News

Questions continue over chairman’s appointment

Published

11 years ago

November 13, 2014

AS REPORTED in last week’s Herald, the appointment of the new lay member of the Audit Committee, Peter Jones, has caused controversy over the way in which his job application was processed. There are also concerns that councillors sitting on the Urgency Committee were not allowed to scrutinise the appointment. They were prevented from doing so by the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Laurence Harding. Information provided to The Herald ahead of last Monday’s (Sept 22) extraordinary meeting of the Audit Committee reveals that Morgan Cole, the Cardiff law firm of which Mr Jones is a former senior partner, represented Hundleton councillor John Allen Mirehouse. Mr Jones represented Cllr Mirehouse when he was before a standards panel – investigating an alleged failure by him to declare an ‘interest’ in a planning matter involving land he owned on the Angle peninsula. Cllr Mirehouse sits on the Council’s Audit Committee – the committee which is now chaired by his former lawyer, Peter Jones. Mr Jones formerly represented Milford Haven Port Authority at the time Cllr Allen Mirehouse sat on the Authority. Cllr Guy Woodham proposed Mr Jones as Chair of the Audit Committee. The Pembrokeshire Herald asked him whether he was aware of the past professional relationship between Cllr Mirehouse and Mr Jones. Cllr Woodham told us: “No, I was most definitely not aware! I nominated Mr Jones as Chair believing that, as the Lay Member, he was the most appropriate member of the Committee to hold this position, rather than an Elected Member. I was not involved in the selection process of the Lay Member and therefore have not been made aware of any background information on Mr Jones, other than he told us about at Monday’s Audit Committee.” The Herald also spoke to Cllr Paul Miller about the appointment of Mr Jones: “This situation further underlines the issue that I raised about the conduct of the meeting that ‘rubberstamped’ Mr Jones’ appointment. We were not allowed to have any meaningful information before voting on his appointment. It seems as though this is a further example of elected councillors being denied the chance to make properly judged democratic decisions. It seemed to me that most everyone present agreed with me when I expressed that view at the Urgency Committee, but four voted in favour of the appointment anyway.” The Herald notes that Mr Jones told members of the Audit Committee that he had dealings with the Council in the past. It is not clear whether those dealings or their extent were made known to the Urgency Committee when they were presented with the appointment panel’s recommendation, or even if the appointment panel were made aware of them. The Herald asked the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Laurence Harding, on whose advice the Urgency Panel rubber-stamped Mr Jones’ appointment, for a comment on Mr Jones’ appointment. Mr Harding failed to reply.

Mr Mirehouse’s interest

PETER JONES was intimately concerned in Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s defence of a claim he had failed to declare an interest in land when he decided policy that might affect it when sitting on the National Park Authority. Mr Jones billed the former IPPG Chair over £5,360 from a total bill including QC’s fees of around £40,000. The bill included meeting with Viscount Saint Davids, Mr Allen Mirehouse, and his land agent Anthony Owen of Owen & Owen. Following the conclusion of the case, in which the Adjudication Panel for Wales found in his favour, Cllr Allen-Mirehouse sought to have the National Park Authority repay him the whole of Morgan Cole’s bill and claimed the Authority was obliged to indemnify him wholly for the same. Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s claim for his costs rather ignored the belated admission made by his QC, Robin Tolson, that his client did own land which “was capable of being developed when he participated in the relevant meetings of the National Park Authority”. Cllr Allen Mirehouse had previously maintained the opposite position and significant costs had been spent examining that denial. However, Cllr Allen Mirehouse’s submissions largely fell on deaf ears with the National Park Authority’s Monitoring Officers, Dewi Davies and John Parsons, who disputed liability to pay any of the legal costs on the basis that the Councillor had incurred excessive costs (including an eye-watering 24 hours of billable time at £200 an hour for travelling to a meeting at Angle Hall when Cllr Allen Mirehouse could have travelled to Cardiff); that he had not sought permission from the Authority to incur the costs before he did; and that he had engaged a QC at significant cost when such a level of representation was not required. In response to that last point, Cllr Allen-Mirehouse opined in correspondence that he was entitled to brief a QC because of his prominent position in public life. That plea fell on deaf years, and the Councillor received £8,000 plus VAT towards his professional fees following a vote.

THE HERALD asked
the County Council a series
of questions about Mr Jones’
appointment as lay member of the
Audit Committee and received the
following answers.

