Carmarthenshire county council is making deeper cuts in services than is necessary, according the opposition Plaid Cymru councillors. The council is expecting to receive a grant of £1.9 million from the Assembly Government, but has decided to simply ‘not count’ that money as part of its income for the coming year, and to press on with a series of cuts in services. At the budget-setting meeting, Plaid Cymru’s members attacked a number of the cuts, and Plaid’s leader, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths proposed an alternative approach.
“For the last two years,” said Cllr Hughes Griffiths, “the council has deliberately decided to ignore this particular grant from the Welsh Government, because they claimed that they could not be certain of receiving it. In fact, they received it in full each year, and simply placed it into the council’s reserves. We are confident that the full amount will be received again during the next year, and we argued that it should be counted as part of the council’s projected income, and used to offset some of the cuts in services being proposed by the council. One of the arguments against was that the council hasn’t received the money yet, but of course, the same is true of all the money projected to be received next year. Deciding whether or not to include this money is a matter of judgement – and we think they’ve made the wrong judgement.”
After the Plaid Cymru proposal was defeated by the councillors from the Labour and Independent Parties, the Plaid Group voted to reject the entire budget, but that proposal was also defeated.
Cllr Hughes Griffiths said, “We could not, in all conscience, accept a budget which included so many unnecessary cuts in services. As a group and as a party, we will continue to argue for the protection of vital services.”
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
Kicking and Screaming
The Assembly Government is proposing new legislation which would allocate responsibilities for county council scrutiny committees on the basis of the numbers of councillors in each party. This would represent a major change in Carmarthenshire, where the ruling Labour and Independent parties have systematically excluded the 29-strong Plaid Cymru group from any positions of influence. In a meeting of the council, Plaid’s Cllr Emlyn Dole referred to the impending legislation, and urged the council’s leaders not to wait for it to be passed.
Cllr Dole said, “I made it clear to them that, if they don’t implement the change now, then they are going to be dragged kicking and screaming into implementing a more democratic system in the council when the law changes. I asked them if that was what they really wanted. The answer I got was basically yes – they made it clear that, as far as they are concerned, democracy will only come to Carmarthenshire when the law forces them to introduce it. It is a very sad reflection on the two ruling parties.”
Cllr Dole said, “I made it clear to them that, if they don’t implement the change now, then they are going to be dragged kicking and screaming into implementing a more democratic system in the council when the law changes. I asked them if that was what they really wanted. The answer I got was basically yes – they made it clear that, as far as they are concerned, democracy will only come to Carmarthenshire when the law forces them to introduce it. It is a very sad reflection on the two ruling parties.”
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Rushing the development of Llandeilo
Carmarthenshire County Council have produced a design guide for a major expansion to the town of Llandeilo, but it has attracted a large number of comments and questions from the public. It is clear that there are serious concerns about some aspects of the development, and Plaid Cymru’s councillors attempted to have these concerns incorporated into the council’s decision. Members of the Labour and Independent parties however, voted against the amendments put forward by Plaid’s group leader, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths.
Cllr Hughes Griffiths had called for there to be no development until after the proposed Llandeilo by-pass has been built, due to serious concerns about traffic problems. He also suggested that there should be adequate school provision in place before the number of children increases, that steps should be taken to ensure that the numbers and types of houses were decided on the basis of meeting local need, and that there should be an agreed proportion of affordable housing.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Hughes Griffiths said, “I believe that it is utterly irresponsible of the council to be encouraging the building large numbers of new houses before the infrastructure is in place to support the growth, and without ensuring the development serves local needs first and foremost. Llandeilo is an ancient town, and its expansion needs to be handled with care, not rushed.”
Cllr Siân Thomas added, “The council has already recognised the serious problem of air pollution in the main street through Llandeilo. Any new development will inevitably add to the traffic, including construction traffic whilst it is being built. There is little point in the council going to the trouble of assessing which are the worst areas for pollution if it is then simply going to add to the problem by its own decisions.”
