The capacity of Gorslas Primary School will increase by more than 25 per cent to meet the demand for school places and Welsh language education in the area.

Carmarthenshire County Council is building a new school in the Gorslas community to replace the aging 1920s building pupils and staff currently occupy.

Now, following a decision at today’s full council (June 13, 2018), the new building will cater for 210 pupils instead of 110 the school currently provides for, including 30 additional nursery spaces.

A statutory public consultation on proposals to increase the school’s capacity was also supportive.

Cllr Glynog Davies, executive board member for education, said: “It’s a pleasure to be moving this forward.”

The new school is expected to open its doors in September 2019 as part of the council’s Modernising Education Programme and Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative.

Over £200million has already been invested in new and upgraded schools across Carmarthenshire, with an additional £86.7million of funding recently announced.

Four sets of parents from Carmarthenshire have been punished over their children’s poor school attendance.

If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly, his or her parent is guilty of an offence.

The separate prosecutions, heard at Llanelli Magistrates Court, have been led by Carmarthenshire County Council.

The parents cannot be named for legal reasons.

One couple, who pleaded guilty by post, were fined £20 each and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge. They were not ordered to pay any costs for means reasons.

Another couple pleaded guilty in court and were each fined £35 and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge. They were not ordered to pay any costs for means reasons.

The third couple were fined £300 in total and ordered to pay £30 victim surcharge each and £68 costs each.
A fourth couple were fined in their absence and were fined £660 each, together with £66 victim surcharge and £68 costs.

The council’s executive board member for education, Cllr Glynog Davies said: “It is the duty of every parent or guardian to ensure their child attends school and gets an education. We, as an authority, do our very best to try and support families in difficulty and going to court is always a last resort.”

Work has started on cutting more than 6,000km of grass verges adjacent to the main highways in the rural and inter urban areas of Carmarthenshire.

Highway officers carefully monitor the growth of vegetation on these highway verges around the county to ensure the verges are cut at the optimum time for safety and conservation reasons.

One cut is carried out annually by the local authority, although in some areas a second cut may be needed later in the season, depending on the weather and growing conditions.

Motorists are being urged to be mindful whilst the grass cutting work takes place and to take particular care when passing cutting operations.

The County Council’s cutting operation is designed to continue to support role of highway verges as important networks for nature conservation. The roadside verges provide a rich and varied wildlife habitat offering shelter, a supply of food and corridors along which wildlife can travel.

Executive Board Member with responsibility for environment, Cllr Hazel Evans said: “The cutting of some verges may be delayed in the interests of conservation as long as highway safety is not jeopardised. These ‘late cut’ verge areas where clearly identified and marked will not be cut.”

Aberystwyth University has been nominated for a public sector equality award at the 2018 PinkNews Awards.

The nominations were announced at a special PinkNews event held in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Thursday 7 June 2018.

Aberystwyth is the only Welsh university and one of three institutions from Wales on the longlist of 21 public sector organisations throughout the UK.

The award aims to recognise the contributions of public sector organisations in championing the inclusion and rights of LGBT+ employees and those in the wider community.

A panel of judges will decide the winner, which will be announced at the PinkNews Awards in London on 17 October 2018.

Ruth Fowler, Equality Officer in the Department of Human Resources at Aberystwyth University, said: “We are delighted that Aberystwyth University is flying the flag for the Welsh higher education sector in these important awards. Equality and diversity are embedded across the University. We have a range of policies and positive action plans in place to ensure Aberystwyth is an inclusive and forward-thinking place to work and to study for all, including an LGBT network for staff as well as a series of high-profile LGBT events.”

The annual PinkNews Awards has become one of the UK’s most significant LGBT+ events, championing the efforts of politicians, campaigners, charities, businesses, public sector organisations, broadcasters and journalists in the fight for equality for all.

Last year’s event included speeches from Prime Minister Theresa May; Mayor of London Sadiq Khan; and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as well as appearances from Ed Miliband, Sir Vince Cable, Ian Blackford, Lorraine Kelly, Stacey Solomon and Pearl Mackie.

The nominations for the public sector equality award are as follows:

• Aberystwyth University
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
• Bury Council
• De Montfort University
• House of Commons
• Leicestershire County Council
• Ministry of Justice
• National Assembly of Wales
• Newcastle City Council
• Northumbria Police
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Nottinghamshire Police
• Royal Navy and Royal Marine
• Riverside
• Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
• Teesside University
• Transport for London
• University of Leicester
• University of Sheffield
• University of St Andrews
• Welsh Government

Photo: Heather Hinkin, Sam Morrison and Ruth Fowler from Aberystwyth University’s Human Resources Department pictured at the PinkNews event in the Senedd with keynote speaker and First Minister Carwyn Jones AM, who is also an alumnus of the University’s Law Department.

