Author: Rhys Gregory

The team at Dogs Trust Cardiff is decking the halls in preparation for its annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 7th December, with both humans and dogs encouraged to join in the festive fun. From 11am to 2pm, Dogs Trust Cardiff will open its doors for visitors to enjoy everything from stalls selling gifts for four and two-legged friends, tombola, raffles, games, and a cafe full of festive foods. With free entry, guests will also be able to take part in festive activities such as ‘Sniffari enrichment’, ‘Wheel of Pawtune’ and even have a photo taken with Santa Paws, who will…

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, has announced that local authorities will next year receive £6.4bn from the Welsh Government to spend on delivering key services. The investment, which comes from the Revenue Support Grant and non-domestic rates, means that Welsh councils will receive an average 2.7% funding increase, helping to protect vital services including social care, education and waste collection. In addition, a fully funded floor will ensure that no council receives less than a 2.3% increase. In addition to the core settlement, there will also be grants for local government amounting to over £1.3bn…

The Welsh Government’s historic environment service, Cadw, is searching for three new trainee stonemasons to join and train alongside its team of professional stonemasons. With roughly one third of Wales’s buildings constructed from traditional materials – solid stone, brick or pre-1919 timber framing – the demand for skilled stonemasons and conservation professionals has never been greater. These characterful buildings shape towns and streets across Wales, yet there’s an increasing struggle to find craftspeople with the expertise to care for them properly. This one-off traineeship will see three stonemasons recruited to work alongside Cadw’s in-house professional heritage skills team, Cadwraeth Cymru.…

The doors of Ty’n Llan in Llandwrog, near Caernarfon, have reopened following a community-led effort to save and restore the village’s historic pub. The much-loved local closed its doors in 2017, one of 18 pubs shutting each week across Britain during that period. For several years, the building stood empty – a shell in the heart of the village – until word spread in 2021 that it was to be sold. What began as local concern soon grew into a determined community movement to buy and revive the community hub. “We were coming to the end of lockdown, and people…

Leading entrepreneur Jarrad Morris, founder and CEO of FleetEV, is urging chancellor Rachel Reeves to reconsider her position on the EV pay-per-mile tax for drivers in the November budget. Ahead of the budget on the 26 November, there have been persistent rumours that the Chancellor intends to charge EV drivers 3p per mile, on top of other road taxes, from 2028. As an expert in the EV industry, Jarrad Morris is ideally placed to comment on the proposals set out by the chancellor. With hands-on experience helping drivers transition to electric vehicles he offers valuable insight into how proposals could…

This is the key conclusion reached by the House of Lords special inquiry committee on the Autism Act 2009 in its report published this week.   The report ‘Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy’ finds that the Autism Act was a critical step forward in the recognition of autistic people, but successive Governments have failed to deliver real change.  The Autism Act says the Government must produce an autism strategy, backed up by statutory guidance for the NHS and local authorities. But sixteen years on, autistic people still face unacceptable inequalities. This holds them…

Texan pop punk legends Bowling For Soup and folk punk royalty Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls are teaming up next summer and they are heading to Wales. The two genre-defying musical powerhouses and long-time friends are joining forces for the first time ever for a run of dates across the country with their Bowl My Bones tour headlining TK Maxx Presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion on Friday July 3 before heading to the Welsh capital for TK Maxx presents Depot Live at Cardiff Castle on Saturday July 4. One of rocks’ most unlikely friendships began years ago, sparked by Bowling…

As more than 300 senior industry and business leaders prepare to gather in Newport to explore exciting investment opportunities across Wales, it has been revealed the country has attracted £4.6bn of inward investment in the last year. The Wales Investment Summit, being staged by the Welsh Government at the International Convention Centre Wales (ICCW) on Monday 1 December, will attract global investors from 27 countries to experience the nation’s world-leading innovation in a first of its scale event since Wales hosted the NATO Summit in 2014. Since then, Wales has seen dramatic growth in new industries which have flourished in the…

Organic farmers across Wales could benefit from £3 million in support payments during 2026-27, the Deputy First Minister will announce at the Hybu Cig Cymru reception at the Winter Fair. The £3m indicative funding will be available to all eligible farmers with organic certified land. The Welsh Government’s commitment to organic support is driven by a combination of environmental, economic and social objectives. Organic farming is seen as a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture in Wales, delivering benefits for biodiversity, climate, rural economies and public health. The government’s support is designed to ensure that organic farming remains viable and attractive, particularly…

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation has found that North Wales Police officers acted in line with policies and procedures when treating a woman who died in custody. Helen Williams was arrested at 10.20am on 23 May 2024 outside a property in Bangor, for a recall to prison. The 43-year-old was taken to Caernarfon police station where her detention was authorised at around midday. She remained in custody for approximately 33 hours, awaiting an appearance at court. During this time, she was placed on regular observations by custody staff and was seen by healthcare professionals. Ms Williams was…