Cllr Hughes Griffiths had called for there to be no development until after the proposed Llandeilo by-pass has been built, due to serious concerns about traffic problems. He also suggested that there should be adequate school provision in place before the number of children increases, that steps should be taken to ensure that the numbers and types of houses were decided on the basis of meeting local need, and that there should be an agreed proportion of affordable housing.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Hughes Griffiths said, “I believe that it is utterly irresponsible of the council to be encouraging the building large numbers of new houses before the infrastructure is in place to support the growth, and without ensuring the development serves local needs first and foremost. Llandeilo is an ancient town, and its expansion needs to be handled with care, not rushed.”
Cllr Siân Thomas added, “The council has already recognised the serious problem of air pollution in the main street through Llandeilo. Any new development will inevitably add to the traffic, including construction traffic whilst it is being built. There is little point in the council going to the trouble of assessing which are the worst areas for pollution if it is then simply going to add to the problem by its own decisions.”
Sunday, 14 March 2010
No democracy allowed
Carmarthenshire County Council has been slammed for a lack of democracy by Plaid Cymru over the way in which school changes are being forced through in the Dinefwr and Gwendraeth areas. The council recently engaged outside consultants to review the possible sites, but has declined to allow councillors any say in the final decision. The council’s leaders have also refused to allow the council as a whole any say on any aspect of the proposed re-organisation plans.
Plaid’s leader, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, said, “I have asked for the council as a whole to be given the opportunity to vote on the reorganisation proposals, but that request has been refused. We will not be allowed to vote on the category of the schools, on whether schools are merged or closed, or on where the schools are sited. We will not be allowed a vote on the submission to the Assembly government setting out the council’s proposals either.
“In fact, I have been told that the only matter on which we will be allowed a vote will be later this year, on whether to spend the money or not. This is completely undemocratic – all the important decisions will have been taken by then.”
Plaid’s leader, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, said, “I have asked for the council as a whole to be given the opportunity to vote on the reorganisation proposals, but that request has been refused. We will not be allowed to vote on the category of the schools, on whether schools are merged or closed, or on where the schools are sited. We will not be allowed a vote on the submission to the Assembly government setting out the council’s proposals either.
“In fact, I have been told that the only matter on which we will be allowed a vote will be later this year, on whether to spend the money or not. This is completely undemocratic – all the important decisions will have been taken by then.”
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Paying for transport is 'not on' say Plad
Carmarthenshire county council chiefs have put forward a proposal to withdraw free school transport for all children over the age of 16 as a money-saving measure. Although the council is obliged to provide transport for qualifying pupils up to the age of 16, there is no obligation after that point. Most councils, however, opt to do so.
Plaid Cymru councillor, Phil Williams, expressed his concern at the council’s proposal, saying, “This would be a serious additional cost for many parents, particularly at a time of recession. It might even lead to some children leading school after GCSE instead of staying on to do A levels, or opting to go to colleges which do provide transportr and weakening the sixth forms in our schools. I believe that the county should continue to provide this transport.”
He was supported by Cllr Siân Thomas, who added, “The government is forever telling us that developing the skills of our young people is a key element in building a more secure economic future for all of us. We should not be doing anything which undermines the drive the develop a better trained and more highly-educated workforce, and the council should drop this proposal.”
Plaid Cymru councillor, Phil Williams, expressed his concern at the council’s proposal, saying, “This would be a serious additional cost for many parents, particularly at a time of recession. It might even lead to some children leading school after GCSE instead of staying on to do A levels, or opting to go to colleges which do provide transportr and weakening the sixth forms in our schools. I believe that the county should continue to provide this transport.”
He was supported by Cllr Siân Thomas, who added, “The government is forever telling us that developing the skills of our young people is a key element in building a more secure economic future for all of us. We should not be doing anything which undermines the drive the develop a better trained and more highly-educated workforce, and the council should drop this proposal.”
