News

Is financial ignorance bliss for councillors?

Published

12 years ago

January 5, 2015

THE COUNCIL’S budget is essentially the same as our household budget: we get a salary and/or pension/benefits out of which we pay our expenses, and with a bit of luck, have some disposable income for non-essential ‘luxuries’ such as holidays, and if we are really fortunate, are able to set aside some savings. The Council gets its income from a variety of sources: Rate Support Grant (our income taxes), Non Domestic or Business Rates (paid by local businesses), Council tax paid by us, and direct charges from “customers” of Council services, for example Car Parking and some Adult Services, e.g. Day Centres and Meals on Wheels. The Council can also receive direct grants for providing specified services. It can increase its income yields by putting up the Council Tax and direct charges. From this collective income, the Council budgets and prioritises how much it can spend on providing our services. Much in the same way that we may be fortunate enough to build up a savings pot, the Council can build up reserves, which are required to even out peaks and troughs of expenditure over a number of years, or to put by for specific purposes or projects. Like us, the Council can also borrow money to fund projects that have a ‘life’ over a number of years. However, unlike us, it is not allowed to finance expenditure in the current year from borrowing.

Leaving it to officers

It is impossible for Councillors to authorise every payment the Council makes. For day to day operational purposes, the Cabinet therefore authorises or delegates spending powers to unelected officers to incur expenditure during the year on services within the Council, approved Budget allocations. The Cabinet has delegated wider powers to the Director of Finance for the allocation and use of reserves, both Capital and Revenue. Every three months, throughout the year, officers are required to report the financial position to Cabinet and Scrutiny Committees, plus a final outturn monitoring report at the 12 months stage. In theory, these reports enable financial performance to be monitored, by elected Councillors, against the approved annual budget. Any corrective action considered necessary as proposed by officers should be considered and agreed by Cabinet. However, these reports are focussed at Net expenditure level, which masks the true level of services provided and expenditure incurred at Gross Expenditure level. Any specific remedial action necessary is therefore not fully reported for approval. While the position on spending against the Council’s approved budget must be reported to Cabinet and Scrutiny Committees on a three monthly basis, the position on reserves is only reported to Cabinet/Council at Annual Budget time, and annually to the Corporate Governance Committee as Draft Accounts pre-audit, and then as the Final Audited Accounts.

Revealing Reserves

On September 29, the Council’s Corporate Governance Committee received a report on the Audited 2013/14 Accounts, which included, a table of Usable Reserves on page 64. Page 63 provides description of the individual reserves for those interested. This is the only comprehensive presentation where all reserves are reported on one page. Categories of reserves are subject to different controls. The Council is required to carry annual Working Balances, and the Auditor comments on the adequacy of these reserves, provided specifically in order to meet urgent, unforeseen contingencies or circumstances. The Education Reserves are primarily under the control of individual schools. The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee November 10, received a comprehensive report providing information on the amount of balances held by schools over the last three years with a commentary on future prospects. The Table shows that the Council had a total Earmarked Capital and Revenue reserve balance of about £50m under its direct control at 1 April 2013, rising to £56million at 31 March 2014, allocated for the purposes shown. To set these amounts in some sort of context: the Council sought to raise £40.5m from Council Tax in 2014/15 (an increase of £1.5million over 2013/14) and £13.4million from its Discretionary Direct Fees and charges, (an increase of £1.6million over 2013/14). Of particular note and significance, is the trail of money movements between The Pay and Grading Reserve and 21st Century Schools Reserve during 2013/14: all happening without councillors being informed but within the delegated authority of the Director of Finance.

Moving money

Some years ago, in common with other Councils, grants were made by the Welsh Government, staged over a number of years, to fund the likely cost of the Equal Pay/Pay and Grading reviews. In total, by March 31, 2012, our Council had received around £11.5m by grant, which was not hypothecated, and therefore did not have to be used for the purpose for which it was given. During 2012/13, £4.5million was charged against this provision in settlement of Pay Awards, leaving a balance of £7.0million – £5.6m of which was allocated to the Pay and Grading Earmarked Reserve on March 31, 2013 (let’s leave the unallocated amount of £1.4m ‘floating’ for the moment, I have yet to follow this through, suffice it to say that there is another ‘hidden’ category of reserve or Provision). The £5.6million can be picked up on the accompanying table, where the line shows a further contribution of £0.5m coming from revenue accounts, providing a total available Pay and grading reserve of £6.1m. From this sum, a contribution of £2.335million to revenue accounts was made in 2013/14 to meet the cost of further settlement of awards, leaving a balance of £3.765million at 31 3 2014 available for Pay and Grading. In total, an amount of £7.3million has been paid in pay settlements out of the total grant of £11.5million, leaving a balance of Pay and Grading Grant money of £4.2million. We have been told by officers and councillors that the Council could not afford to pay out more. While it may be true that the Pay and Grading Review was conducted fairly, an Appeals process was instigated at the behest of indignant Councillors. I understand that Appeals are still being considered and settled. I am not aware that the financial position on Pay and Grading has ever been explicitly reported or that appropriate questions have been asked by Councillors. I am sure that if I have got this wrong, the Council would be only too pleased to clarify the position.

