Blog

  • Putting plans in place for a cold snap election Holding an election is always a complex undertaking, however the prospect of an election in December brings a whole new set of logistical considerations and challenges for local authorities.
  • The local way forward for tackling Climate Change in Neath Port Talbot Climate change is the single biggest environmental problem facing society today. The scale of the challenges ahead for us all is unprecedented. We must all take urgent action now if the worst case scenarios of climate change are to be avoided.
  • Annual Meeting of Council At the Annual Meeting of Council last week, I was given the honour and privilege of being re-elected as Council Leader for the third year running.
  • Deal or No Deal? Brexit still has to be planned for whatever the answer Almost three years have passed since the EU referendum in June 2016 and, yet with only a few days to go before the UK is due to “Brexit”, we seem to be no clearer on how that is going to take place.
  • 2019/20 Budget Confirmed Earlier today, after an extensive public consultation, councillors from all parties met to finalise the Council budget for the forthcoming financial year, 2019-20.
  • The scourge of homelessness and rough sleeping Everyone deserves the right to a safe, secure home to call on their own. However, since 2010 homelessness across the UK has doubled. It is heartbreaking that, in the present day, we see so many families without the opportunity to have a stable base from which to live and thrive...
  • Help us recycle today for a better tomorrow! Not so long ago, nobody paid much attention to the accumulation of waste – much of which could easily have been re-cycled and reused – on fast growing landfill sites all across the country.
  • The future of education is arriving – now! This Autumn, hundreds of children across Neath Port Talbot will not just be starting a new school term. Like many before them in this county borough, they’ll be entering the future of education as seen by the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative and Neath Port Talbot’s own Strategic School Improvement Programme.
  • Coping with £64m funding gap will not be easy. Central government inspired austerity, increased demand for services and rising costs are all conspiring to create an even more difficult than usual Council budget setting process this year.
  • Tourism in Neath Port Talbot – Review Update Back in April, I wrote at length about our decision to look again at what the Council could do better to support the development of the tourism industry in the County.