The Carmarthen Journal and the Llanelli Star have this week picked up on the council's plans to outsource leisure services to charities, trusts or arms length companies.
I have been reporting on developments since October last year, and in February, and last Friday.
Anyway, the papers have a quote or two and Council leader Emlyn Dole doesn't sound particularly averse to the idea and neither does the opposition. It's just as well really as the wheels are already in motion, £30k+ is being spent on an external consultancy to sift through the interested parties and the award process is due to start in February.
Cllr Dole also states that, whilst they need to think 'creatively' (this is the latest buzzword instead of the less publicly palatable 'outsourcing') 'no assets' will be sold off. Given the current policy of selling off anything which isn't tied down this is a promise which will be difficult to keep. Presumably if (or rather 'when') they are, he will ensure a better deal for the Carmarthenshire taxpayer than the chief executive did over the Martson's deal.
Just to remind readers, 'Expressions of interest' have been invited for the whole leisure department and includes leisure centres, theatres, country parks, museums, libraries, the archives, etc.
It is a pity that not only is there no effective opposition - vital for scrutinising executive decisions - but the new leadership seems willing to remove the leisure department from the auspices of democratic control and proper scrutiny (albeit Carmarthenshire style), to trusts or arms length companies.
More importantly, it is becoming increasingly obvious that neither Cllr Dole, nor the weak opposition have any effective say in the future of council services, nor the many council jobs which will be at risk. Neither do they have the stomach, nor even the desire, to rock the officer-led regime.
There are murmurings of dissent and one Labour councillor has promised to 'demand reassurances' at the next council meeting that Pembrey Park will not be offloaded (the agenda has just been published and there's no sign of a demand). Anyway, as part of Mark and Meryl's original Masterplan, plans to offload the country park have been around for years.
The final decision will be based on an officer's report which will offer no other 'realistic' option aside from the one which has been happily germinating for the past eighteen months.
That officer's report is now doing the rounds of various committees before heading to full council later in the Autumn.
The council needs to make savings, we are aware of that, and it is likely that non-statutory services will be the first to go, whatever the massive up front costs of setting up trusts, charities or companies are. But the real worry is that if the Parc Howard and Archives fiascos (and all the other fiascos too numerous to list) are anything to go by, transparency, good governance and due diligence are unlikely to be particularly prominent.
I have been reporting on developments since October last year, and in February, and last Friday.
Anyway, the papers have a quote or two and Council leader Emlyn Dole doesn't sound particularly averse to the idea and neither does the opposition. It's just as well really as the wheels are already in motion, £30k+ is being spent on an external consultancy to sift through the interested parties and the award process is due to start in February.
Cllr Dole also states that, whilst they need to think 'creatively' (this is the latest buzzword instead of the less publicly palatable 'outsourcing') 'no assets' will be sold off. Given the current policy of selling off anything which isn't tied down this is a promise which will be difficult to keep. Presumably if (or rather 'when') they are, he will ensure a better deal for the Carmarthenshire taxpayer than the chief executive did over the Martson's deal.
Just to remind readers, 'Expressions of interest' have been invited for the whole leisure department and includes leisure centres, theatres, country parks, museums, libraries, the archives, etc.
It is a pity that not only is there no effective opposition - vital for scrutinising executive decisions - but the new leadership seems willing to remove the leisure department from the auspices of democratic control and proper scrutiny (albeit Carmarthenshire style), to trusts or arms length companies.
More importantly, it is becoming increasingly obvious that neither Cllr Dole, nor the weak opposition have any effective say in the future of council services, nor the many council jobs which will be at risk. Neither do they have the stomach, nor even the desire, to rock the officer-led regime.
There are murmurings of dissent and one Labour councillor has promised to 'demand reassurances' at the next council meeting that Pembrey Park will not be offloaded (the agenda has just been published and there's no sign of a demand). Anyway, as part of Mark and Meryl's original Masterplan, plans to offload the country park have been around for years.
The final decision will be based on an officer's report which will offer no other 'realistic' option aside from the one which has been happily germinating for the past eighteen months.
That officer's report is now doing the rounds of various committees before heading to full council later in the Autumn.
The council needs to make savings, we are aware of that, and it is likely that non-statutory services will be the first to go, whatever the massive up front costs of setting up trusts, charities or companies are. But the real worry is that if the Parc Howard and Archives fiascos (and all the other fiascos too numerous to list) are anything to go by, transparency, good governance and due diligence are unlikely to be particularly prominent.