Council's Annual Report 2022-2023

Introduction by Cllr. Darren Price, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council

Welcome from the Leader of the Council to our Annual Report for 2022-2023

Once again, it is time to publish our Annual Report and take some time to reflect on the events of the last year. In my introduction last year, I wrote about how we had moved from the pandemic into a cost-of-living crisis and as I write this, we are still in the midst of that crisis. We can see some signs of recovery, but certainly these are tough times for many. Responding to that crisis has shaped most of the last year but we have also worked hard to achieve some important things and to better ourselves where we might have needed to.

We knew at the beginning of the year that we would need to act decisively to respond to the Cost-of-Living Crisis and we ensured that there were advisors in our HWBs to provide budgeting and benefit advice. £180,000 was made available from the Poverty Fund for residents and community groups to deliver Warm Welcome Spaces, we opened our libraries in Carmarthen, Llanelli, and Ammanford as warm places as well as supporting third sector partners to deliver support in the community. We continue to support our residents, and to ensure that we are absolutely focused on this issue we have established a cross party advisory panel on tackling poverty to report to Cabinet regularly.

The last year has seen some of our flagship projects come to fruition. The first phase of Pentre Awel got underway, the £200 million-plus healthcare, leisure and research project will help to push the boundaries of understanding what it means to live well. Pentre Awel will be home to big science and small start-ups, all working in partnership with universities and colleges and the health board to make life better. A clinical delivery and research centre will enable Hywel Dda University Health Board to expand its research and medical engineering provision and an education and training centre will focus on health and care training, with courses ranging from entry level through to postgraduate, placing students in a clinical setting and focusing on areas where there is a skill shortage.
We‘ve continued with our Modernising Education Programme and opened two new schools in Kidwelly and Gorslas. We have also increased our Universal Free School meals provision to Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2 and are on track to deliver to all primary pupils by April 2024, which should help families experiencing the effects of the Cost-of-Living Crisis.

In March we opened the Pendine Tourism Attractor Project, and I had the pleasure of being present at the official opening. Pendine has a unique history in terms of the land speed record as well as being one of the most picturesque stretches of beach in the country. The project includes the ‘Caban’ - accommodation that has been constructed using sustainable building technologies.

Our commitment to expand our social care workforce received a boost last summer when we launched the Care Academi which offers opportunities to those looking for a career in social work or social care. This provides training, support, and guidance, and enables candidates to earn while they learn and choose a career path that suits them best.

Importantly, we have developed a range of actions in terms of tackling the climate and nature emergency, and we look forward to progressing this work further in collaboration with our local partners and the Welsh Government. As I said in my introduction last year, we continue to grow despite the challenges, and we have managed to do that again this year. I look forward to working with members and officers of this Council as we attempt to make further progress in a range of areas and improve the lives of the people that we serve.