Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

School crossing patrols, flood defence, coastal protection and remedial earthworks have all been saved from budget cuts. Carmarthenshire councillors decided not to proceed with proposed cuts of £55,000 for school crossing patrols, £52,000 for flood defence works and £11,000 for coastal protection works. Remedial earthworks; which includes highway support schemes such as the construction of retaining walls or embankments, escaped a planned reduction of £46,000. Furthermore, a proposed cut of £312,000 to the cleansing service has been reduced by £100,000. Executive Board Member for Technical Services Cllr Colin Evans said: “We had some very difficult decisions to make when it came to the budget for next year, but there were a number of frontline services we felt very strongly about. “Keeping the public safe is one of our main priorities, particularly the safety of our children which is why we decided to retain the budget for school crossing patrols. “Similarly, the remedial earthworks ...

Carmarthenshire county councillors have decided that they will not claim travel allowances for constituency duties, neither will they claim refunds for telephone or postal costs related to their work as councillors. Members were unanimous in showing their favour for the decision when members’ salaries and allowances were discussed during the adjourned Annual Meeting of the council. Cllr Pam Palmer, who proposed that members do not make such claims, said: “We are told all the time that bureaucracy will be reduced. As such, I propose that we decide not to claim such allowances.” These were two areas of the Councillors’ and Co-opted Members’ Salaries and Allowances Scheme on which the members could use their discretion. All other allowances and salaries are now statutory, having been set by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales. During the meeting, several councillors welcomed the new statutory carer’s allowance, which allows members to claim back certain costs where they have to m...

Shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain pledges higher standards of Labour local government - Wales News - News - WalesOnline Labour’s new generation of councillors will be committed to unprecedented standards of transparency and delivery, Shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has pledged.