Q: How many had applied before
the original deadline and how
many additional applicants were
received before the extended
deadline? Please confirm at
which point in the selection
process Mr Jones applied.
A: Four applications were received
before the deadline of July 8
but one withdrew. One further
application (from Mr Jones)
was received before the end of
the extended deadline of July 18
(note the deadline was actually
extended by ten days not one
week).

Q: Please let me know who made the
decision to extend the deadline
and why a week was felt to be an
adequate period.
A: Deadline extended by ten days by
Chief Finance Officer because
he desired at least three suitable
candidates for the Appointments
Panel to consider.

Q: Please let me know where the
advertisement for the revised
deadline for applications
was placed. As the original
advertisement was by public
notice, was this also done by
public notice? If so, in which
publication or via which medium
or media was it disseminated?
A: Extended ten day deadline was
advertised on Council website.

Q: Please let me know the identity of
the persons who sat on the panel
that considered applications.
A: The Appointment Panel
comprised: Mrs Lynette George
(independent Chair); Cllr Tom
Richards; Cllr Stan Hudson (all
County Council appointed).

Q: Please let me know whether
the panel were made aware of
Mr Jones’ past professional
relationship with Cllr John
Allen-Mirehouse.
A: We are not aware of any
professional relationship
between the two parties

Community

Walk the Path for Wellbeing to span three counties in 2026

Published

2 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY is inviting communities, workplaces, families and friends to take part in the 2026 Walk the Path for Wellbeing challenge, with this year’s event expanding across three counties for the first time.

Taking place on Sunday, May 10 and Monday, May 11, the challenge will bring people together to celebrate the spectacular West Wales coastline through walking and other forms of active travel, while highlighting the strong links between nature, movement and wellbeing. A reserve weekend of May 17 and 18 has also been set aside in the event of severe weather.

Building on feedback from last year, the event will now take place over two days rather than one, giving more people the opportunity to get involved and creating a longer window for celebration, storytelling and community spirit.

While last year’s challenge focused on the 186-mile Pembrokeshire Coast, this year’s event will also include sections of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, bringing even more communities into the shared coastal celebration.

The two-day event will feature self-led sections for group entry. With the focus firmly on enjoyment, there is no pressure to complete every stage, and participants are encouraged to do only as much as they feel comfortable with. Together, those individual efforts will contribute to a shared goal of covering the full 313 miles of coastline.

Angela Robinson, Health and Wellbeing Officer at the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said: “The coast has an extraordinary ability to lift people, connect communities and create lasting memories. By extending the event across two days and into neighbouring counties, we’re opening the door to even more people to celebrate that connection together and share their experiences on social media.”

Health

Nursing graduate jobs crisis warning as NHS pressures deepen

Published

2 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING WALES has warned of a growing jobs crisis for newly qualified nurses, saying a shortage of Band 5 posts could leave up to half of this year’s nursing graduates without work when recruitment opens.

The union said the situation was particularly alarming given the severe pressures already facing NHS Wales, with staff continuing to report overcrowded wards, unsafe conditions and unmanageable workloads across multiple health boards.

RCN Wales said the lack of available jobs for newly trained nurses pointed to a serious failure in workforce planning. It warned that losing new entrants to the profession would place even more strain on already overstretched services and could further affect patient care.

The organisation said the situation also undermined the Welsh Government’s and NHS Wales’ duty to improve the quality and safety of care.

RCN Wales is calling on the Welsh Government to provide urgent clarity on the scale of the shortfall, set out credible long-term workforce planning, and introduce immediate system-wide measures to recruit, retain and deploy the nursing workforce Wales needs.

The union said it had received assurances that students would not be penalised if posts were unavailable. That includes being released from any obligation to work in Wales and not being required to repay tuition fee support where workforce shortages prevent them from securing employment.

Professor Sandy Harding, Associate Director of Nursing at RCN Wales, said: “The situation facing newly registered nurses is deeply concerning and exposes serious failures in workforce planning.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that this situation is being driven by financial constraints, including the freezing of vacant posts within local health boards. Our NHS is under intense pressure, yet hundreds of newly qualified nurses may have no posts to enter. This is simply unacceptable.

“These students stepped forward for Wales, trained through immense challenges, and now face uncertainty at the very moment the system needs them most. They deserve far better.

“Every newly qualified nurse will be vital to meeting Wales’s care needs. The RCN will continue to demand transparency, accountability and long-term planning from the system. We will not stop speaking up for students, for our safety-critical nursing workforce, and for the people who rely on safe, high-quality care.”

