News

Local government: Time for a change?

Published

9 years ago

February 18, 2015

A GOVERNMENT White Paper released on Tuesday set out plans for a massive re-organisation in Local Government, and paved

Leighton Andrews AM: Spoke of need to recast the relationship between
National and Local Government’.

the way for increased Welsh Government involvement at a local level.

In the foreword to this paper, Leighton Andrews AM spoke of the need to recast the relationship between National and Local Government in Wales’.

A series of mergers is planned between county councils, some of which will be voluntary. The salaries of executives and councillors will also come under scrutiny and the Welsh Government will have greater powers to audit County Councils.

These mergers will be overseen by a national Statutory Public Services Staff Commission, which will play a major role in overseeing the transfer of staff between authorities, as well as playing a role in the recruitment and remuneration for senior positions in those authorities. The Welsh Government paper claims that this is necessary in order to ‘build an engaged, motivated, and high performing workforce’.

Certain services will be subject to what the paper describes as ‘a clearly defined leadership role for the Welsh Government’, leaving Local Government to ‘determine local priorities’. This will lead to greater involvement by the Welsh Government in education, social services, economic development, and the environment. It is unclear how this will affect budget provision for Local Councils.

Significant alterations are planned to the structure of Local Councils. The report questions both the number of directors and the salaries that they command. It also recommends that some cabinet positions become part-time. Also under consideration is the £13,000 annual salary paid to Councillors for a three day week. The report claims that this figure ‘is a significant extra income’ to people of retirement age, which ‘may help explain the over-representation of councillors over 60. On the other hand, it may only partially compensate someone whose ordinary job is higher paid, or disadvantage a single parent with a part-time job by moving them into a higher tax bracket’.

This announcement comes at the same time that a proposed £10,000 salary increase for AMs is under consultation.

The Paper also criticises the induction and training received by Leaders and Cabinet Members, describing it as ‘patchy and inconsistent at best’. A development scheme is recommended for all new and existing Council Leaders, potential Cabinet Members, and Leaders of the Opposition. This scheme will be run by the Welsh Government’s Public Service Academy.

Fixed terms of office will be introduced. A councillor will only be able to serve for five five-year terms, while Cabinet members may only serve two consecutive terms. While the paper claims that this will lead to more competitive elections and a more diverse pool of candidates, it has yet to be considered at Assembly or National level. The Chief Executive, an appointed rather than elected position, would also be subject to a maximum term.

The role played by Community Councils is set to increase. However, many smaller Community Councils could be forced to merge. These councils would then have to pass a number of ‘competency tests’. For example, two-thirds of the councillors must have been declared elected, and the minimum annual budget must be £200,000. Community Councils declared competent will ‘acquire a number of privileges over other Community Councils, including being able to raise money by charging for discretionary services’.

Community Councils will also be encouraged to work in conjunction with public services and volunteer groups. Land and leisure facilities currently under Local Authority control will in some cases be transferred to these groups in a return to the ‘cooperative’ methods currently being reintroduced in areas of London and other major cities.

News

Welsh Lib Dems urge First Minister to return dodgy donation

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the First Minister to return the £200,000 donation he received from a company linked to environmental crimes.

Speaking to the Senedd on Wednesday, party leader Jane Dodds MS urged FM Vaughan Gething to return money donated to his campaign by Dauson Environmental, a refuse and recycling business owned by David John Neal.

Mr Neal received a 3-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste at a conservation site on the Gwent levels.

His companies Atlantic Recycling and Neal Soil Suppliers were also prosecuted and given fines and costs of £202,000.

Then in 2017, Mr Neal was given another suspended sentence of 18 weeks, with fines and costs of £230,000 after failing to remove the waste.

The Welsh Lib Dems have called on the FM to return the donation, as part of wider calls for a shift away from the influence of “big money” in Welsh politics.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“This entire episode has casted a dark shadow upon Welsh democracy and has rightfully led to many questioning the integrity of Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign and the way our democracy works here in Wales.

Unfortunately for many of us this is hardly surprising, as our political system has been broken for quite some time now.

A system that empowers the elite donor class whilst simultaneously shutting out the voice of the voter is a perversion of democracy itself.

This is why our wider goal must be to remove the influence of ‘big money’ from Welsh politics once and for all.

We cannot have another government that prioritises the interests of its financial benefactors over those of the Welsh people.

We need to take a firm stance in rooting out the influence of cash in Welsh politics, for the sake of our communities we must start prioritising their interests and needs instead of having more self-serving politicians.”

News

Council seeking legal advice to address Withyhedge enforcement

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council says it has sought legal advice and is contemplating legal proceedings against Withyhedge Landfill operators RML, in regards to the ongoing odour issues at the site.

The Council intends to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to abate the public nuisance odour arising from the landfill. Failure to comply with the injunction would be contempt of court, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment and unlimited fine.

Following significant work undertaken by RML the Authority is disappointed that the problem has not been resolved and residents continue to be impacted by the odour.

Working in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW), we fully appreciate that the communities affected cannot tolerate this any longer.

NRW announced that the first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action on 18th April.

This will be closely monitored by NRW to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May.

It was deemed appropriate to wait until the operator had carried out mitigation to comply with the enforcement requirements by NRW prior to considering this additional action.

To that end, on 26th April 2024, the Council served RML with a letter of claim and invited them to give legally binding undertakings to abate the odour nuisance or face legal proceedings. The Council also asked for disclosure of documents relevant to the proceedings, including records of waste brought in or removed from the landfill.

The Council has given RML until 14th May 2024 to respond to its letter of claim. This aligns with the current deadline set by NRW under its enforcement notice.

Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive Will Bramble welcomed the move. He said: “We are extremely disappointed that RML has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable smells from the site.

“We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation.

“Our intention to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to stop the odour nuisance arising from the landfill, is another part of our collaborative approach. The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.”

News

Beautiful, funny and lovely: Family pay tribute to Sian Batchelor

Published

7 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE family of a woman has paid tribute to a “beautiful, funny, lovely person.”

Sian Batchelor, aged 32, was found on a beach near Pennar, Pembroke Dock on Tuesday evening, April 30^th, 2024.

Her family has issued a statement to say: ‘We are devastated by our loss. Sian was a beautiful, funny, loving person. We will treasure the good times we had with her.

“We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so.”

The circumstances surrounding Sian’s death are being investigated and police would like to hear from anyone with information, sightings of Sian or contact from Sian, between Thursday April 25 to Tuesday April 30.

Police can be contacted either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908.

Quote reference: DP-20240430-284