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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
RESOLVED That the items outlined within the Forward Work Programme for 2026 be noted, with the addition of the following items: (a) The ‘Annual Social Partnership’ report to be considered at the January Committee meeting. (b) Scrutiny of Financial Services, to include a situation update in relation to the knock on impact being experienced by the Authority in relation to the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals, to be scheduled for the March Committee meeting. (c) Consideration of the ‘Affordability of the Capital Programme’ to be considered at the June Committee meeting.
RESOLVED (a) That the Budget Monitoring report for Quarter 2 2025-26 be noted. (b) That a referral be made to the Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting it to review and scrutinise the Patient Flow Service Level Agreement between the Health Board and Pembrokeshire County Council.
RESOLVED (a) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report for 2024-25 be noted. (b) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report remains as a stand alone report and not be solely incorporated within the Council’s Annual Self-Assessment report, in order to provide a focused document for Strategic Equality Plan annual reporting purposes, which would be available for scrutiny by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
RESOLVED That the performance information in relation to the Corporate Scorecard data for 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 data, up to the end of Quarter Two (September 2025), and associated commentary, be noted.
RESOLVED That the Minutes of meetings of the Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee which have occurred since 14 November 2024 be noted.
RESOLVED That the draft Minutes of the 29 September 2025 Partnerships Panel meeting be noted.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joshua Beynon, Pat Davies, Paul Miller and Tom Tudor and the Director of Resources.
No requests were received.
Councillor Steve Alderman declared a personal interest in relation to Agenda Item No. 11, Strategic Partnerships (Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee), by virtue of being a Committee Member on two Corporate Joint Committee’s.
Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Jonathan Grimes. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2025 be approved as a correct record. [Councillor Bethan Price abstained from voting as she was not present at the September Committee meeting.]
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
The Chair made reference to the actions contained within the log from the last meeting and highlighted that they had all been completed, which was pleasing to see. Following clarification sought by Councillor Alan Dennison, it was confirmed that an update on the Celtic Freeport initiative formed part of the work programme for the January Committee meeting, to which Luciana Ciubotariu (CEO) and Ed Thomp (Chair of the Celtic Freeport Board) would be invited to attend. A request was made by Councillor Steve Alderman, for an update to be provided in relation to the knock on impact being experienced by the Authority in relation to the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals. It was agreed that an update would be sought and scheduled as part of the forward work programme agenda item. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
There were no public submissions or items of correspondence received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the items outlined within the Forward Work Programme for 2026 be noted, with the addition of the following items: (a) The ‘Annual Social Partnership’ report to be considered at the January Committee meeting. (b) Scrutiny of Financial Services, to include a situation update in relation to the knock on impact being experienced by the Authority in relation to the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals, to be scheduled for the March Committee meeting. (c) Consideration of the ‘Affordability of the Capital Programme’ to be considered at the June Committee meeting.
The Chair drew the Committee’s attention to the work programme, highlighted the planned items for January and stated that a paper would also be added for consideration in January in relation to the Annual Social Partnership. It was stated that Cabinet would soon be considering a report on the Capital Programme detailing the plans and affordability for the next 15 years, and it was suggested by the Chair that the Committee may wish to add consideration of the affordability of the Capital Programme to the work programme for June 2026. Following a request made by the Chair for Members to identify any service areas they wished to scrutinise, Councillor Steve Alderman requested that a report be provided in relation to Financial Services, in March 2026, and for the report to include a situation update in relation to the knock on impact being experienced by the Authority regarding the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals. Moved by Councillor Steve Alderman; Seconded by Councillor Alan Dennison The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the items outlined within the Forward Work Programme for 2026 be noted, with the addition of the following items: (a) The ‘Annual Social Partnership’ report to be considered at the January Committee meeting. (b) Scrutiny of Financial Services, to include a situation update in relation to the knock on impact being experienced by the Authority in relation to the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals, to be scheduled for the March Committee meeting. (c) Consideration of the ‘Affordability of the Capital Programme’ to be considered at the June Committee meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Budget Monitoring report for Quarter 2 2025-26 be noted. (b) That a referral be made to the Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting it to review and scrutinise the Patient Flow Service Level Agreement between the Health Board and Pembrokeshire County Council.