Charity

Rescue centres overwhelmed as mass animal incidents rise in Wales

Published

3 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Public urged to adopt as RSPCA says large-scale cases are putting growing strain on services

THE RSPCA is urging animal lovers in Wales to consider adopting a rescue pet as new figures show a sharp rise in large-scale incidents involving 10 or more animals at the same address.

The charity said there were 344 such incidents in Wales in 2025, up from 214 in 2022 — an increase of 61 per cent. Across England and Wales, the RSPCA responded to 4,200 incidents last year involving at least 10 animals at one property.

The warning comes as the charity says its centres are already over capacity, with more animals in care than there is space to house them.

RSPCA Superintendent Jo Hirst said: “We are struggling with rising reports of cruelty and neglect and, over recent years, more and more of those reports involve 10, 20, even 100 animals. Because they have often been living in large groups, they may need extra support before they are ready to find a new home.”

She added: “We currently have more animals in our care than space in our centres. These large animal rescues are adding to already overwhelmed animal centres and local charities.

“We really need help from animal lovers. If you are considering adding a pet to your home, please consider rescuing. We need extra special homes for some of our animals.”

The RSPCA said it dealt with 1,752 mass cat incidents across England and Wales last year — almost five every day — along with 1,119 incidents involving dogs, the equivalent of three every day.

In 75 of the cases, 100 or more animals were rescued from the same property. Thirteen of those incidents involved cats and three involved dogs. Many required multi-agency operations involving other charities and public bodies.

The charity said cases involving large numbers of animals at one address can be linked to mental health struggles, the cost-of-living crisis, or breeders operating with poor practices. Experts say situations can quickly spiral out of control, even where owners were initially well-meaning.

Across Wales, the highest number of incidents in 2025 were recorded in Rhondda Cynon Taf with 32, followed by Carmarthenshire with 29, Swansea with 26, and both Neath Port Talbot and Cardiff with 23. Wrexham recorded 22 cases and saw the biggest year-on-year rise, climbing from seven incidents in 2024 to 22 in 2025.

Pembrokeshire recorded 19 large-scale incidents in 2025 involving 10 or more animals at the same address. While that was slightly down from 20 in 2024, it remained above the 15 incidents recorded in 2022, showing the issue is still a significant concern locally.

The RSPCA said Welsh cases have involved a wide range of animals, including horses, donkeys, cats and dogs. In one case in recent years, almost 50 dogs were rescued from one property, many suffering with dirty coats, fleas and skin disease.

Among the animals in Wales now looking for new homes are several cats at RSPCA Newport Animal Centre.

Reid is described as a cat whose fun-loving personality is shining through more each day. Staff say she would benefit from a quiet home where she can settle at her own pace with patient adopters.

Cookie, also at Newport, was initially nervous and shy after coming from a multi-animal home, but has since grown in confidence and now enjoys fuss and attention. She could live with older children.

Luna, another cat at the centre, is said to need a calm home with no children, allowing her time to settle. Staff say she becomes very affectionate once comfortable and would suit a household where someone is around much of the time.

Jo Hirst said: “Rescues involving lots of animals are often very complex and can include very difficult family circumstances, mental health problems, or be linked to irresponsible pet breeding.

“People accumulate animals for a multitude of reasons, but the welfare risks for these poor animals are always the same.

“We have already had two incidents involving hundreds of pets this year. Those sorts of rescues put strain on our services and are extremely harmful to the animals involved. It is vital we work with external partners when dealing with these types of incidents to ensure support is in place where appropriate.”

She added: “Often, animals rescued from crowded environments are undersocialised and require a long period of rehabilitation before being rehomed, which puts even more strain on an already stretched rescue centre.

“We are encouraging people to contact an animal rescue organisation if they are at a stage where they, or someone they know, is struggling with the numbers of animals they have in their household. Often, problems escalate because people do not reach out early enough.”

The RSPCA said hoarding is only one cause of these cases, with some incidents involving breeders who become overwhelmed by the numbers of puppies or kittens in their care. In many situations, the charity said, the best outcome is achieved through early advice and support to protect the animals and prevent future harm.

Jo added: “Serious mental health issues and complex situations involving animal hoarding are in part driving these figures. It is vital that people are able to contact us — or another animal charity — where they have too many pets and are unable to cope.

“These situations put massive pressure on our national centres, which have limited space for housing animals. That is why we are asking people with space in their home for a pet to consider adopting — it frees up space so we can rescue more animals in need.”

People interested in adopting can visit the RSPCA website at rspca.org.uk/findapet.