21st Century Schools

The table reveals that £2.861million was allocated out of the Pay and Grading Reserve into the 21st Century Schools Reserve, leaving £0.9million available on March 31, 2014 to settle Future Pay and Grading appeal awards. The 21st Century Schools programme represents a significant investment by the Council and has been agreed as a priority. Turning to the 21st Century Schools Reserve, an initial £8.514million reallocation of balances out of other earmarked reserves in order to prime the 21st Century Reserve was approved by Council in February 2011, as part of the 2011/12 Budget. Starting with the £8.514million pump priming, further contributions from revenue service accounts of £4.526million in 2011/12, £0.174m in 2012/13 and £3,519m in 2013/14, which, with the addition of the transfer during 2013/14 of £2.861million from the Pay and Grading reserve, leaves the 21st Century Schools balance on March 31, 2014 standing at £19.594million. With services being under such financial pressure, the intention is to fund the Council’s share of this significant programme from Capital Receipts (proceeds from the sale of Assets) and Borrowing.

No questions asked

The Council, when setting its budget, rarely, if ever, considers the allocation and level of reserves. With an apparent ability to increase reserves by a total of £6.0million during £2013/14, at a time when targeted budget cuts of £1.6million were also achieved, it is perhaps time that councillors took an interest in the allocation and level of reserves. Perhaps more to the point is the question of how service budgets, under pressure, can make contributions into earmarked reserves. By amending the Council’s Constitution it is possible for the Council to redefine the terms of delegations given to Directors and the Director of Finance, and regain a measure of financial control for themselves. There may well be good arguments for doing this, in the light of the severe financial constraints the Council faces, for the sake of openness and transparency and democracy.

Local Government

Welsh Government calls in controversial DARC radar application

Published

3 hours ago

July 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final decision removed from Pembrokeshire County Council after minister concludes scheme raises national security and national planning issues

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has taken control of the decision over controversial plans for a major military radar installation in Pembrokeshire.

Siân Gwenllian MS, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government, Housing and Planning, has called in the planning application for the proposed Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability development at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy.

The intervention means Pembrokeshire County Council will no longer decide whether the scheme should be granted planning permission.

The council’s planning committee had been expected to consider application 25/1101/PA on Tuesday, July 28, following one of the largest local campaigns against a development seen in Pembrokeshire for years.

The call-in represents a major procedural victory for PARC Against DARC, which has spent two years campaigning for the decision to be taken at Welsh Government level.

However, it does not mean that the radar development has been refused.

The application will now enter a national planning process, with the evidence likely to be examined by an independent planning inspector before a recommendation is made to Welsh Ministers.

PARC Against DARC described the intervention as a “seismic and significant step” and welcomed what it said was a decision to recognise the national and international implications of the project.

A campaign spokesperson said: “Siân Gwenllian has made the right decision here, and DARC is far from a typical infrastructure project.

“Its national and international scope and implications mean it raises issues that go well beyond the local planning process, demanding consideration at Welsh Government level.”

The proposed development would involve the construction of 27 large radar dishes, consisting of six transmitters and 21 receivers, together with associated buildings, power supplies, security infrastructure and landscaping.

The Pembrokeshire installation would form the UK element of an international radar network being developed with the United States and Australia.

The Ministry of Defence says the system would track objects in deep space and help protect satellites and other critical infrastructure.

Opponents argue that the development would industrialise a sensitive rural landscape close to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, damage tourism and wildlife, and increase the militarisation of space.

According to the ministerial call-in letter, the proposed development raises national security issues because of its strategic defence purpose and represents a novel planning matter.

The letter also states that the scheme could conflict with national planning policy relating to landscape, ecology, sustainability and placemaking.

It adds that the application is likely to be controversial beyond the immediate area and has already attracted considerable public interest.

The minister concluded that the proposal was therefore of more than local importance and should be determined by Welsh Ministers.

Pembrokeshire County Council must now forward the planning application, consultation responses, public representations and other relevant documents to the Welsh Government.

The council will still be able to provide evidence and its assessment of the development, but its planning committee will not make the final decision.

The decision comes days after former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn publicly supported calls for the application to be taken out of the council’s hands.

Mr Corbyn addressed campaigners during a political gathering in Wales on Saturday, where opposition to DARC and the wider militarisation of Wales formed part of the programme.

PARC says a Freedom of Information response revealed that 1,121 objections were submitted during the council’s consultation process, compared with one representation in support.

Almost 20,000 people have also signed a petition opposing the radar project.

Campaigners said the level of opposition demonstrated that the dispute had developed into something far larger than an ordinary disagreement over a planning application.