The Committee considered a report by the Head of Finance and Revenue Services regarding the County Council Budget Monitoring Report for Quarter 2 2025-26. The Chair welcomed the Principal Accountant to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions. The Head of Finance and Revenue Services outlined the report and stated that it was being presented to the Committee ahead of Cabinet review in December, following a delay from November. The approved revenue net expenditure budget for 2025–26 was outlined, along with the projected outturn, which indicated an underspend of £1 million. It was stated that increased demand in Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision, Children’s Services and Adult Services was reflected in the base budget and remained on track. An update was provided regarding the number of schools projecting deficits, although some transitional and contingency funding remained to be allocated, which should improve balances. The funding for employer National Insurance contributions was outlined which would leave a £1 million shortfall to be met from existing budgets. It was noted that pay awards exceeded budgeted levels but would be fully funded by Welsh Government, improving the position. An update regarding the slippage in the 2024–25 Capital Programme was given which had resulted in an underspend, offsetting pressures. Members were advised that Council Tax arrears had risen due to property reclassification appeals, and an update was provided on the number of Accelerated Change Programme bids which had been approved. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor Huw Murphy raised a query regarding the teachers’ pay pressure not being factored in at present, and made an assumption that full funding, if received, would improve the position by £0.7m. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services confirmed that the assumption was correct. · Reference was made to the Patient Flow Service Level Agreement between the Health Board and Pembrokeshire County Council, and Councillor Huw Murphy queried how much the Health Board had paid to date and how much was outstanding. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services stated that the Authority had built £355k into the budget, which would be a potential budget saving if the Authority was able to secure the funding, which was an ongoing piece of work. · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the Cemeteries and Gravedigging projected overspend and sought further information. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services stated that the overspend was due to a reduction in the income that the Authority received following a reduction in the number of burials. · Following further information being sought by Councillor Huw Murphy regarding any claw back the Authority received in relation to the severe backlog of the Valuation Office Agency Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax appeals, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services confirmed that she was not aware of the possibility of any claw back but concurred that the matter was creating a lot of additional work for the Revenues and Benefits team. · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the Maes Ingli Sheltered Housing development and queried if any guidance had been received from Welsh Government ministers regarding issuing a direction to allow the transfer of Second Home Council Tax funds into the Housing Revenue Account to be used for affordable housing schemes. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services advised that the Authority had responded to Welsh Government with the agreed wording of the directive and was hopeful that progress would be seen in coming months. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the expenditure on roof repairs at Monkton Cemetery and queried how value for money was assessed for such projects, how frequently the facilities were used, and who oversees the works. The Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place agreed to find out the answers and feed them back as part of the action log (AP). · The Chair highlighted that 81% of the budget savings were on target and asked whether there are any major risks associated with the remaining 19% that could prevent them from being achieved. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services stated that 15% of the budget savings were rated amber but actively managed, giving an overall 96% expected achievement by year-end. · Councillor Michael Williams sought further information in relation to any revenue expenditure relating to the Swansea Bay City Deal. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services stated that it was not mentioned separately due to it being a very small amount and stated that the Authority had not made a contribution this year due to a sufficient level of balance and reserves held by the Swansea Bay City Deal. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the budget savings and queried what impact they have had in terms of complaints from the public. In response, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies concurred that the savings would have a negative impact on public facing services but added that staff were doing their best under difficult circumstances and advised that the increased use of technology was being trialled. The Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place highlighted that the impact on the public was a consequence of reducing the number of staff available to deliver the services which inevitably would continue. · Councillor Huw Murphy commend the work undertaken by the Social Services Directorate which was having a significantly positive impact on the budget. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the late delivery of the trade waste vehicles and queried if any penalty clause was built into the agreement. The Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place agreed to find out the answer and report back (AP). Councillor Huw Murphy requested that a referral be made to the Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting it to review and scrutinise the Patient Flow Service Level Agreement between the Health Board and Pembrokeshire County Council. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman The vote, undertaken by way of a roll call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Alan Dennison, Jonathan Grimes, Mike James, Michael John, Huw Murphy, Bethan Price, Mike Stoddart and Michael Williams [9] There were no votes against the motion or abstentions. RESOLVED (a) That the Budget Monitoring report for Quarter 2 2025-26 be noted. (b) That a referral be made to the Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting it to review and scrutinise the Patient Flow Service Level Agreement between the Health Board and Pembrokeshire County Council.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report for 2024-25 be noted. (b) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report remains as a stand alone report and not be solely incorporated within the Council’s Annual Self-Assessment report, in order to provide a focused document for Strategic Equality Plan annual reporting purposes, which would be available for scrutiny by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Committee considered a report by the Director for Education regarding the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report for 2024-25. The Chair welcomed the Corporate Planning Manager, Corporate Policy and Research Officer and the Head of Engagement, Performance and Communities to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Education and Welsh Language outlined the main points of the report and highlighted that the report was required to be published by 31 March 2026, therefore, following scrutiny, the final draft would be presented to Cabinet in December prior to publication. Members were asked to consider whether the report should remain as a standalone document or solely incorporated within the Council’s Annual Self-Assessment report. The key achievements were outlined along with the areas identified for development and Members views were sought on the report contents. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair expressed that he felt the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report should remain as a stand alone report in order to provide a focused document for Strategic Equality Plan annual reporting purposes. · Councillor Alan Dennison highlighted that child poverty rates in Pembrokeshire had risen, exceeding the UK average and sought further information on what outcomes had resulted from recent poverty summits and initiatives, given the continued increase. In response, the Head of Engagement, Performance and Communities stated that two key initiatives had been implemented, the People Power Pembrokeshire Welfare Rights Project, which provided welfare rights outreach through schools and has secured over £500,000 in previously unclaimed benefits for residents; and the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT), a targeted approach using Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data to identify households not claiming entitled benefits. It was noted that both projects aimed to increase income for low-income families. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Alan Dennison querying if the Authority had sufficient resource to manage the increase in poverty, the Head of Engagement, Performance and Communities stated that reducing child poverty levels was largely beyond the Council’s control and required action at UK Government level. It was noted that the success of the Authority’s support should not be measured solely by changes in poverty rates. Councillor Dennison did not agree with the answer provided and highlighted the importance of the Authority learning from what other Local Authority’s do, to assist the matter. · Councillor Bethan Price expressed concern that whilst all primary school children receive free school meals, when they progress on to secondary school they may not receive the financial support they are entitled to due to families being reluctant to apply for the free meals benefit. In response, the Director for Education concurred that the introduction of universal primary free school meals had reduced applications for free school meal eligibility of secondary school age learners but outlined the support that was being provided to improve the application rates. · Councillor Michael Williams raised concerns regarding the increase in poverty rates and highlighted that the Citizens Advice Bureau was becoming overrun with families requiring assistance. It was queried whether the Authority would consider employing in-house Benefits Advisors again, to replicate models used in the past. In response, the Community Safety Poverty and Regeneration Manager reminded Members that a decision was made by Council to provide impartial benefits advice through an independent contract, currently held by Citizens Advice Pembrokeshire. It was stated that the contract was nearing its end, and future specifications were under review to ensure continued effective support. It was noted that the LIFT programme formed part of the delivery. · In response to clarification sought by Councillor Mike James, the Director for Education provided assurance that the relevant school was made aware of any applications parents make for free school meals, even if the schools does not fall within the Pembrokeshire boarder. · Following a request made by Councillor Huw Murphy, the Director for Education agreed to add in comparable data for Ceredigion and Preseli constituency’s, in addition to Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency’s before the report was published. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED (a) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report for 2024-25 be noted. (b) That the Strategic Equality Plan Annual Report remains as a stand alone report and not be solely incorporated within the Council’s Annual Self-Assessment report, in order to provide a focused document for Strategic Equality Plan annual reporting purposes, which would be available for scrutiny by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the performance information in relation to the Corporate Scorecard data for 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 data, up to the end of Quarter Two (September 2025), and associated commentary, be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources regarding the Performance Measurement Quarterly Monitoring data. The Chair welcomed the Corporate Planning Manager to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies outlined the main points of the report and highlighted that online service uptake and ‘My Account’ registrations were improving, though call centre waiting times remained a concern. It was stated that revenue collection had been affected by property reclassification, and recycling performance had exceeded Welsh Government targets, with zero waste sent to landfill. It was noted that issues in relation to missed collections and fly-tipping were being addressed through an action plan. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor Alan Dennison highlighted that the data was showing Milford Haven Leisure Centre to have a larger subscription of school visits than any other Centre and queried if that was accurate. In response, the Corporate Planning Manager advised that it was likely due to the scheduling of sports lessons within each individual term as the data only covered a one month period, so the figures would fluctuate month by month depending on how often swimming lessons take place on a schools rota. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Alan Dennison regarding how the missed refuge collection rates for Pembrokeshire compared to the Welsh average, the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place stated that he would obtain the data and report back as part of the action log (AP). An explanation on why the issues had occurred was given, along with steps being taken to rectify matters. · Councillor Alan Dennison queried why there was a high level of staff turnover within the refuge collection service, to which the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place stated that the recruitment rate within the service had not kept up with the loss of staff but confirmed that he was not aware of any particular issues causing the turnover. A suggestion was made for the Authority to conduct exit interviews in future to try and pin point any specific issues for staff leaving the service. · In response to clarification sought by Councillor Alan Dennison, the Corporate Planning Manager stated that changes had been made to how visits to Haverfordwest Library were being recorded and explained what the figures were demonstrating. · Councillor Mike Stoddart made reference to the corporate staffing graph and commented that it had not depleted as much as he thought it would have following the cuts being made to staffing. In response, the Corporate Planning Manager provided some clarification regarding what staffing categories were included within the graph. It was requested that further information be provided as to where the staffing cuts had been made, as the graph did not show or reflect the information (AP). · Councillor Michael Williams raised frustrations on the small size of car parking spaces within the Tenby multi-story car park and requested that the spaces within the Public Transport Interchange (PTI) in Haverfordwest be made an adequate size. The Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place advised that figures of the width of the parking bays within the PTI were available and confirmed that they were bigger than those in the previous Haverfordwest multi-storey car park. · In response to clarification sought by Councillor Alan Dennison in relation the ‘waste to landfill zero by 2025’, the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place advised that the metrics was tonnes and provided further information on the new process for black bag waste, as an alternative to landfill. The Corporate Planning Manager added that the ‘zero by 2025’ target had been set by Welsh Government and was referring to zero municipal waste. · Following questions raised by Councillor Mike James in relation to how often the new ‘small electrical’ waste collections would take place and where the items collected would progress on to, it was agreed that further information would be sought and reported back as part of the action log (AP). · Councillor Steve Alderman made reference to the situation updates which are published on the Council website and social media channels and made a suggestion that the situation feed be added to ‘My Account’ for residents to access easily. In summing up the Chair expressed thanks to all staff and refuse collectors who had enabled services to continue during the recent bout of bad weather. Moved by Councillor Steve Alderman; Seconded by Councillor Alan Dennison. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the performance information in relation to the Corporate Scorecard data for 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 data, up to the end of Quarter Two (September 2025), and associated commentary, be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Minutes of meetings of the Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee which have occurred since 14 November 2024 be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place regarding the Minutes of the Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee. The Chair welcomed the Leader to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions. The Leader outlined the main points of the Minutes and highlighted that both key strategic partnerships focused on Regional economic development, planning, transport, and energy. Additional updates were provided in relation to the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer for the CJC and a forthcoming Cabinet report on integrating Swansea Bay City Deal governance into the CJC. It was noted that the City Deal had moved into a stable delivery phase, with continued scrutiny and monitoring of outputs and benefits. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair reiterated the potential duplication of work across the CJC, Swansea Bay City Deal, and the forthcoming Celtic Freeport Board, suggesting merger options should be considered carefully to retain distinct functions. Concerns were raised about limited funding for the regional transport and spatial development plans, and the need for investment in rural transport infrastructure to support modal shift away from car use. In response, the Leader concurred with the concerns raised and the importance of equitable investment across the region was acknowledged. Members were advised that the CJC was responsible for preparing a Regional Strategic Development Plan, but the Leader stated that progress was constrained by insufficient Welsh Government funding, for which further support was being sought. · A suggestion was made by Councillor Alan Dennison for increased communication on the benefits and outcomes of the Celtic Freeport to be provided to residents as morale around the matter was currently low. · Following a question raised by Councillor Mike James it was confirmed that the importance of bus service provision in rural areas was raised regularly at CJC meetings. The Leader confirmed that bus provision was continually encouraged during debate in relation to the Regional Transport Plan. · In response to an update sought by Councillor Mike Stoddart regarding plans to progress the floating offshore wind targets, the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place provided further information regarding Celtic Freeport projects and stated that following recent announcements it was likely that it would be at least five years before turbines for floating offshore wind were in place. It was agreed that a seminar on the matter would be beneficial to provide Members with a full update on the matter, with an invite to be extended out to linked organisations such as Valero to contribute to discussions. · Councillor Michael Williams raised concerns regarding the democratic accountability of such partnerships and highlighted the imbalance of non-elected and elected members on such Committees. In response, the Leader stated that from attending such meetings he did not feel there was an imbalance and stated that often some non-elected members did not have voting rights. · Following a contact passed on by Councillor Steve Alderman, the Leader confirmed that he had been in touch with a member from the Crown Estate who would in time provide an update to Council Members. · Councillor Alan Dennison queried whether there were any plans to support the green energy industry through Council Tax or through Welsh Government funding being channelled through the Authority in terms of subsidies. In response, the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place stated that there was no intention of any Pembrokeshire County Council money being channelled into the project in that regard. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of meetings of the Swansea Bay City Region Joint Committee and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee which have occurred since 14 November 2024 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the draft Minutes of the 29 September 2025 Partnerships Panel meeting be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Chair of the Partnerships Panel regarding the Minutes of the latest Panel meeting. The Chair outlined the main points and resolutions of the Minutes and welcomed the Corporate Policy and Partnerships Manager and the Community Safety Poverty and Regeneration Manager to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Young People, Community, Well-being and Future Generations (Chair of Pembrokeshire Public Services Board (PSB)) stated that he was committed to ensuring that the PSB does as much as it can to bring the Public, Private and the Third Sectors together on the wellbeing objectives and provided assurance that the Board was constantly reviewing approaches to best support residents of the County. The aims of the Board were outlined along with an update on current work streams. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · In response to clarification sought by Councillor Alan Dennison as to what matters the Partnerships Panel can consider, it was agreed that the Panels Terms of Reference would be circulated by Democratic Services (AP). · The Community Safety Poverty and Regeneration Manager outlined the questions which were posted to the Temporary Superintendent at the Panel meeting and stated that if there were specific questions which Members would like posed at Community Safety Partnership meetings, then they could be submitted to her, or through the elected representatives, to which consideration and a response would be provided. · Councillor Alan Dennison suggested that at the next Panel meeting, consideration be given to the effect removal of the Police Commissioner position would have for the County. Moved by Councillor Steve Alderman; Seconded by Councillor Mike James. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the draft Minutes of the 29 September 2025 Partnerships Panel meeting be noted.
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