Clik here to view.
Happy New Year from Caebrwyn
Just a brief message to wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.When I first started writing this blog in March 2009 I didn't think I'd write more than a few posts, I thought it would dwindle...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tales from the County Hall crypt - Freedom of Information ten years old
The Freedom of Information Act came into force ten years ago this month. In 2005 the public gained a new and crucial right to information which, nationally, has revealed a vast amount of data and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cllr Sian Caiach stands for Parliament
Carmarthenshire Councillor Sian Caiach has thrown her hat in the ring and declared that she is standing as an independent candidate for Llanelli in the General Election on May 7th;"I feel it is...
View ArticleSound familiar?
Further details are emerging relating to the charges faced by the former chief executive of Caerphilly Borough Council, Anthony O'Sullivan, as he, his deputy and the council legal officer made a brief...
View ArticleMark James' severance deal could be worth £446,000, the Western Mail reports
The Western Mail (WalesOnline) reports this evening on the possible options for the council to consider when deciding the size and nature of Mr James' severance deal.The deal is due to be discussed by...
View ArticleYou know there's an election on the way...
..when the Labour group on the council, with its prospective parliamentary candidate for Carms East and Dinefwr, Cllr Calum Higgins in mind, decide to 'veto' an over generous pay-off for Mr...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Happy New Year, Mrs Thompson
As I said on this blog back in September, Carmarthenshire council chief executive Mark James was granted a Charging Order on my home for his libel damages arising from the unlawfully funded...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Agenda - January meeting
The agenda for next Wednesday''s full council meeting has been published and there is no mention of Mr James' severance or departure, early days perhaps although if you ask me, it is looking less and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The long and winding road
Way back in May 2013, following a Wales-wide survey which found that residents in Carmarthenshire felt least able to influence decisions made in County Hall, the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee...
View ArticleClik here to view.
January meeting
The new year kicked off with almost full attendance at yesterday's monthly council meeting with only a handful of absentees. As usual everyone was upstanding for the entry of the Chair, Vice Chair and...
View ArticleOmbudsman - A public interest report
An official notice has been published on Carmarthenshire council's website announcing that the Ombudsman has made findings of maladministration/service failure following a complaint.The report, which I...
View ArticleReturning Officers and elections on the way
If nothing else, our local prospective parliamentary candidate Cllr Calum Higgins (Lab) seems to have realised his best election tactic is to distance himself from the Labour leadership in County...
View ArticleA damning report from the Ombudsman
The Ombudsman's report which I referred to the other day, and which is a public interest report, has now been published and can be found on the council's website here;Ombudsman's ReportPublic Interest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pothole news
With budget proposals to cut nearly £3.3m from highway maintenance over the next three years, the state of Carmarthenshire's roads is likely to get worse. As far as the Welsh Government are concerned,...
View ArticleHengoed by-election
Here's a list of the candidates for the County Council by-election for Hengoed ward to be held on the 19th February. It is a two-Member ward near Llanelli, the other seat being held by Cllr Sian Caiach...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wales Audit Office reports - a year old today
It's exactly a year ago today that the Wales Audit Office published the pension payment and libel indemnity public interest reports. The scandals were finally exposed.Just to recap, short of having the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quality of life
At around the same time last year that County Hall were shelling out hundreds of thousands defending appalling financial impropriety, (see my last post, Wales Audit Reports - A year old today,) they...
View ArticleMark James is staying...
As if things couldn't get any worse, this nauseous press release has just appeared on the council website. The prospect of being refused a gold-plated severance package was clearly too much for Mr...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Local Government Reform
The White Paper on local government democracy in Wales was published the other day, launched by Minister Leighton Andrews (Lab). It appears to have been broadly welcomed by the other parties and has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Next week's agenda - Scrutiny sidelined
Seasoned council webcast viewers may have noticed that the chief executive is given to the occasional outburst over discussions relating to scrutiny reports, these reports are on the agenda and have...
View Article