County faces cut in cash settlement

Despite facing a reduction of 1.2%, Denbighshire County Council reckons it has done better than expected in its latest cash settlement from the Welsh Government.

Councils across Wales heard yesterday what they would be receiving to help pay their way in the next financial year.

Denbighshire believes its settlement is better than expected and that a reduction of 1.2% in cash terms is much less than feared.

However, the authority says this still means that its budget is reducing while demand for services and cost pressures increase.  

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance and Assets, said: “We have been working on the assumption that we would need to find savings for 2016/17 and this is the case, although the settlement announced by the Welsh Government is better than expected.

“We are on schedule to deliver a budget for 2016/17 and the council will need to consider the final detail in the coming weeks, including the impact on council tax levels.

“The vast majority (82%) of the savings made so far over the last two years have been through efficiency or other measures which have not had a negative impact on services to the public and that has been down to careful planning and making savings through working more efficiently.”

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates said: “The Welsh Labour Government has again done its utmost to protect local authorities, including Denbighshire, from the severity of Tory austerity.

“The reduction of just 1.2% is much lower than what Denbighshire had been anticipating and considerably less than what councils in England have endured.

“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to cut council settlements at all, but given that the UK Government has slashed the Welsh budget by £1.3bn since 2010-11 we have no choice. However, this is a considerably better settlement than local authorities were expecting.

“We have protected the funding for local councils over the course of this Assembly term – in stark contrast to the way the Tory Government at Westminster has slashed English council budgets by around 10% in cash terms over the past five years.

“In Wales, they’ve gone up almost 3% over the same period."

* Wrexham Council had been planning for a 4.5% cut in the amount it gets from the Welsh Government, but yesterday learned the reduction would be 2% at most – meaning the authority will have at least £4.3m more than expected.

* North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood challenged the Finance Minister in the Assembly Chamber this week over her Draft Budget.  

 

AM challenges Finance Minister over Draft Budget

 

Mr Isherwood (pictured) questioned the Minister, Jane Hutt AM, on a number of areas of spending, including health and housing, but claims she failed to answer his questions.

 

He said: “How much did you receive in consequence of the UK Government’s increased spending on health in England? How much did you receive in consequence of the UK Government’s announcement of the biggest house building programme by any government since the 1970s, for England? And how much of that additional money will you be allocating to new housing supply in Wales during 2016-17, after the devastating cuts imposed on housing since 1999 in Wales?

 

“Finally, what consideration will you give to rescuing the key services being delivered by third sector bodies across Wales, which have been improving lives and saving millions for statutory services for decades, such as Disability Wales and many others, given that when I wrote to the Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister on behalf of third sector bodies regarding core funding for the Families First programme, the reply I received was that the late timing of the UK Government’s spending review posed challenges for budget planning?”

 

Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood added: “It is very revealing that this Finance Minister wouldn’t answer my questions. We have consistently warned Labour about the consequences of their failure to adequately invest in the Welsh NHS – and with 1 in 7 people in Wales on a waiting list, the number waiting over 26 weeks for treatment up by 70% since 2011, and Wales’ critical care bed capacity the lowest in Europe, the consequences of Labour’s savage cuts have been vast. Presently, adjusted for age - and reflected by our increasingly ageing population - health spending per capita in Wales remains £50 lower than in England.

 

“She knows full well that I have been calling for action to tackle the housing supply crisis in Wales created by Labour  Ministers since devolution in 1999, and that Welsh Conservatives recognise the need for a whole market solution that delivers all types of affordable housing,  including social housing.

 

“It is also unforgivable that they are jeopardising key services provided by third sector bodies such as Disability Wales, when Welsh Government needs instead to be asking them how they can help to do things differently, improve lives and deliver better value for the budget available.”

Santa sleighs 'em for Rotary causes

 

* Santa out on his Rotary rounds.

 

Last weekend The Llangollen Dee Valley Rotary Club were out and about helping Santa around Garth, Trevor, Llangollen, Fron, Pentre and Cefn Mawr.

 

They also called in to see the Llangollen Brownie group to deliver some early presents.

 

The club says it would like to thank all the children and adults who braved the weather to say hello to Santa on his sleigh.

 

In spite of the wind, rain and cold over £600 was raised for local charities.

 

 

* ... and checking if he has the correct presents for everyone. 

Vandals make three attacks on railway line

Vandals have made three separate attacks on the railway line between Corwen and Llangollen during the past week.

In a message to its members in the area, the local Neighbourhood Watch team says the first incident happened between last Friday and Saturday when objects were thrown through the windows of a signalbox at the Glyndyfrdwy level crossing.

Then, sometime between Sunday and Monday, the vandals returned to smash another window in the box by throwing an object through it.

Third incident was at the same location when a railway wagon was broken into with windows being smashed and graffiti daubed on to the walls. 

* If you noticed anything suspicious, or have any information relating to this incident please contact North Wales Police by dialling 101.

Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers Wales on 0800 555 111. North Wales Police would like to urge residents to always report suspicious activity to them at the earliest opportunity.

Operatic gets audience swinging into Christmas

* The Operatic's Christmas show was a feast of festive fun.

Llangollen Operatic Society infused a packed audience with a massive dose of Christmas spirit during their glittering seasonal show at the Town Hall last night.

Swing Along A Christmas was a real cracker of a production featuring a host of songs and sketches from a range of talented performers.  

Perfect choice for host was Louise Cielecki, a graduate of the society’s own Young ‘Uns junior section who is now studying drama.

