New Cabinet confirmed following Full Council meeting

COUNCILLOR Linda Evans has been appointed Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council and Chair of the Cabinet following a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday (Dec 10).

A long-serving Plaid Cymru councillor for the Llanfihangel-ar-Arth ward, Cllr Evans has served on the authority since 2008 and has been a Cabinet Member since 2015.

Her appointment was formally confirmed during the meeting, where she also announced her Cabinet team — a 10-member executive responsible for the council’s overall business. The Cabinet meets fortnightly to make key decisions and recommendations to Full Council and, in some cases, decisions can be taken individually by Cabinet Members.

All members of the previous administration have retained their roles, with one change: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone joins the Cabinet as the new Cabinet Member for Homes.

The full Cabinet is as follows:

• Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism: Cllr Hazel Evans
• Cabinet Member for Education: Cllr Glynog Davies
• Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Communities and Welsh Language: Cllr Carys Jones
• Cabinet Member for Organisation and Workforce: Cllr Philip Hughes
• Cabinet Member for Resources: Cllr Alun Lenny
• Cabinet Member for Homes: Cllr Emlyn Schiavone
• Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services: Cllr Edward Thomas
• Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Children and Adult Social Services: Cllr Jane Tremlett
• Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability: Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen
• Leader of the Council: Cllr Linda Evans

Speaking after her appointment, Cllr Evans said:
“It’s an honour to be elected as Council Leader and I look forward to working with the Cabinet and all members across the chamber for the benefit of the residents of Carmarthenshire.”

TWO PEMBROKESHIRE councillors have submitted an urgent call for action following recent heavy flooding in parts of Pembroke.

Pembroke councillors Aaron Carey and Jonathan Grimes have submitted an urgent notice of motion ahead of tomorrow’s December 12 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council following heavy flooding in the town’s Commons and Castle Pond area.

The notice of motion covers six points.

“That this council notes with concern the repeated and increasingly severe flooding experienced in our coastal, estuarial and river-fringe communities over recent weeks — in particular the flooding events affecting the Commons/Castle Pond area.

“That the council further notes that, according to correspondence from the Coastal, Rivers & Drainage Team Manager, the tipping gate at the barrage remains out of operation until mid-January due to mechanical issues; meanwhile high tide, heavy rain, wind-driven tidal surges and overspill at the sluice have combined to overwhelm the drainage/outfall infrastructure.

“That we recognise the current maintenance schedule (delayed till after the summer season) and the justification given — but further that such planning failed to foresee the likelihood of severe winter storm and surge events, which climate change makes more frequent and more intense.

“That this council therefore calls on the Cabinet to commission an urgent review of:

• The adequacy of the current drainage/outfall and tidal-sluice infrastructure (barrage tipping gate, sluice/sluice-valve, flap valve, outfall capacity) for current and projected climate/tide conditions.
• The maintenance scheduling policy for coastal and estuarial flood-risk assets, with a view to ensuring critical maintenance is completed before winter high-tide / storm-surge season, rather than — as at present — being delayed until after summer for ‘recreational / biodiversity’ reasons.

“That, pending the outcome of the review, the council should allocate appropriate emergency capital funding to remediate the barrages / sluices / outfalls at risk of failure or blockage — to safeguard residents, properties, highways and public amenities from further flooding.

“That, further, this council resolves to publish a public flood-resilience plan for the county, identifying all coastal and river-fringe ‘hotspots,’ maintenance schedules, responsible teams, and a transparent timeline for upgrades or remedial works — so residents have clarity and confidence in flood prevention measures.”

The submission also includes a question for Cabinet Member Cllr Rhys Sinnett.

“In light of the repeated flooding events across the county – including the recent overflow at Castle Pond and the acknowledgement by your own Coastal, Rivers & Drainage Team that the barrage tipping gate remains inoperable until mid-January can you explain what assessment has been made of the adequacy of our tidal outfall infrastructure in the face of current and projected future storm surges and sea-level rise?

“If no such assessment has yet been undertaken, will you commit now to commissioning an immediate structural and risk-capacity audit, with a report to full council within three months, and with proposals for funding any remedial works required — to avoid recurring damage and disruption to residents, highways, and public amenities?”

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman has confirmed the 11th hour call will be heard by full council tomorrow.

Image: Martin Cavaney

A BETTER financial settlement for Pembrokeshire from the Welsh Government worth millions of pounds, following an agreement with Plaid Cymru, has avoided “a disaster for public services,” a senior councillor has said.

While council tax makes up a proportion of the council’s annual revenue, a crucial area of funding is the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) rate from Welsh Government.

Pembrokeshire was to receive a 2.3 per cent increase on its settlement, a total of £244,318,000, amounting to an extra £5,493,000, placing it at joint 13th of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Now, following a Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru agreement which will allow the budget for 2026-27 to pass there has, amongst other agreements, been additional funding for local government in 2026-27, an extra £112.8m, which provides an overall 4.5 per cent increase to the local government settlement, with all councils receiving increases above 4 per cent.

The agreement will be reflected in the Final Budget – together with other allocations to be made by the Welsh Government, which do not form part of the agreement – which is published on January 20.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Efficiencies Cllr Alistair Cameron responded, saying: “I am pleased that an agreement has been reached which will be supported by the Senedd. It would have been disastrous for public services in Wales if there was no agreement.

“For Pembrokeshire, this means that the funding from Welsh Government will increase by 4.2 percent. This equates to over £10 million which will help us to deliver local services such as education and social care.

“However, I still have great concerns that the Welsh Government’s funding mechanism does not sufficiently recognise the challenges of delivering vital services in a rural county and providing care for an older population as we have in Pembrokeshire.

“By contrast, some urban councils have been awarded bigger increases such as 6.1 percent in Newport and 5.2 percent in Swansea. We are therefore writing to Welsh Government to express our concerns about the unfairness of the funding mechanism.”

2024 saw Pembrokeshire receive a higher-than-expected settlement increase of 3.6 per cent from Welsh Government – amounting to just over £8.1m – against a predicted two per cent.