IN a surprising move, First Minister Vaughan Gething has dismissed Delyn MS Hannah Blythyn from her role as Minister for Social Partnership in the Welsh Government. The announcement was made in a brief statement this morning, with Mr Gething saying, “I have today asked the Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn, to leave Government.”

Mr Gething expressed his appreciation for Ms Blythyn’s contributions, stating, “I would like to put on record my gratitude for the work the Member for Delyn has led in Government since 2017, most notably her leadership on the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales, the fire and rescue services review, and our valuable work with social partners.” Despite these acknowledgments, the statement provided no reason for Blythyn’s dismissal.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies MS, was quick to criticise Mr Gething’s leadership. “Vaughan Gething’s decisions during the Labour leadership campaign are catching up with him,” Davies remarked. “Just weeks into his time as First Minister, Vaughan Gething has had to sack somebody from his Cabinet, which is almost unprecedented in recent memory in Wales. Vaughan Gething needs to prove quickly that he is capable of governing Wales, because as it stands his government is being stretched to breaking point by internal divisions.”

Hannah Blythyn was appointed as Minister for Social Partnership in March 2024, shortly after Vaughan Gething formed his new cabinet upon becoming First Minister. Her responsibilities included the implementation of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Act, overseeing the Social Partnership Council, promoting the Living Wage, and supporting sectors such as tourism, hospitality, and retail.

Ms Blythyn’s ministerial career began in November 2017 when she joined the Welsh Government focusing on environmental issues. A proud trade unionist, she previously led political and policy work for Unite in Wales, advocating for issues such as blacklisting, justice for victims of asbestos-related diseases, protection for rural workers, and tackling bogus self-employment.

PEMBROKESHIRE’S new Cabinet, under new council leader Jon Harvey, is a “kick in the face” for Welsh speakers, and is now independent “in name only,” opposition members have said.

At the May 10 annual meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembroke St Mary North member Cllr Harvey beat fellow leadership hopeful Conservative group leader Di Clements by 30 votes to 27, following former leader David Simpson announcing he was to step down after seven years in the top job.

Cllr Harvey yesterday, May 14, announced his new Cabinet, with two councillors Joshua Beynon and Jacob Williams joining the Cabinet for the first time, the former replacing Cllr Alec Cormack, who has stepped down as Cabinet member for Corporate Finance.

Welsh Conservative group members responded to the new cabinet.

St Florence councillor Rhys Jordan said: “Jon Harvey promised change when he became leader, yet here we are with the same council tax-raising Cabinet as we saw previously.”

“Increasing the number of Labour Cabinet members shows already that the Leader was not serious about working cross-party and is more interested in keeping the Deputy Leader [Cllr Paul Miller] happy.”

Cllr Aled Thomas, the group’s business manager and one of the authority’s member champions for the Welsh language described the Cabinet as “yet another kick in the face for Welsh speakers across the county as well as a lack of representation for residents in the north of the county”.

“Cllr Jon Harvey is showing his utter contempt for the Welsh Language by not appointing any Welsh-speaking Cabinet Members, just as the previous leader Cllr David Simpson failed to do.”

New Independent Group leader, Cllr Huw Murphy said the new Cabinet was “now more South Pembrokeshire-centric than of his predecessor, with no Welsh speakers and only two Cabinet members north of East Williamston”.

“It’s regrettable that prior to forming his Cabinet the newly-elected Leader did not reach out to the largest political group, but entirely expected. Cllr Harvey failed to gain the support of the majority of members on May 10 which is an inauspicious start, and he will have severe challenges passing policies at full council if genuine collaboration is not made. Cllr Harvey needs to understand that collaboration is not a one-way street, and his new Cabinet continues the divide of his predecessor.”

He described Cllr Jacob Williams’ appointment as “probably the worst kept secret in County Hall,” warning the blogger and unaffiliated councillor may face “some difficulties now that his new Cabinet post carries with it collective responsibility and the acceptance of taking instruction from a Labour Deputy Leader and no doubt on occasions having to accept Cabinet decisions made by other Labour Cllrs as well as Cllr Sinnett from Plaid Cymru”.

