Local Plaid politicans have raised further questions about the use of taxpayers' money to fund a television station on the internet in Carmarthenshire. The proposal has been agreed by the county council's Executive Board, led by Cllr Meryl Gravell, and by the Local Service Partnership, both of which have agreed to provide substantial amounts of money from public funds. The County Council has agreed to pay up to £30,000, not counting the time cost of officers which is likely to be substantial, and the Local Service Partnership Board has agreed to pay £10,000. The total cost has not been declared publicly, but the county council have claimed that most of the funding is coming from the Assembly Government. It is understood that other public bodies are also expected to decide to make substantial further contributions to the total cost.
The proposal to launch such a channel came from a private company based in the county who approached the various public bodies with the idea, after some councils in England launched similar schemes. Kent County Council, for instance, launched a trial service which cost a total of £1.2 million for the first two years, and a further £400,000 for the third year. Questions have now been raised by Plaid Councillors about the way in which the proposal has been developed.
Plaid's leader on the council, Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, wrote to the Assistant Chief Executive asking why a formal tendering process had not been followed. He said, "For almost everything the council does, we have to go through a formal tendering process, so that a range of suppliers have an opportunity to offer their services, and so that the council can obtain best value for money. Yet, in this case, it seemed to me that there had been no attempt to ascertain whether there are other companies which could provide the service. The impression given was that the contract had simply been awarded to the first company which suggested the idea. I am pleased to hear that this impression is in fact completely erroneous. Although one particular company approached the council suggesting the idea, I have been reassured that, should all the relevant bodies decide to go ahead with the scheme in principle, there will then be a competitive process to decide which company is awarded the contract.
“We as a group think that the whole idea is badly flawed, and is a waste of taxpayers' money; but if the council is determined to get involved in this scheme, they should, at the very least, follow their own normal processes of competitive tendering. Apart from anything else, that gives us all a further opportunity to try and prevent the council from participating in this scheme. And one key question which should be answered, but has not been answered to date, is what the total cost of this scheme is, to be paid from public funds, from all the different bodies involved."
Questions have also been raised about the funding from the Welsh Assembly Government. Nerys Evans, Plaid's regional AM for the area said that she would be raising questions with the Assembly Government on this matter. "At a time when there are likely to be cuts in local government spending, it seems very strange to me," said Ms Evans, "that the Assembly Government should be diverting funds from front line services into a television service. I am asking the relevant ministers how much money is being provided, which budgets it is being taken from, and how the contracts will be awarded."
Monday, 5 October 2009
Friday, 2 October 2009
Glanymôr needs ignored
The needs of the Glanymor area of Llanelli are being ignored according to local Plaid councillor, Winston Lemon. Cllr Lemon said, "The people of Glanymor are fed up of hearing year after year that Glanymor is the most deprived Ward in Carmarthenshire, when acres and acres of ex-industrial land are being reclaimed for private housing, as factories and other buildings are closing down, leading to the loss of real jobs in the area. I am constantly being approached by local tax payers who are amazed at the number of office blocks being built.
"Far too many Council properties are left empty, only to deteriorate and add to costs because of repairs to damage caused by vandalism, Also there are some properties that are used for fly tipping. I am also concerned about the plan to put a school on Crown Park as 98% of residents stongly object to the plan. Not only would it take away the people's treasured leisure facilities it will also add to the problems with the drainage and sewerage which is causing major concern not only in Glanymor, but all along the Estuary.
Cllr Lemon ended by saying, "It is about time the private developers took a back seat and let the public see some of their hard earned cash put back into their local communities."
"Far too many Council properties are left empty, only to deteriorate and add to costs because of repairs to damage caused by vandalism, Also there are some properties that are used for fly tipping. I am also concerned about the plan to put a school on Crown Park as 98% of residents stongly object to the plan. Not only would it take away the people's treasured leisure facilities it will also add to the problems with the drainage and sewerage which is causing major concern not only in Glanymor, but all along the Estuary.