PARC said: “This is not just a group of residents objecting to a development. It is a mass movement of public opposition.

“Our national parks should not be sacrificed to military expansion. Our communities should not be ignored when they speak with such a clear and overwhelming voice.”

Plaid Cymru has repeatedly expressed opposition to the DARC proposal.

Party representatives have tabled a statement of opinion in the Senedd, while an Early Day Motion opposing the development was presented at Westminster. Plaid Cymru members also voted unanimously at the party’s 2024 conference to oppose the scheme.

Campaigners said the call-in showed that the new Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government had listened to concerns raised by residents.

The application could now become the focus of a significant political dispute between the Welsh and UK governments.

The Ministry of Defence has promoted Brawdy as its preferred location for the UK DARC installation, while campaigners are calling on Welsh Ministers to reject the application on planning, environmental and landscape grounds.

PARC has also highlighted what it described as a historical twist involving the newly appointed Welsh Secretary, Stephen Kinnock.

The group says it has a letter sent by his father, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, supporting campaigners who opposed a similar radar proposal in Pembrokeshire during the 1990s.

The campaign is now asking whether Stephen Kinnock will support the current Ministry of Defence proposal or reflect his father’s earlier opposition.

A demonstration had been planned outside County Hall in Haverfordwest ahead of the council planning meeting on Tuesday, July 28.

Organisers say the gathering will still take place from 9am, but will instead be held as a vigil supporting the Welsh Government’s decision to call in the application.

The next stages of the process, including whether the application will be examined through written representations, a hearing or a public inquiry, have not yet been confirmed.

Welsh Ministers will ultimately have the power to approve or refuse the development.

For campaigners, the call-in marks the most significant breakthrough of their two-year fight against DARC. The final battle over whether the radar array can be built at Brawdy, however, is still to come.

Crime

Police appeal after £55,000 stolen in Brecon bank ATM raid

Published

4 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Cash machine at High Street NatWest branch was broken into during an early-hours burglary

POLICE have launched an investigation after an estimated £55,000 was stolen from a cash machine at a bank in Brecon.

Dyfed-Powys Police received a report at around 1.15am on Monday (July 20) that the ATM at the NatWest branch on High Street had been broken into.

Cash was taken from the machine, with investigating officers estimating the total amount stolen to be approximately £55,000.

Police tape was placed across the entrance to the bank and around the outside cash machine during Monday as officers carried out inquiries at the scene.

Members of the public reported seeing a police presence on the high street, with officers entering and leaving the building throughout the day.

No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.

Officers are appealing for witnesses, including anyone who noticed suspicious people or vehicles in Brecon town centre during the early hours of Monday morning.

Police would also like to hear from anybody who may have CCTV, doorbell-camera or dashcam footage which could assist the investigation.

Information can be provided to Dyfed-Powys Police online, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 101.

Those contacting police should quote reference 26*586801.

Information can also be given anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.

Local Government

Consultation over electoral changes to eight Pembrokeshire community councils

Published

6 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Residents are being asked for their views on proposed changes affecting councillor numbers and electoral arrangements in communities across the county

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is inviting residents, organisations and other interested parties to have their say on proposed changes to the electoral arrangements of eight community councils across the county.

The consultation follows recommendations published by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru in January 2025 as part of a wider review of Pembrokeshire’s community boundaries and local electoral arrangements.

The Commission’s review considered whether the county’s existing communities and community wards continued to provide effective and convenient local government.

It examined issues including community boundaries, the number of councillors serving each area, the distribution of councillors between community wards and whether existing arrangements continued to reflect local populations and community identities.

While a number of the Commission’s recommendations involved changes to community boundaries, it also proposed alterations to the electoral arrangements of some community councils where no boundary changes were recommended.

Those particular proposals could not be introduced through the original community review process and must now be considered separately by Pembrokeshire County Council.

The latest consultation concerns the following communities:

Lamphey
Llanrhian
Martletwy
Nolton and Roch
Pencaer
St Dogmaels
Stackpole and Castlemartin
Wolfscastle

The proposals could affect matters such as the number of councillors elected to individual community councils and how council seats are distributed between community wards.

Community and town councils form the most local tier of elected government. They represent the interests of their communities and may be responsible for services and facilities including public spaces, community buildings, play areas, noticeboards and local events.

The County Council said it was seeking views from residents and organisations with connections to the communities affected to ensure that local perspectives were considered before any decisions were made.

The consultation will open on Tuesday, July 28, and close on Friday, September 11, 2026.

Full details of the proposed changes and supporting documents will be available through Pembrokeshire County Council’s Have Your Say consultation portal.

Residents will be able to review the proposals affecting their community and submit comments online.

Paper copies of the consultation documents can also be requested by contacting the Council’s Customer Contact Centre on 01437 764551 or emailing [email protected].

Anyone with questions about the proposals or the review process is encouraged to contact the Council’s electoral services team.