Businesses in Carmarthenshire are benefitting from a new £500,000 grant scheme to help them to grow and employ.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s Business start-up and growth schemes offer up to £10,000 funding at 50 per cent of total project costs to help them buy equipment, machinery, marketing materials and to carry out minor works to their business premises.
Award-winning Ponthenri business, Ickle Bubba, which manufactures and sells children’s travel systems, prams and pushchairs, was one of the first recipients of the new scheme.
Company Director, Veronica Vaughan, said: “We recently expanded into a new premises on Ponthenri Industrial estate which meant we needed new equipment and fixtures to furnish the new unit.
“We received support from Carmarthenshire County Council’s business growth fund which has helped us to do this, enabling us to increase the capacity and efficiency of what we can supply while creating new jobs for the area”.
Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, Cllr. Emlyn Dole, said: “Carmarthenshire’s businesses are a vital part of the economic fabric of the county and as such, it is a priority for us to support those businesses which have ambitions to grow and create jobs.
“Carmarthenshire County Council is committed to providing this support to create a stronger economy for the county.”
Businesses interested in applying must be looking to create new jobs in order to be eligible. Those interested are asked to contact 01554 748813 or email businessfund@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.
Decisions made this week, to approve or otherwise, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s first clinical strategy will shape the way our entire population keeps well and receives health and care for the next 20 years.
Board members will consider and debate the strategy – A Healthier Mid and West Wales – in a meeting to be held and broadcast live from Carmarthenshire Council Chamber on Thursday at 9.30am.
The document sets out the vision for our population’s health, with aims to achieve it. That is for a mid and west Wales where ‘individuals, communities and the environments they live, play and work in are adaptive, connected and mutually supportive’, which means people are ‘resilient and resourceful and enabled to live joyful, healthy and purposeful lives with a strong sense of belonging’.
If approved, the strategy will provide the prioritisation and common goals needed to develop specific action plans for health and care service provision in the future, including a much greater focus than ever before on prevention, early intervention and community care.
These are ambitions shared by the local authorities in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire who want to step-up the integration of health and social care across community services so we impact the wider determinants of people’s health.
There is also a commitment to continue to work with and engage staff, patients, people in our communities and those delivering, or interested in, health, care and well-being. We know many people are keen to see change but some people are also worried about how future plans my affect them. This is all governed by the principles of making sure all decisions and actions are safe, sustainable, accessible and kind, with our staff and communities helping us test that those principles are in place.
Some early examples of how the board will work towards its vision are included in the document, as well as some broad timelines.
For example:
To demonstrate what community based care could look like to local people, early implementers of health and well-being centres will be established in Cardigan, Llandysul, Lampeter, Llanelli and Pembroke Dock. This won’t prohibit work to enhance community care in other areas, or schemes already underway for example Cylch Caron in Tregaron, and Cross Hands
Care navigators in the community will help people understand and use community based services, which will be built around seven integrated localities so they can be responsive to the specific needs of their populations (North and South Ceredigion, North and South Pembrokeshire, Amman and Gwendraeth, Taf, Tywi and Teifi) Community and hospital based services will be assessed and consideration made of the full seven-days of the week, so we can expand services with the most positive impact for patients
Consultation recommendations in September made no decision on whether to close beds at Amman Valley and South Pembrokeshire hospitals so the health board will now work with these communities, and others, to explore different types of beds – whether in existing community hospitals, at home or another setting
Work to build a new hospital in the south of the Hywel Dda area for urgent and planned care will begin now. This will include scoping and feasibility studies for sites between Narberth and St Clears. The new hospital is critical to the health board’s plans for re-organised local hospitals, and if not achieved for any reason, plans would need to be re-considered and the board would go back out to engage with the public. It is anticipated a new hospital would be operational by 2027.
The types of service expected to be included in each of the health board’ current hospitals (Bronglais, Glangwili, Prince Philip, Withybush) are outlined in the document on pages 35 to 37 (https://bit.ly/2BxMNs9)
Medical Director Dr Philip Kloer said: “This is the first clinical strategy our clinicians have brought before Hywel Dda University Health Board, and if approved it is a landmark position which gives us a common goal and foundation on which to develop our services for our population. We have broadly defined the services that people can expect to see in our network of hospitals and community services, although we now start the work of co-designing all the different pathways of care for people with different health conditions.”
Director of Public Health Ros Jervis added: “I’m delighted we have been able to bring together our clinical vision for providing health and care services with a clear mandate and commitment to how we build on the strengths and resources we already have in place in our communities to live healthier and joyful lives. This strategy is not solely about hospitals and what we do when people are unwell but how we consider the whole system, to use our community strengths to protect and promote health and well-being and prevent illness, even when people are faced with challenging life circumstances”.
If the strategy is approved by the board, it will be launched with the public in the New Year, including publication of a summary version and alternative versions to reach specific audiences. This will be supported by ongoing information and opportunities to engage and talk with the health board through locality based events and relationships.
In the meantime, if you are interested in shaping the future health and well-being of the population or the design of services, you can join the involvement scheme Siarad Iechyd Talking Health at www.talkinghealth.wales.nhs.uk or phone: 01554 899 056
Deliveries of blue bags to every household in Carmarthenshire have started.