Cllr Lemon ended by saying, "It is about time the private developers took a back seat and let the public see some of their hard earned cash put back into their local communities."
Friday, 25 September 2009
Call for kerbside glass collections
A call has been made for Carmarthenshire County Council to introduce kerbside collections of glass for recycling. Cllr Alan Speake, one of Plaid’s representatives in Carmarthen, said, “The council is doing a lot to recycle from the kerbside, but glass is currently excluded. The council blame health and safety considerations, but other councils can and do collect glass bottles and jars etc.
“Although the council is willing to introduce more glass collection sites when sites can be found, there are some people who find it difficult to get their glass to collection sites, particularly elderly people and those without transport. The council is quite rightly keen to increase the level of recycling, but I believe that they are missing a trick by not doing more to help people recycle glass. This would make life much easier for the county’s elderly and disabled residents.”
“Although the council is willing to introduce more glass collection sites when sites can be found, there are some people who find it difficult to get their glass to collection sites, particularly elderly people and those without transport. The council is quite rightly keen to increase the level of recycling, but I believe that they are missing a trick by not doing more to help people recycle glass. This would make life much easier for the county’s elderly and disabled residents.”
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Welcome for school decision
The decision by Carmarthenshire Council not to close Ysgol Caeo has been welcomed by the local community. Governors, parents and staff are all delighted at the decision after a lengthy period of uncertainty. The county councillor for the ward, Plaid’s Cllr Eirwyn Williams, said, “I congratulate the Council’s executive board for realising at last the sense of what I have been saying for many years, namely that it is wrong to close small schools before building the new area schools to replace them.
“It is completely unacceptable to disperse children to a number of other schools, rather than giving them the chance to grow up together as members of the same community. I hope that the authority will now set about providing a new area school and that in the meantime the education department will give the school all necessary assistance to continue to provide a high quality education to the children.”
Cllr Williams also noted that the decision was in line with what Plaid has been calling for for months, saying “We have consistently argued for a moratorium on the closure of small schools, and on this occasion, the Executive Board have taken the right decision.”
“It is completely unacceptable to disperse children to a number of other schools, rather than giving them the chance to grow up together as members of the same community. I hope that the authority will now set about providing a new area school and that in the meantime the education department will give the school all necessary assistance to continue to provide a high quality education to the children.”
Cllr Williams also noted that the decision was in line with what Plaid has been calling for for months, saying “We have consistently argued for a moratorium on the closure of small schools, and on this occasion, the Executive Board have taken the right decision.”
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Shock over scale of council chiefs' salaries
Plaid’s leaders in Carmarthenshire have expressed their shock and surprise at the level of pay increases which have occurred at the council. It was reported in newspapers reports last week that the Chief Executive’s salary has increased by £26,000 over the past three years. The reports also stated that over a two year period, the number of staff in the £80,000 plus pay bracket has increased from 13 to 21.
Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, Plaid’s leader, said, “Of course it is true that we need to have good people running our services, and Carmarthenshire is fortunate with many of the officers employed. But I really do question whether pay levels need to be as high as they seem to have become in recent years. There has been a great deal of attention paid in recent months to the pay packages of our elected AMs and MPs, but there are an increasing number of chief officers in local government who are paid at a much more generous level.
“At a time when most of the council’s employees are being offered a much more modest 0.5% increase in salaries, I for one cannot justify a much more generous level of increases being awarded to top staff. I am aware that the reports may not have been entirely accurate, and am therefore writing to the Council’s leader, Meryl Gravell, asking for full details of the rises over the past three years. It is unacceptable that the first most councillor know about this is when they read about it in the newspapers.
Cllr Dyfrig Thomas, Plaid’s deputy leader, added, “We need to introduce more transparency over pay, particularly at the senior levels. These pay levels are not being set by the council as a whole, but by the Executive Board meeting in secret. The first most councillors know about the pay levels of the top staff is when we read about it in the newspapers. That cannot be right, and we are asking for the establishment of a pay panel representing all groups on the council to review the pay packages of the council’s most senior officers.”
Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, Plaid’s leader, said, “Of course it is true that we need to have good people running our services, and Carmarthenshire is fortunate with many of the officers employed. But I really do question whether pay levels need to be as high as they seem to have become in recent years. There has been a great deal of attention paid in recent months to the pay packages of our elected AMs and MPs, but there are an increasing number of chief officers in local government who are paid at a much more generous level.
“At a time when most of the council’s employees are being offered a much more modest 0.5% increase in salaries, I for one cannot justify a much more generous level of increases being awarded to top staff. I am aware that the reports may not have been entirely accurate, and am therefore writing to the Council’s leader, Meryl Gravell, asking for full details of the rises over the past three years. It is unacceptable that the first most councillor know about this is when they read about it in the newspapers.
Cllr Dyfrig Thomas, Plaid’s deputy leader, added, “We need to introduce more transparency over pay, particularly at the senior levels. These pay levels are not being set by the council as a whole, but by the Executive Board meeting in secret. The first most councillors know about the pay levels of the top staff is when we read about it in the newspapers. That cannot be right, and we are asking for the establishment of a pay panel representing all groups on the council to review the pay packages of the council’s most senior officers.”
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
More spending on propaganda
Plaid Cymru in Carmarthenshire have expressed concern over the possibility that the county council is about to spend thousands of pounds on more self-publicity after agreeing a contract with a television company to launch a tv channel on the internet.
Peter Hughes Griffiths, the Plaid group leader on the council, said, “We have very little information on this scheme since it was discussed in closed session by the Executive Board. We know more about it from reading the minutes of the Local Service Partnership than we do from the county council itself!
According to the Partnership minutes for April, which are open to all on the internet, the Partnership has set aside £10,000 for the project on condition that the other partners also contribute, but there is no mention of the total cost. But I do know that Kent council launched a similar scheme – and the cost to them was £600,000!
“We know already that the county council spends more on self-publicity than other councils. In a recession, with the council’s leaders complaining incessantly about the lack of money from the government, therre is no excuse for increasing expenditure in this area.”
Peter Hughes Griffiths, the Plaid group leader on the council, said, “We have very little information on this scheme since it was discussed in closed session by the Executive Board. We know more about it from reading the minutes of the Local Service Partnership than we do from the county council itself!
According to the Partnership minutes for April, which are open to all on the internet, the Partnership has set aside £10,000 for the project on condition that the other partners also contribute, but there is no mention of the total cost. But I do know that Kent council launched a similar scheme – and the cost to them was £600,000!
“We know already that the county council spends more on self-publicity than other councils. In a recession, with the council’s leaders complaining incessantly about the lack of money from the government, therre is no excuse for increasing expenditure in this area.”
Council ignores own policy
Llwynhendy councillor, Meilyr Hughes, has called for the replacement of badly faded road signs in parts of his ward. Cllr Hughes said this week, "I have called for the replacement of street signs at Llandafen Road, Pemberton Road, Llwynhendy Road, and Heol y Gelli, where the signs have been affected by traffic pollution. As a result of the recent developments in the area, Heol y Gelli is now on the B4297, whilst the other three are all part of the 'old' A484, which means that the council will need to give careful consideration to the precise siting of the new signs".
Cllr Hughes has also pointed out that this gives the council an opportunity to implement a policy which it has apparently been ignoring to date. "The council's official policy is to use only the Welsh name where that name has been in existence for some time," said Cllr Hughes. "Previously, the council has put up signs referring to both Heol y Gelli and Gelli Road, but under its own policy, only Heol y Gelli should be included."
Cllr Hughes has also pointed out that this gives the council an opportunity to implement a policy which it has apparently been ignoring to date. "The council's official policy is to use only the Welsh name where that name has been in existence for some time," said Cllr Hughes. "Previously, the council has put up signs referring to both Heol y Gelli and Gelli Road, but under its own policy, only Heol y Gelli should be included."
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