apply to  commissioning publicly funded social care services.

“It’s particularly damaging here in Wales because most people who need social care – whether it’s in a care home or in their own homes – are publicly funded.

“If you lose 10 per cent of your workforce it’s going to cause major issue because you need so many people.

“Most council jobs are 9 ‘til 5 but social care doesn’t work like that – it’s 24/7, 365 days a year.

“This will inevitably lead to care homes closing and domiciliary care companies going to the wall.

“If you have problems in terms of quality because you haven’t enough staff, you’ll get closed down anyway by the regulator.

“At the very least, domiciliary care and care homes will  have to reduce services which will cause a backlog into the NHS.

“It is so counterintuitive. At a time when you’re hitting businesses with a 37 per cent increase in National Insurance to raise £20 billion for the NHS, the UK Government is harming the social care sector that keeps the NHS going. They are shooting themselves in the foot. It defies logic.

“All of the work we have done over the past 20 to 30 years to professionalise the sector, working in partnership with the Welsh Government and Social Care Wales, they have put a match to it overnight.

“If we were able to recruit sufficient staff locally we would. We certainly wouldn’t go to the extra expense of recruiting international workers. It can cost £10,000 per person.

“All of this is politically driven. It’s certainly not driven by reality. This is knee-jerk politics of the worst kind in an effort to confront a right-wing agenda.

“Things are bad enough now but even more people won’t be able to get into hospital when they need to and down the line it’s something that could cost lives.”

CFW treasurer Sanjiv Joshi was equally shocked and said: “International recruitment of care workers has been a lifeline for our sector and the NHS as well.

“As we’ve realised since the pandemic, the NHS and the social care sector are totally intertwined and the backbone of both these very vital services are the care workers and we have a very small pool to recruit from in Wales.

“It is absolutely essential that we are able to supplement our domestic workforce with international recruitment.

“It’s ironic that the country has just made huge financial sacrifices with higher taxation to try and improve the NHS and the social care offering and this is going to do the opposite.

“The Government’s claim that not enough is being done to recruit workers from this country is just a false narrative.

“International recruitment has been going on in the social care sector and the NHS for the last 25 to 30 years .

“What happened was that the rules for  non-EU recruitment were tightened because we had an EU workforce prior to Brexit.

“The rules were subsequently relaxed because as a result of Brexit and the pandemic we lost a large pool of our workforce.

“Throughout recruitment has always focused on the domestic workforce but our working population is decreasing relative to the growing demands of our ageing population.

“This is making a nonsense of the current rules. If we want to recruit somebody from overseas, we already have to demonstrate that we have tried our best and exhausted the domestic pool of local people and in-country overseas staff.

“We only recruit overseas staff when we have to. It’s a lot more expensive to hire people from overseas so we only recruit internationally when there is no other option.

“The language in calling them unskilled is disgraceful and an insult to our existing workforce when we have been working so hard to professionalise the sector and to raise the esteem of our fantastic staff.

“This unwelcoming approach is going to make our current overseas staff feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Without international recruitment, it’s going to be impossible to plug the gaps today and going forward the situation is going to get worse.

“Recruiting international workers for the social care sector and the NHS are going to be essential if we are going to deliver these vital services.

“We always try and recruit locally first, then we look at the overseas pool of people who are already here and only then will we look to recruit from overseas.”