There was a welcome move from Dyfed Powys Police Commissioner Christopher Salmon today as he announced that he was pulling the £5000 funding the force gives to the council rag, the Carmarthenshire News, giving his public backing to "independent" local media.
It must have come as a bit of a shock to County Hall which scratched around for a statement from anyone but themselves. They succeeded in getting a statement from the Chair of the Health Board, another organisation which could probably find better things to spend it's money on. The hurried statement appears on the council website but carries no introduction as to what it's all about.
The council, which masterminds the publication, and which naturally retains editorial control, insists it's a product of the Local Service Board, a two monthly gathering of senior representatives of local public bodies which, incidentally, hasn't published a set of Minutes for over two years.
The latest edition of the Carms News contains a double page spread of council propaganda detailing the sprinkling of services which were 'saved' at the eleventh hour by the Executive Board. Of course, it had nothing to do with 'listening' to the public but everything to do with desperate PR in the midst of the unlawful payments scandals.
Funnily enough, there's no mention of course of the tens of thousands of pounds spent on legal advice to defend the chief executive and the aforementioned scandals.
No mention either, strangely, of the extraordinary council deal which saw one private company pay off a large loan to another private company.
The 'Children's page' continues to be sponsored by County Hall's fundamentalist evangelical partners at the Towy Community Church in the guise of the Xcel 'bowling alley'. There are clearly some at County Hall who would rather like to raise an entire generation of Carmarthenshire born again christians.
Pleased to see that Mr Salmon includes Caebrwyn as independent 'local media'...maybe he could tell that to the judge...
It must have come as a bit of a shock to County Hall which scratched around for a statement from anyone but themselves. They succeeded in getting a statement from the Chair of the Health Board, another organisation which could probably find better things to spend it's money on. The hurried statement appears on the council website but carries no introduction as to what it's all about.
The council, which masterminds the publication, and which naturally retains editorial control, insists it's a product of the Local Service Board, a two monthly gathering of senior representatives of local public bodies which, incidentally, hasn't published a set of Minutes for over two years.
The latest edition of the Carms News contains a double page spread of council propaganda detailing the sprinkling of services which were 'saved' at the eleventh hour by the Executive Board. Of course, it had nothing to do with 'listening' to the public but everything to do with desperate PR in the midst of the unlawful payments scandals.
Funnily enough, there's no mention of course of the tens of thousands of pounds spent on legal advice to defend the chief executive and the aforementioned scandals.
No mention either, strangely, of the extraordinary council deal which saw one private company pay off a large loan to another private company.
The 'Children's page' continues to be sponsored by County Hall's fundamentalist evangelical partners at the Towy Community Church in the guise of the Xcel 'bowling alley'. There are clearly some at County Hall who would rather like to raise an entire generation of Carmarthenshire born again christians.
Pleased to see that Mr Salmon includes Caebrwyn as independent 'local media'...maybe he could tell that to the judge...
2 comments:
Very good article on the 'state' of Wales in Saturdays Daily Mail. A must read for all those who have tried in getting our so-called Government to assist when innocent lives have been destroyed through dishonest practices within the agencies they have devolved powers over. Those devolved powers can only work if Ministers are honest, have integrity, and intervene when necessary. THEY DONT! If they dont we are on a pathway to dictatorship, as democracy relies on 'fairness , openness and honesty', and using the powers they have. If your last avenue is this Government - forget it - they will refuse to listen and refer you back to the very agency they are there to govern! It is a very scary scenario!
A excellent decision which the Health Board and other organisations would be wise to follow.
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