Monday, 22 February 2010
Use power as landlord to insist on use of Welsh
Carmarthenshire County Council has been urged to use its power as a landlord to ensure that businesses and others operating on its premises abide by the council’s own policy on the Welsh language. Cllr Mari Dafis from Plaid Cymru said this week, “The council has a policy of ensuring that all its signs and literature are bilingual. However, when it lets businesses or other organisations operate from its premises, they are currently allowed to ignore the council’s policy completely. In most cases, it would be a small and simple matter to translate the signs, and in the case of catering concessions, the menus. Perhaps the council could even allow the organisations concerned limited use of the council’s translation facilities to assist them. It would be a small step, but it is completely incongruous to have two very different policies operating in the same buildings.”
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Wasting money and misleading people
Carmarthenshire County Council has wasted thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money by engaging consultants to carry out an evaluation of possible school sites in Dinefwr, according to Plaid. The council had asked the consultants to evaluate 14 sites for a new secondary school to serve the Dinefwr area. The new school would replace two existing schools, at Tre-gib in Llandeilo, and Pantycelyn in Llandovery. However, the guidance given to the consultants seems to have ignored the question of parental choice over the language of education, which according to Plaid makes the results completely meaningless.
Plaid’s leader on the council, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, said, “We have pressed the county council time and again to listen to what the parents are saying about the demand for Welsh-medium education, but they seem determined to ignore our call. In the process, they are also ignoring the council’s own policies and the guidance given by the Welsh Government, both of which say that parental choice should be respected, and that parents should be positively encouraged to choose a Welsh-medium education.
“The council gave the consultants a brief about the size of the school and the numbers of pupils likely to attend it which is based on an assumption that all of the parents in the area will opt for the new school, and that none of them will demand a Welsh-medium education. This is patent nonsense; but the conclusions of the study are rendered completely invalid as a result. In short, the council has wasted thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money.”
Plaid also say that the council has deliberately misled people in the north of the county over the possible location of a new school. “When they carried out their flawed ‘consultation exercise’”, said Cllr Hughes Griffiths, “they told people in the Llandovery area that any new school would probably be built in the Llangadog area, about half way between the two schools. I know for certain that many parents indicated their support for the idea of a new school, based on that assumption about its location.
“It was the only possible location suggested at the time by the county council, and to now say that they are instead planning to build the new school to the south of Llandeilo will not only be a serious shock to the parents, but it also invalidates any conclusions from the survey of parents.”
Cllr Hughes Griffiths concluded by saying, “What is becoming increasingly clear is that the council decided what to do first and that all consultation and debate has been little more than a sham. They will press ahead with their plans regardless of what is best for the education of our children, or for the Welsh language. We in Plaid will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we have a genuine consultation process, and that parental wishes are respected.”
Plaid’s leader on the council, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, said, “We have pressed the county council time and again to listen to what the parents are saying about the demand for Welsh-medium education, but they seem determined to ignore our call. In the process, they are also ignoring the council’s own policies and the guidance given by the Welsh Government, both of which say that parental choice should be respected, and that parents should be positively encouraged to choose a Welsh-medium education.
“The council gave the consultants a brief about the size of the school and the numbers of pupils likely to attend it which is based on an assumption that all of the parents in the area will opt for the new school, and that none of them will demand a Welsh-medium education. This is patent nonsense; but the conclusions of the study are rendered completely invalid as a result. In short, the council has wasted thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money.”
Plaid also say that the council has deliberately misled people in the north of the county over the possible location of a new school. “When they carried out their flawed ‘consultation exercise’”, said Cllr Hughes Griffiths, “they told people in the Llandovery area that any new school would probably be built in the Llangadog area, about half way between the two schools. I know for certain that many parents indicated their support for the idea of a new school, based on that assumption about its location.
“It was the only possible location suggested at the time by the county council, and to now say that they are instead planning to build the new school to the south of Llandeilo will not only be a serious shock to the parents, but it also invalidates any conclusions from the survey of parents.”
Cllr Hughes Griffiths concluded by saying, “What is becoming increasingly clear is that the council decided what to do first and that all consultation and debate has been little more than a sham. They will press ahead with their plans regardless of what is best for the education of our children, or for the Welsh language. We in Plaid will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we have a genuine consultation process, and that parental wishes are respected.”
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