WELSH tourism leaders have once again found themselves in the position where they have to ask a new First Minister to appoint a Minister with explicit responsibility for Tourism, following the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

The Wales Tourism Alliance, together with the Chairs of Welsh Government’s own Regional Tourism Fora wrote to Eluned Morgan when it was unclear what had happened to the express reference to a tourism Minister or Deputy Minister as in the past. The letter was also signed by Wales’s main independent destination management and marketing organisations; Visit Mid Wales, Visit North Wales and Visit Pembrokeshire. Representatives of the primary sectors within the industry, notably accommodation, added their signatures, as did representatives of the rural and retail economies of Wales.

Suzy Davies, Chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance said: “It’s a shame we have to make this case yet again. Unlike other nations of the UK, responsibility for tourism as an industry – it’s not just promotion – is retained within Welsh Government. It’s not an arms length body with the ability to make its own partnerships to raise money, or with a route to change leadership without a Senedd election.

“As a result it needs a Minister who has the time and focus to lead, find resources, accept accountability and champion the industry at Cabinet level.

“In the meantime, we welcome Rebecca Evans to her role as Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and look forward to meeting her soon. Tourism has faced yet another difficult year, with the poor weather really not helping to extend the season on top of well-rehearsed challenges around the cost of doing business, the pressure in holidaymakers’ own purses, and a slew of government policies, so we need that champion within Welsh Government.

‘’It will also be a chance for us to reinforce our position that the relationship between governments and the tourism industry should not be about setting fires and putting them out. It’s less exhausting and more productive to give weight to industry voices as we saw during lockdown. We all want our industry to prosper safely, sustainably and responsibly.

“We also hope that looking at policy through the lens of the economy rather than the finance brief will be a help in understanding the value of the tourism ecosystem; its role in a number of areas of government policy, and why it’s so important to protect it from collateral damage as well focusing on Visit Wales’s much-appreciated promotion work.”

THERE was a multi-agency response following an incident at a Haverfordwest supermarket on Thursday (Sept 19).

The Wales Air Ambulance, the Welsh Ambulance Service and Dyfed-Powys Police were all called to the Aldi store at Salutation Square, Haverfordwest.

A Wales Air Ambulance spokesperson told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “The Wales Air Ambulance attended an incident in the Haverfordwest area yesterday. Our Dafen-based crew attended by helicopter and arrived on scene at 17:30. Our involvement concluded at 18:17.”

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said that officers were called to the scene by the Welsh Ambulance Service just after 5pm following a request from the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Aldi said that the store was able to remain open whist the emergency services dealt with the incident.

MORE than half (53%) of school leaders in Wales are predicting a budget deficit this academic year amid a financial crisis which is forcing many to cut services and staff including teachers. 

The bleak finding – nearly double the 29% who reported a deficit last year – comes after school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru surveyed its members on funding. More than a quarter (27%) said they were predicting a deficit for the first time ever in 2024/25. Every single one said they did not receive sufficient funding to meet the needs of all their pupils fully. 

NAHT’s report – Falling Short: The Deepening School Funding Crisis in Wales – found school leaders are having to take drastic action. 

More than a quarter (28%) are reducing the number or hours of teachers, nearly six in ten (59%) are leaving posts empty, and 55% are reducing teaching assistant hours. 

Compared with 2021, when NAHT asked school leaders similar questions, they are now around twice as likely to have to be taking these measures. 

Other cuts include delaying repairs, refurbishment, or general capital spending (45% of school leaders), reducing non-educational support and services for children – such as educational psychologists, behaviour support, social workers, and school liaison officers (29%), reducing or changing the curriculum offer(15%) and not investing in staff professional development and training (52%).  

Only three per cent said they didn’t need to make savings, compared to a fifth three years ago. 

The survey shows a range of issues are conspiring to fuel the funding crisis, all of which have worsened over the last three years – from support for pupils with additional learning needs, cited by 88% of school leaders, to inflation and increased salaries (55%), supply cover 52%) and changes to local funding formulae (25%).  

Nearly three in ten (29%) blamed expenses incurred due to inaccessible or insufficient local authority school services. Separately, almost eight in 10 (79%) reported an increase in parents or carers seeking help due to the cost of living, and close to half (48%) highlighted support for pupils whose mental health had deteriorated. 

Laura Doel, national secretary of NAHT Cymru, said: “School leaders simply cannot go on doing more with less. They didn’t sign up to this job to set deficit budgets, cut spending on pupils and lay off teachers and support staff. In the three years since our last survey, the change for the worse is alarming. 

“We were shocked that school funding didn’t feature in the first minister’s priority list when she set out her plans for government earlier this week.  

“Schools need more resources to allow them focus on driving up standards rather than firefighting increasingly worrying holes in their budgets. 

“At the moment, schools and local authorities in Wales are facing really unpalatable choices and we need to work together not only to argue for proper funding but also to identify sustainable, innovative solutions to this crisis.” 

NAHT Cymru says the Welsh Government’s ongoing review aimed at replacing the 22 different local authority funding formulae with one coherent system must end the postcode lottery around how much individual schools receive and ensure greater transparency around funding. 

Chris Parry, president of NAHT Cymru said: “This report highlights the severe impact of financial shortfalls on schools across Wales. School leaders are caught between a rock and a hard place, being forced to cut staff, reduce support services, and compromise essential learning resources simply to stay afloat.  

“These findings should serve as a wake-up call for the Welsh Government about the need for immediate action. The funding crisis threatens the quality of education, and without a clear, strategic response, schools will be unable to provide the support that pupils and staff need. A long-term solution is essential.” 

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “These truly dire findings should set alarm bells ringing for everyone with a stake in children’s education – from parents and carers to local and national politicians.

“Dedicated school leaders struggling with fewer resources amid mounting costs and pressures are at their wits end as they try to maintain a high-quality education for pupils while being forced into completely unpalatable cuts. 

“It is simple not sustainable and is putting educational outcomes at risk – not just for disadvantaged pupils who need the most help, but across the board. Something has to give.”