MSs warned public notice changes could have ‘catastrophic’ impact on local papers

Published

4 months ago

February 5, 2024

PLANS to scrap a legal requirement for public notices of council tax changes to be published in newspapers risk damaging local journalism and democracy, a committee heard.

Senedd members took evidence on the Local Government Finance bill which would remove a requirement to publish details of council tax changes in newspapers.

Instead, councils would only be required to publish a notice on their own websites.

Gavin Thompson, regional editor at Newsquest, which owns newspapers such as the South Wales Argus, warned the bill would have catastrophic unintended consequences.

Mr Thompson told MSs the proposals would set a worrying direction of travel for other public notices, such as for planning or licensing.

Emphasising the importance of the revenue, he said six of Newsquest’s ten local newspapers in Wales would have been loss-making last year without public notices.

He warned that the business, which employs around 182 people in Wales, would not be able to continue printing loss-making titles.

Mr Thompson said removing public notice requirements would create a worse climate for local news than in England despite a greater need in Wales

He told the committee: “What we need is the Welsh Government and the Senedd to support local journalism – and to not make it more difficult to produce.”

John Griffiths, who chairs the Senedd’s local government committee, said the annual spend on council tax-related notices has been estimated at about £33,000 across Wales.

Rob Taylor, founder of Wrexham.com, raised the declining reach of local newspapers and stressed that the legal requirement is an indirect subsidy propping up the industry.

He said: “Back in the day, yes, circulations were huge and points of reference for many, many people – but the landscape has changed and it’s a bad law, it’s an out-of-date law.”

Saying public notices are becoming more expensive while circulations dwindle, Mr Taylor argued the requirement to publish public notices is no longer providing value for money.

He asked committee members: “Are we making a law here in Wales for the olden days or are we going to make one for the future?”

Mr Taylor said Wrexham.com does not want to get on the gravy train: “We don’t want the money for statutory notices – it’s a terrible law, a terrible way of communicating.”

He added that the website would be willing to carry such notices for free.

Steffan Rhys, audience and content director for Wales at Reach, which owns the Western Mail as well as WalesOnline, also raised concerns about the proposals.

He warned that the commercial media sector is facing many headwinds that directly impact its revenue, including the dominance of Google and Facebook in advertising markets.

Mr Rhys said: “If you remove the requirement to put public notices in print titles, you are removing that information from a certain part of the public – there’s no two ways about it.

“You’re also removing revenue from publishers, that means publishers are able to do less journalism and that means the public is even less informed, so it’s almost a circular effect.”

He said £33,000 may not be a huge amount but when you add in all other public notices, it becomes a very large sum which is critical to the revenue of publishers.

Mr Rhys warned transparency would vanish if public notices retreated onto council websites as he raised concerns about the so-called democratic deficit in Wales.

He said: “The more challenged revenues of news publishers become, the more difficult they are going to find it to produce that sort of public-interest journalism that Wales really needs.”

Rachel Bowen is director of policy at the office of the older people’s commissioner for Wales, which this week published a report, entitled Access denied, about digital exclusion.

She told the committee meeting on January 31 that the proposals are yet more evidence of a “creep towards digitalisation and increasing exclusion”.

Ms Bowen raised concerns about the “grey, ambiguous” wording of a requirement for councils to make suitable, alternative arrangements.

“There’s just no clarity about what that means,” she said, pointing out that other groups such as disabled people and those on lower incomes can be digitally excluded.

Carolyn Thomas, a Labour MS for North Wales, who has had The Leader delivered for 25 years, said the text of public notices is so small that she could not read them.

Ms Bowen agreed that current arrangements could be more accessible but she criticised a “rush” to as-yet ill-defined alternatives.

Lifeboat crew plucks woman in difficulty from the water

Published

5 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Tom Sinclair

ANGLE All-Weather Lifeboat was requested to launch at 10pm on Sunday night (May 19).