By the end of March, every home will have received three rolls of blue bags, which allows up to six bags for each recycling collection week – although there is no limit to the amount of blue bags you can place out for recycling.
Refuse/ recycling crews will be delivering these to 87,000 households during this period. They will be in Carmarthenshire County Council marked vans, and deliveries will be made Monday to Saturday up until 5pm. The deliveries will be made separately to the usual refuse/recycling collections.
This is the second year that the council has been delivering three rolls to each household. The decision was made following feedback from residents who asked for blue bags to be more accessible to help them recycle more. It was also implemented to ensure the bags were used solely for their main purpose of recycling household items.
Having blue bags delivered to homes aims to ensure all residents are equipped with the bags to allow them to recycle household items easily.
Large families, which may require additional rolls during the year, can collect from 12 collection points allocated across the county, along with the mobile library service. The outlets are: Amman Valley Leisure Centre; Ammanford and Carmarthen customer service centres; Carmarthen Leisure Centre; Lampeter library; Llandeilo council offices; Llandovery swimming pool; Llandysul library; Llanelli customer services centre; Llanelli Leisure Centre, Newcastle Emlyn Library and St Clears Leisure Centre.
The council’s executive board member for environment, Cllr Hazel Evans, said: “This is the second year that we are delivering blue bags to each household in the county following on from feedback we have previously received from residents. By now we are confident that we have addressed any problems that we may have encountered last year and have taken on board feedback from our residents. I hope this scheme continues to help households to keep up their good work in recycling.”
Crews will deliver to all households. Houses across the road or further down the street can often be on a different delivery route, therefore you could receive them at different times.
There’s a welcome in the hillside for Pembrey Country Park’s latest visitors.
Mountain sheep are spending their winter holiday grazing the sand dunes by Cefn Sidan beach.
The flock of Welsh Glamorgan’s will be helping to conserve rare wildlife as well as encouraging dune growth which can be affected by bad weather.
A dune system will naturally move in the wind, with millions of tiny grains of sand blowing around. Some dunes will be eroding and others will build up as part of this natural land-forming process.
The project is a joint venture between Mark Powell, a specialist in traditional grazing, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Local Nature Reserves, Pembrey Country Park and Pont Cymru with funding from Welsh Government’s Environment Single Revenue Grant – Enhancing access to a biodiverse natural environment.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s conservation officer, Simeon Jones said: “Sheep grazing in Pembrey Country Park will be a welcome addition to the already established cattle grazing project in Pembrey Burrows Local Nature Reserve next door to the park. Grazing sand dunes is now seen as essential in conserving some of our rarer wildlife, but also in keeping the sand dune habitat in a healthy state.”
The Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioner has given assurance that funding for youth offending prevention is safe so long as he remains in office.
Dafydd Llywelyn was speaking to members of the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel, whose role it is to scrutinise the office of the commissioner and hold him to account.
Panel member for Ceredigion, Cllr Keith Evans, questioned Mr Llywelyn after seeing a Ministry of Justice report that claimed the number of young people being found guilty of offences in Ceredigion has reduced by 75 per cent in the last 12 years.
Whilst welcoming the figures, Cllr Evans expressed concern that this may lead to a reduction in funding for schemes that support young people and prevent crime.
But the commissioner said he felt this area of work was vitally important, and that the reduction was down to a number of factors, including school-based work and restorative justice.
“The trend that we’ve seen for a decade or so is consistent across all counties in Dyfed Powys,” he said. “We’ve been very successful in terms of youth organisations that are active.
“It’s a little more complex because in terms of the figure you refer to, that is the people that are guilty of offences. There is a restorative justice process, and the School Beat project has a policy to deal with things specifically in the school.
“In Aberystywth, where there is anti-social behaviour and low-level misbehaviour, they give out of court disposals to these people to ensure that young people don’t go through the justice process and become stigmatised.”
He added: “Reports published by the Ministry of Justice in January this year, talked of a reduction of 85 per cent over the last 10 years. I believe that’s a result of investment that has come from Welsh Government funding, local authorities and my office. In my view now is not the time to reduce that funding or withdraw it – it’s a vitally important investment. There is continued commitment for the funding during my term in office.”
The Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel is made up of representatives of the four counties in the force area, plus two independent members.
Members of the public can attend meetings and ask questions to the commissioner via the panel.
Staff from Carmarthenshire County Council’s Trading Standards team will be out and about in the county as part of Cyber Week (November 26 – December 2).
The team will be offering advice on your online marketplace rights and how your rights may differ when buying from an online trader.
Head to the below libraries to take part in an online quiz – the highest scorer on each day will win a £25 Amazon gift card.
The quiz will take place a number of times during the morning and up until lunch time.
Carmarthen – Wednesday, November 28
Llanelli – Thursday, November 29
Ammanford – Friday, November 30
Executive board member responsible for trading standards, Cllr Philip Hughes said: “When buying from online traders your rights are the same as if you were buying from any other online store. In fact customers have even more rights it’s about knowing them.”
If you need help with a recent online purchase or just need more information visit Citizens Advice
Alternatively contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline at 03454 04 05 06
