Corporate Strategy 2025-30

Pembrokeshire in Context

Population

• Total population of 125,000 in 2023 which is 3.95% of Welsh total population.  This has increased by 2% since 2011, representing a lower than the average growth rate for Welsh counties over this period.
• The total population is projected to grow to about 128,482 by 2033 and 130,196 by 2043 (according to most recent 2018-based projections). This is a lower population growth rate than other Welsh councils.
• 26% of the population are aged over 65, 4^th highest in Wales. Only 15.5% of the population is aged 30 – 44, the 5^th lowest in Wales. The median age was 48 in 2021, up from 42.9 in 2011 and higher than Wales as a whole.
• Life expectancy at birth for men for 2020-22 is 78.6 years, joint 6^th highest in Wales. For women, the equivalent figure is 83 years, which is also the 6^th highest among local authorities in Wales.
• About 2.4% of Pembrokeshire’s population is ‘non-white’ which increases to 2.9% if people with a Gypsy, Traveller and Roma heritage are included.
• Of the 120,200 Pembrokeshire residents aged three and above, 17.1% can speak Welsh. This is a 2.1% decrease on the number of Welsh speakers in 2011. 

 

Place

• Pembrokeshire covers an area of 1,618 km2, and is the 5^th largest county in Wales.  76 people per km², very similar to Carmarthenshire and about double the density of Ceredigion.  (Population is much more evenly distributed than neighbouring authorities.)
• Large number of environmental designations including a National Park (the only one designated for its coastal features), Special Areas of Conservation, SSSI’s and regionally important geological and geomorphological sites. There are a large number of protected species, both flora and fauna, marine and terrestrial, yet the distribution, abundance and diversity of species is declining and many protected sites are not considered to be in favourable conservation status.

 

Transport and accessibility

• 2,600 km of roads in total and just under 2,500 km of which is maintained by the Council.  47% of roads are classified as B&C, 42% are minor roads and 11% are A roads (including trunk). It is 75km to the start of the nearest motorway.
• Vehicle miles in Pembrokeshire have continued to increase since the low of 565.9 million during the pandemic in 2020. In 2023, road traffic in Pembrokeshire was around 701.6 million vehicle miles, about 96.2% of the average in the four years prior to the pandemic.
• Pembrokeshire has two ports offering crossing to the Republic of Ireland. Fishguard handled 265,000 passenger movements in 2022. This was a 27.2% decrease since 2012 but a 12.8% increase since 2019 (pre-pandemic). In 2022, Port of Pembroke handled 215,000 passenger movements, a decrease of 34.7% since 2012 and a decrease of 34.3% since 2019 (pre-pandemic).
• In 2022, Milford Haven was the largest port in Wales and the third largest port in the UK (based on tonnage). It handled 38.9Mt of freight in 2022, accounting for 8.5% of the UK total. Freight tonnage at Milford Haven accounts for 72.2% (more than two thirds) of all Welsh port freight.
• As of November 2024, 60% of homes and businesses in Pembrokeshire can now access full-fibre broadband which compares well with other rural authorities. This is a large increase compared to only 5% in 2019.

 

Economy

• In 2023, there were 73.6% in employment in Pembrokeshire. This was a slight decrease on the previous year (73.7%) and lower than across Wales as a whole (74.1%)
• The following are the top five sectors in Pembrokeshire based on BRES data 2023 (which focusses on employees): Accommodation and Food Service Activities (18.6%), Wholesale and Retail Trade/Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles (16.3%), Human Health and Social Work Activities (16.3%), Construction (7%), Public Administration and Defence/Compulsory Social Security (7%).
• Pembrokeshire has Wales’ largest power station and one of the UK’s six major oil refineries.  These facilities are located within the Celtic Freeport (and Swansea Bay City Deal area) and through these the Council is helping to facilitate the transition to net zero energy and secure significant inward investment such as RwE’s Pembroke Net Zero Centre
• The most recent Visit Pembrokeshire tourism report shows that, in 2023, the tourism industry was worth £604m per year, with 6.3m visits. This supports around 23% of the jobs in the local economy and is underpinned by the quality of the natural environment.
• Agriculture and rural communities play a vitally important role in Pembrokeshire’s economy and indeed that of Wales as a whole.  Figures from the 2021 census show that a relatively high number of the population (third highest in Wales) is employed directly or indirectly through agriculture, and the rural economy has broad consequential benefits for businesses specialising in local produce.  Through its County Farms portfolio, the Council owns 44 farms and 4,500 acres which support the agricultural community and provides an entry to those who wish to pursue a career in farming.  
• As of March 2024, Pembrokeshire’s Claimant Count rate (which is a measure of unemployment) was 3.4% of the economically active population, slightly lower than the all-Wales rate during the same period.
• As of 2024, Pembrokeshire’s had a median gross weekly pay of £674.8 for full-time workers, the 13^th highest of all 22 counties in Wales. This is a significant increase on the 2020 figure of £499.5. For annual pay, Pembrokeshire is ranked 15^th out of 22 counties in Wales in 2024, with a median annual salary of £33,401.
• In 2022/23, around 23.7% of children in Pembrokeshire were living in relative low-income families, the 6^th highest rate in Wales. Pembrokeshire had the 5^th highest rate of absolute child poverty in Wales in 2022/23, at 19.9%. Whilst poverty, especially relative poverty, has increased following the pandemic, Pembrokeshire’s position compared with other Welsh local authorities remains largely unchanged. Child poverty rates vary considerably across Pembrokeshire.