Links:
AU Equality and Diversity
www.aber.ac.uk/en/equality

PinkNews
www.pinknews.co.uk

Carmarthenshire County Council’s environmental health team has now handed over responsibility over the source of Llanelli’s fly infestation to Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

NRW is the enforcing authority over the recycling plant in Seaside which was identified last week as the most likely source of the infestation.

However, the council continues to work in the local community to support and reassure residents, and will also address any new areas in the community where flies may have settled to breed and lay.

Since June 5 the council’s environmental health team has undertaken 256 visits and responded to 28 urgent referrals regarding pest control.

They worked with independent pest control experts to trace the source to the recycling plant.

Over the weekend, before handing over to NRW, the team supervised the first insecticide treatments of the site and removal of some waste.

The council’s waste team have carried out daily bin collections and have increased patrols of the area as a precaution and will continue for the foreseeable future.

This week, skips will be provided in the two residential communities affected, allowing residents to get rid of waste they have at their homes – they will be available on Tuesday, June 12, from 9am-4pm at the lay-by next to Crown Park, Seaside, and grassland at the top end of New Dock Road.

As well as visiting individual properties, environmental health officers will also be at these locations for drop-in advice, in Seaside from 10am-12pm, and on the grassed area in New Dock Road from 2pm-4pm.

Cllr Philip Hughes, executive board member for public protection, said: “Whilst Natural Resources Wales have now taken over at the source of the infestation, we are continuing to support the communities affected. Although treatment is underway, it may take some time until conditions improve, as such we will continue to monitor the area, carry out daily rubbish collections and cleansing and offer our support to residents.”

Paul Gibson, Industry Regulation Team Leader, Natural Resources Wales said: “We recognise the fly infestation has caused significant problems for people living in the area and our priority is to help tackle the issue following Carmarthenshire County Council’s investigation.

“The waste that was causing the issues is currently being removed from site and our officers will be checking the company takes the steps required to minimise the risk of future problems occurring.

“We are assessing the company’s compliance in relation to their environmental permit and will take further action required to address the problem.”

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

This year carer’s week takes place from Monday, June 11 to Sunday, June 17.

The campaign is brought to life by thousands of individuals and organisations who come together to organise activities and events throughout the UK, drawing attention to just how important caring is.

This Carers Week, we’re coming together to build communities that support the health and wellbeing of carers. Around 6.5million people in the UK are carers, looking after a parent, partner, child or friend. A carer is someone who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, mental health problem or who needs extra help as they grow older. Caring can be a hugely rewarding experience but sometimes carers find it challenging to take care of their own well-being whilst caring.

The impact of caring on health and well-being should not be underestimated, and this Carers week we will be looking to share examples of good practice from supporters of which have helped carers to stay Healthy and Connected.

Carmarthenshire county council in conjunction with Carmarthenshire carer’s information service have organised the following events with information stands during the week to help raise awareness of carers, their rights and the support services available to them.

At the information stands, things that we will be discussing are:

• Carer’s Emergency Card
• Carers Outreach Service
• Section 24 – SSWBA (Social services and wellbeing act), Duty to assess the needs of a carer for support
• Exceptional Circumstance Direct Payment – formally Carers Grant
• Lyons Emergency Box

LLANELLI:

Monday, June 11 to Thursday 14, 9am-5pm
Friday, June 15, 9am-4.30pm
Venue: Customer Service Centre, Carmarthenshire County Council, Yr Hwb, 36 Stepney Street, Llanelli
Event: Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Monday, June 11
Time: 10am-3pm
Venue: Prince Philip Hospital (Canteen area), Llanelli
Event: Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Wednesday, June 13
Time: 10am-1pm
Venue: Carers Trust Sir Gar (Crossroads), The Palms, Llanelli
Event: Coffee and Cake morning. Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Wednesday, June 13
Time:10am-2pm
Venue: Coleshill Resource Centre, Llanelli
Event: Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Thursday, June 14
Time: 10am-3pm
Venue: St Elli Shopping Centre, Llanelli
Event: Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

CARMARTHEN:

Tuesday, June 12
Time: 10am-1pm
Venue: St. Peters Bowling Club, Carmarthen
Event: Coffee and Cake morning. Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Friday, June 15
Time: 10am-3pm
Venue: Glangwili Hospital (Outpatients reception), Carmarthen
Event: Information stand relating to carers rights and accessing support and advice

Further information:

Find out how you can get involved in Carers Week to help carers to stay Healthy and Connected by visiting www.carmarthenshirecarers.org.uk, call 0300 0200 002 or email info@carmarthenshirecarers.org.uk