The Coastguard had received a call reporting a female in difficulty in the water off Fort Road, Pembroke Dock.

The Lifeboat launched and began making best speed to the area, arriving on scene just 10 minutes later.

The Police and Ambulance Service also attended and were waiting in Hobbs Point car park.

The Port Authority Pilot Vessel ‘St Davids’ had not long arrived on scene and commenced searching, and members of the Dale Coastguard Rescue Team were on the beach with the first informant conning the Lifeboat on to the approximate position of the casualty.

The crew could hear the casualty screaming, and shortly after she came into view in the Lifeboat’s searchlights.

Heading immediately for her, she began to struggle further and on numerous occasions began to slip below the surface.

Just in time, the crew reached out a boat hook which the casualty managed to grab hold of where she was then floated into the Lifeboat’s man overboard recovery cradle and recovered onboard.

The crew immediately began warming and reassuring the casualty whilst carrying out a thorough casualty care assessment.

The decision was made to redirect all assets to Hobbs Point where the Lifeboat would come alongside.

A few minutes later once secure alongside, the crew were met by members of Dale, Tenby and St Govan’s Coastguard Rescue Teams, Paramedics and Police Officers.

The casualty was safely walked ashore to an awaiting ambulance.

With no further assistance required, the lifeboat and her crew were stood down to return to station where she was readied for further service by 11:45pm.

The RNLI said: “A huge thanks to the crew of the pilot vessel for their quick response and valuable assistance in searching, and to the Coastguard for their direction to the casualty. A fantastic example of multi-agency teamwork!”

News

Paul Davies calls for Withyhedge independent public inquiry

Published

8 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Tom Sinclair

A CALL for an independent public inquiry into the ongoing situation at Withyhedge landfill site has been made by local Senedd Member Paul Davies. Mr Davies made the call in the Senedd Chamber, whilst asking the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs just how bad the situation had to get before the local community could receive some support from the Welsh Government.

Resource Management Ltd (RML), which operates the Withyhedge site has already been issued several Enforcement Notices by Natural Resources Wales and yet local residents are still living with potentially toxic odours and emissions.

Mr Davies said, “Week after week I have stood up in the Senedd Chamber and asked for the Welsh Government to intervene to support the local community. People have complained of coughs, nausea and swollen eyes and yet despite the sympathetic words of Government Cabinet Secretaries, there has been no support forthcoming.”

“The people of Pembrokeshire deserve better and so I’m calling for an independent public inquiry to fully understand why this situation has been so poorly handled and why my constituents have been so badly let down.”

Farming

Simon Hart calls for a Sustainable Farming Scheme that delivers

Published

8 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Tom Sinclair

FURTHER delays to the introduction of new farming subsidies in Wales have met with a cautious welcome.

Following widespread protests from farmers, Welsh Labour Rural Affairs Secretary, Huw Irranca-Davies, has announced the Sustainable Farming Scheme will now be put on hold until 2026.

The decision has been welcomed by former Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart MP. The candidate for Caerfyrddin says the Welsh government must now work closely with farmers – and not against them.

He said: “We are told this decision shows the Plaid Cymru / Welsh Labour Cooperation administration is listening to farmers concerns. In my opinion, they should have been listening to them from the get-go and these proposals should never have been included by Plaid Cymru as part of their co-operation agreement.

“Whilst I appreciate this pause gives the Welsh government more time to get this vital scheme right, it also prolongs uncertainty in an industry that is at the very heart of our economy.

“We now need to see real progress, with the Plaid Cymru / Welsh Labour cooperators working at pace, alongside people who know the industry, to deliver a scheme that brings real benefits to our farmers.”

After a series of delays, the Sustainable Farming System was meant to come into operation in April 2025.

Rules that meant 10% of land needed to be covered by woodland and 10% earmarked for wildlife habitat caused widespread protests and led to claims that 5,000 jobs could be lost from the industry.