FRONTLINE services like looking after the elderly are becoming “almost impossible” to protect, the leader of Carmarthenshire Council has said

In his annual report, councillor Emlyn Dole claimed the UK Government’s programme of financial austerity “totally lacks credibility”.

The Plaid Cymru leader paid tribute to the efforts of council staff, and added: “But services have now been cut to the bone, and now it is almost impossible to safeguard our frontline services.”

Cllr Dole also took a veiled swipe at the Welsh Government, saying that “on hearing the first cuckoo in spring” along came a new set of new local Government reorganisation proposals which would be “considered further” once they were rejected by almost everyone in local Government.

He also said he hoped that whoever took over from Welsh Government leader Carwyn Jones in the autumn would protect council budget settlements.

But later in his speech he said that the 0.2% settlement increase from Cardiff Bay for this financial year was better than anticipated, despite it being a “real-terms” cut and accompanied by reductions to some other grants.

Turning to progress in Carmarthenshire, Cllr Dole said: “So much has happened in the last 12 months, which makes me feel very positive about the future.”

He said “a great deal of progress” was being made behind the scenes on the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Deal, one of whose projects is the £200 million wellness and life science village for Delta Lakes, Llanelli.

Outline plans have been submitted for the public-private project, which would create a life science business centre, health and wellness hubs – including a leisure centre – assisted living units, and outdoor recreation areas.

“The scheme is wholly transformative and innovative in so many ways,” said Cllr Dole.

The Plaid-Independent coalition has set out almost 100 priority projects for the next four years, including road and public transport infrastructure improvements, a £129 million schools modernisation programme, 1,000 new affordable homes, leisure facilities in Burry Port and Pembrey Country Park, town centre upgrades in Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen, and regeneration in rural areas.

The main aim, said Cllr Dole, was to improve economic wellbeing in the county.

Cllr Dole also reiterated the administration’s plans to make the county a hotbed of cycling, citing the reopening of the Carmarthen Velodrome, the start of work at the closed cycle circuit at Pembrey, the first phase of the 16-mile Tywi Valley cycle track between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, and the county’s hosting of the Tour of Britain grand depart on September 2.

He also said that GCSE and A Level results were above the Wales average, that the delegated schools budget had been protected this financial year, that there was continued stability for children in care, and that council tax rises had been minimised as far as possible.

He said it was inevitable that more money would be needed for adult social care given that the county’s over 85 population was growing by more than 1% per year.

Labour group leader, Councillor Rob James, congratulated Cllr Dole for implementing “past Labour policies”.

He described Cllr Dole’s speech as a work of JK Rowling – “fantasy mixed with doom and gloom”.

He said the leader blamed every bit of bad news on other parties but never Plaid, and joked that there had been so many U-turns over the last 12 months that he’d heard a roundabout was going to be installed at County Hall to make the process easier.

Cllr James also mocked the purchase of mobile libraries that “were too small for an officer to work in”, and pointed out that governing arrangements for the City Deal had not been finalised since the deal was signed in March 2017.

“Money from reserves is being raided,” he said. “If the City Deal does not deliver, there is no plan B.”