Her bubbly character got the whole thing off to fizzing start as she split the audience into two halves and encouraged them to compete in roaring out the loudest `merry Christmas’.

A large contingent from the Operatic hit the stage with stylish number from the musical Polar Express before around half a dozen members of the Young ‘Uns appeared to sing snatches from their forthcoming production of Honk! which hits the stage early next year.    

Multi-talented is the right term for Michael Jenkins who was next in the evening’s line-up.

Taking time off from directing the panto Aladdin at the Stiwt in Rhos, he found time to conduct the Operatic’s choral contributions in this show, do a couple of solo numbers himself and also take part in comedy duet.

His solos - including the Bing Crosby evergreen White Christmas set to a swinging rhythm – helped underline the seasonal tone and later he joined Louisa Jones in the old Dean Martin winter warmer, Baby It’s Cold Outside.

Host Louise hung up her mic for a while to join fellow Young ‘Uns alumni Nathan Lloyd in a neat comedy sketch which ended in a song before the Operatic choristers were back to keep up the pace with a number of their own.

Philip Main stepped out from the chorus to give an astonishing countertenor – or perhaps falsetto – rendition of Panis Angelicus.     

Another admirable voice, that of Lizzie Richards, then brought us the stunning Let it Go from the musical Frozen, a real showstopper to end the first half.

Ross Wilson led the charge into the second part of the show with two genuine Rat Pack-style swingers, Dean Martin’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head and Michael Buble’s Feeling Good.

A neat atmospheric touch came when Ross took his performance out into the heart of the audience.

Louise and Nathan returned for a second two-handed comedy routine and song, followed by the Operatic singers with Winter Wonderland.

A new Operatic star appeared in the east when Dan May strode on stage to present a soulful interpretation of When a Child is Born in his debut performance before an audience.    

Alison Ravenscroft came out next with a cheekily neat Baby It’s Cold Outside – perhaps, as host Louise joked, a little unexpected from a lady who played the Mother Superior in the Operatic’s recent smash-hit production of Sister Act.     

Lizzie Richards and Ross Wilson joined vocal forces for Let it Snow, leaving the entire Operatic team to round off with Jingle Bell Rock.

The audience then got their chance to join in the fun by singing along with Twelve Days of Christmas and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, sending us out into the night with all those fantastic tunes still ringing in our heads.

A pity the Operatic had just one night for their festive entertainment feast as this show could have run and run.  

Man in charge of Llan legion resigns

THE man who had been running Llangollen branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) has marched off in despair at its lack of active members.

John Lawton, who took over as chairman and secretary a couple of years ago because there was nobody available for either role, has now resigned from both positions.

* John Lawton at this year's Service
of Remembrance in Llangollen.

Mr Lawton, who lives in Wrexham, said: “Not one member in addition to the usual seven has bothered to attend any branch meeting for the last four years.

“This was in spite of me changing the time and venue to Llangollen Royal Air Force Association Club to make things easier.

“Surely if I can drive 34 miles to a meeting, then they can drive to the club from town.

“I feel that the lack of support made my job untenable so I saw no alternative but to resign.”

He added: “Myself and the member now standing in as chairman and secretary are due to meet the legion’s area chairman later this week to finalise things.

“I think the branch will remain open and I pray it does.”   

Llangollen RBL was formed 91 years ago in time to consecrate the town’s cenotaph in November, 1923.

Mr Lawton has previously been secretary of the Historic Warships in Birkenhead, a Petty Officer in the Sea Cadet Corps and treasurer of Llangollen Royal Naval Association.

Businesses warned over mailshot

Denbighshire Council's Trading Standards team is warning local businesses not to respond to a mailshot that could result in a bill of £790 per annum.

Businesses are being advised to ignore a letter from a firm with an address in Hamburg, Germany which is headed 'UK Data Control Scotland Business'.

The letter is designed to look like an official Government document, and requires the recipient to provide their VAT Registration Number to update the 'UK-DATA CONTROL portal'.
The letter also includes a form for businesses to check and sign to say their details are correct.

The small print indicates that a cost of £790 a year will be incurred by the business for a minimum of three years.

Emlyn Jones, Public Protection Manager for Denbighshire Council said: "We are concerned that local businesses may believe the letter to be from an official government source, which is not the case.

"If businesses sign and return the form to confirm their details are correct they could end up being tied into a contract and liable for the high costs of an entry in this portal.

"We have had several enquiries from businesses regarding this and we have advised them that they are not obliged to provide the information to this company."

* Any business concerned about a letter, email or phone call they have received can report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

 

Any consumer who wants to report a scam should Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06, for the Welsh language service call 03454 04 05 05, or alternatively report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, to help stop it happening to others.

AM pops into postal delivery office

* Ken Skates with (from left) Daniel Davies and Tom Price.

Labour AM Ken Skates visited his local delivery office to meet postal staff preparing for their busiest time of the year.

Mr Skates, Assembly Member for Clwyd South, chatted with workers in Llangollen early on Friday morning.

He said: “I really enjoyed meeting the staff and I’d like to thank everyone for their warm welcome. It was a great visit.

“The hectic Christmas period is a great time to remind people just how hard their local postal staff work, not just now but all year round. I hope they’re able to put their feet up at some point and enjoy a well-deserved break.”

Lee Fennel, delivery office manager at Llangollen, said: “Our postmen and women are working extremely hard to deliver Christmas cards, letters and parcels to people across the area. We are grateful to Ken for visiting the office to see our operation and to support the team.

Lee added: “We’d like to remind our customers to post early, and please always use the postcode as this helps us greatly at this busy time.”