He paid tribute to Cllr Cormack’s departure from Cabinet, saying: “The departure of Cllr Cormack was unexpected, and it has to be the consequence of the 2023/24 budget when Cllr Miller was forced to present an amendment to fend off a rebellion from ruling group Cllrs to avoid inevitable defeat with regards to a Cabinet recommended rise of 16 per cent.

“Cllr Cormack is viewed as a thoroughly decent person across the Chamber and his calm and measured conduct will be missed and he appears to be the victim of the previous administration’s failure to pass the budget they themselves recommended.”

He said Cllr Beynon, as Cllr Cormack’s replacement “will face huge pressures in dealing with the financial crisis Pembrokeshire finds itself in and in time presenting a budget to full council next March in the knowledge that the diplomacy of his predecessor failed to garner sufficient support to approve a 16 per cent council tax rise this year”.

He added: “The Independent Group is now the only group of councillors within PCC that are independent and free of political party influence. The stark reality is that unaffiliated councillors have allowed a Cabinet to be formed comprised of many Labour and Plaid councillors, who represent 12 out of 60 wards in Pembrokeshire with only five unaffiliated/independent councillors in Cabinet from 35 elected independent county councillors. Therefore, the claim by unaffiliated councillors of being truly independent is a myth.”

Referring to a statement he made upon recently becoming leader of his group, Cllr Murphy said: “The Independent Group as made clear [we] will be a critical friend of the new administration and are already doing do by highlighting an increasingly strong Labour influence over an administration which now appears to be independent in name only.”

Responding, Leader Cllr Jon Harvey said: “I have already invited the leaders of the Independent Political Group and Conservative Group to meet with me prior to these statements coming out and look forward to working constructively with all councillors.”

An innovative solution that could save Welsh Water two tonnes of carbon per year through transforming the management of organics during the treatment of drinking water, is one of the winners of a £40 million competition from Ofwat, the economic water regulator.

Welsh Water provides safe and reliable drinking water to over 1.4 million homes and businesses, making it the sixth largest of the 23 water companies in England and Wales. The not-for-profit water company has water treatment works where raw water is treated to make it safe enough to drink, which supplies over 800 million litres of water every day through a network covering 27,000km. By the time water reaches rivers, reservoir or aquifers, water already contains a wide variety of substances including organics which determines its quality. It absorbs dirt, dust and gases from the air, debris and bacteria from the ground, and soluble minerals from rocks.

At a water treatment works, the main objective is to remove bacteria and other unwanted substances from raw water through a drinking water treatment process. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is used during this treatment process to remove organics from the raw water– an exhaustive process that means the GAC requires thermal regeneration every three years.

The current process is carbon intensive, creating around two tonnes of carbon per year costing around £1m per year to manage. The solution proposed by Welsh Water’s innovation team and partners including Swansea University and Panton McLeod, seeks to investigate ways to regenerate GAC in situ, reducing both financial costs and carbon footprint before proposing a recommended solution that can be adopted by Welsh Water and shared with the wider industry.

Paul Gaskin, Research and Innovation Manager of Water Services at Welsh Water said:  “We are excited to be leading this project to investigate transformative ways of regenerating granular activated carbon locally. This project is an example of Welsh Water’s commitment to finding innovative solutions to environmental challenges, whilst bringing the wider industry along with us. This project ties in with our 2050 vision to become a truly world class, resilient and sustainable water service for the benefit of future generations. Along with our partners working on this project, this funding will help us tackle a key challenge faced by the entire water industry.”

Helen Campbell, Senior Director, Ofwat said: “There are big challenges in the water industry that must be solved, some are well known, and others are less so. In our fourth Water Breakthrough Challenge we called for solutions with potential to deliver wide-scale, transformational change for customers, society and the environment – and that’s exactly what today’s winners have done. From raingardens to prevent flooding to green energy from treated sewage, innovations to cut the water sector’s carbon footprint to robots that patrol the pipe network, the winners are all helping shape a more sustainable and efficient water sector.” 

Welsh Water is also partnering with others in the industry on other innovative projects including rainwater harvesting, robotic solutions for rising water mains and no-dig leak repair.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is part of a series of competitions from Ofwat, run by Challenge Works with Arup and Isle Utilities, designed to drive innovation and collaboration in the sector to benefit individuals, society and the environment.  

It supports initiatives that help to tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as delivering value to society.

For more information, visit: https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/breakthrough4/