News

Time period for penalty notices scrapped

Published

10 years ago

June 14, 2016

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has agreed to changes in the way it will issue penalty notices for low school attendance.

The Council had intended to use a 12-week rolling period but after consultation it was agreed that the council should not proceed with the idea because of the burden placed on schools.

At the Council’s Cabinet meeting on Monday (May 23), Councillors agreed that a notice would be issued if a pupil’s attendance dropped below 90% in the school year.

Cabinet Member for Education and Safeguarding, Cllr Sue Perkins said: “We’re obliged under Welsh Government regulations to administer penalty notices and this report simplifies and clarifies the criteria under which the penalty notices might be considered.

“There are a range of views about the use of penalty notices and a fair degree of opposition to the policy as a whole, however it is the law in Wales and we are expected to implement it.

“In Pembrokeshire, we will base every decision we make on penalty notices on the circumstances of each individual case and we will not operate a blanket policy.

“We must acknowledge that school attendance is crucially important to children’s achievement as the data shows.

“The penalty notices are an option in some cases where we think that the child’s educational prospects are suffering because of excessive and unauthorised absence from school.”

Head of Performance & Community, Mr James White added: “The penalty notices are an option to be used in some circumstances but it’s part of the tool kit around attendance and it is far from being the only thing that we do.

“We have six pupil support officers working on the attendance agenda with our schools and the penalty notice workload would be less than half of one of those posts so it is a small fraction of the resource that we put into this.

“If the standard of teaching is good and the educational offer is good then the attendance will almost certainly be good and that is probably the key message.”

Cllr Adams asked about the relevance of a recent court case in England but James White added: “There are two issues which make the high court judgement, I think, not so relevant in Wales.

“One of which is, education is devolved in Wales and there is a different policy framework around it although the high court does have jurisdiction over England and Wales.

“The second point is, in England they take the view that any term time holiday absence, they will take action against it whereas in Wales we take the view that action could be taken if it takes a child’s attendance below 90%.

“In Wales, we have a view that a moderate amount of absence during term time can be authorised by head teachers if they think it’s not going to damage the child’s education prospects.”

Cllr Huw George said: “The issue of these notices is the last resort, are we doing everything we can to make sure that the school/home agreement is clear for parents that they have buy-in and they understand from the beginning because otherwise schools are being looked at in a negative light and that’s not fair because schools are there to educate and I welcome the last proposal where we take away ‘holiday in term time’.

“It’s not about holidays it’s about attendance in school.”

James White added: “We’ve issued 26 penalty notices so far which I think demonstrates that we’re not trigger happy about this and we consider cases on their merits and we do it were we feel the point needs to be made.

“Other authorities have gone well into three figures on this and that shows we are being reasonably sparing in our application of this.”

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

6 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of serious allegations following his appearance in the latest magistrates’ court register.

David Guy, 49, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared in court facing multiple charges, all of which have now been deemed too serious for summary trial.

Multiple charges listed in register

The new magistrates’ register shows Guy charged with several offences arising from the same case file. Although individual charge descriptions were not expanded in open court, the register confirms the allegations include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second assault charge
Criminal damage
A further interpersonal violence allegation
A public order offence

All entries relate to the same incident and prosecution reference, presented as a multi-count case.

Defendant remanded into custody

Magistrates ruled that their sentencing powers were insufficient and sent the entire case to Swansea Crown Court for trial.

Guy was remanded in custody, with the register stating: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A hearing date will now be fixed administratively by the Crown Court. Until then, Guy remains remanded.

The Herald will provide updates once the Crown Court listing is confirmed.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

12 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string of alleged offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, 40, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, faces six linked charges arising from incidents reported to have taken place earlier this year. Alcock, who did not enter pleas during the administrative hearings, appeared on several occasions as the court dealt with bail issues and case management.

Multiple assault allegations
The charges listed before magistrates include:
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional strangulation
Common assault of a woman
Criminal damage relating to a domestic incident
Further assault allegations linked to the same complainant
A breach of bail conditions

The court heard that Alcock had previously been granted conditional bail. However, he was brought back before magistrates twice during the same reporting period for alleged breaches of those conditions, resulting in updated bail decisions.

Bail breached — defendant remanded

On two separate entries in the court register, Alcock was listed as having breached his bail, leading magistrates to remand him into custody pending the next hearing. On other dates within the same week, he was again re-released on conditional bail, with strict terms imposed, including restrictions on contact with the complainant and exclusions from certain locations.

He is now remanded on conditional bail with his next appearance set for Swansea Crown Court, where the more serious matters — including the alleged non-fatal strangulation — will be dealt with.

Case sent to Crown Court

Magistrates directed that the case is too serious to be heard locally and must proceed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence.

The Herald understands that all listed charges fall under the same prosecution reference, indicating they form part of a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution. No further details were opened in court at this stage.

Crime

Rogue roofer conned homeowner out of thousands

Published

28 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Caerphilly investigation leads to court conviction

A ROGUE trader from Pembroke has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 after duping a homeowner into handing over thousands for unnecessary roofing work.

Douggie Whitbread, aged twenty-five and living at Coldwell Terrace, Pembroke, persuaded his victim that he “probably needed a new roof” before charging £4,350 for work that was either unnecessary or not carried out properly.

Whitbread admitted two counts of fraud relating to a property on Griffiths Street, Ystrad Mynach, with the offences taking place between August 12 and October 16, 2023.

He appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £6,130. That includes £4,350 in compensation, £1,500 in prosecution costs, a £200 fine, and an £80 victim surcharge.

The case was brought following an investigation by Caerphilly Trading Standards, who urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited offers of home maintenance work.