 

Children and adult social services

• As of October 2024, there were 96 children on the child protection register and 282 looked after children.  The number of looked after children grew by 66% in the five years from March 2019 to March 2024 and has continued to increase throughout 2024-25. The number of looked after young people in residential settings, has increased to 54 young people (including Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children).
• As of October 2024, there were around 727 adults receiving a domiciliary care service. This number has varied over time, sitting at 940 in March 2021, dropping to a low of 616 in February 2023, and then steadily increasing from January 2024 onwards. Part of this reason is an increase in the use of individual person-directed Direct Payments and the number of hours of care provided by Direct Payments now exceeds the number of hours through domiciliary care.
• We have increased our capacity to directly provide residential care and now provide 36 of the 775 beds across all types of adult settings (e.g. residential, respite) across Pembrokeshire.  In 2024 we opened a four bed children’s residential care facility and plan to provide a further facilities.
• Social care is a significant employer in the county.  As at 2023 there are around 1,886 people working in Pembrokeshire in domiciliary and day care or supporting people roles in addition to around 1,020 working in residential care (including learning disability and mental health settings).

 

Housing and homelessness

• There were 8,903 properties for social rent in Pembrokeshire on 31 March 2024 and 5,785 were provided by the Council itself.  The Council has started building new council properties, for instance 33 new homes in Johnston which were completed by July 2024.
• There is significant demand for social housing.  As of October 2024, there were 4,515 people on the Choice Homes @ Pembrokeshire housing waiting list. Of these, the majority were waiting for a 1 bed (2,743) or 2 bed (1,064) property.
• There is currently a housing crisis in Pembrokeshire which has resulted in a sharp increase in homelessness. The number of homeless people working with the Advice Team has been slowly declining since the end of 2023, is still at historically high levels including the use of temporary accommodation such as Bed & Breakfast. 

 

Schools

• Pembrokeshire has 60 schools, including 1 special school.  There are 19 schools that are Welsh Stream/Bilingual or dual stream and a further schools which is English with significant use of Welsh.
• As of January 2024, there were 16,564 Full Time Equivalent pupils in Pembrokeshire schools, compared with 18,822 in 1996. We anticipate a further decline in pupil numbers over the next 10-15 years of around 12%. This is partly due to high levels of out-migration among Pembrokeshire’s indigenous young adults for further/higher education, training or employment purposes.
• We have some of the smallest schools in Wales, with 15 schools in Pembrokeshire containing less than 90 pupils.
• 14% of pupils aged 5 and over are fluent in Welsh (as assessed by their parent) a little higher than the median average for all 22 Welsh Councils, and close to the Wales average of 15%.
• 8.8% of pupils aged five and over are from ethnic minorities, a below the Wales average of 15% but around the median average for all 22 Welsh Councils.

 

The Council and its workforce

• Pembrokeshire County Council has 60 elected members, who represent one of 59 wards within the County (58 wards are represented by a single member, one ward has two members). There are a large number of elected members who are not affiliated to a political party. 14 Councillors are women, an increase from 7 prior to the May 2022 elections.
• There are 77 Community Councils covering all of Pembrokeshire except Caldey Island. The median average precept in 2024-25 was £11,233.20, but around a quarter have precepts of £27,300 or over. There are around 600 community councillors in Pembrokeshire. About 90% of these were elected unopposed in May 2022’s elections or have been co-opted.
• As of February 2024, around 6,100 people worked for the Council (excluding casual employees) across 6,519 positions; some employees have more than one job.
• Around 70% of employees are female. The gender pay gap in 2023/24 was 3.4% - this means women earn 97p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly pay.  For 2024/25, the median average FTE salary in the Council was £23,893 (this information is published in our pay policy statement).
• The median age of the Council’s workforce is 49 years and the demographic profile is less diverse than Pembrokeshire as a whole.  Two percent of the workforce are from a non-UK White background and only 2% of the workforce identify as being disabled, well below what might be expected.
• The Council has a long history of working with its recognised Trade Unions across the workforce, including schools.  Areas of joint working include training provided through the Welsh Union Learning Fund, for instance on menopause awareness and in creating a network of mental health champions across the workforce.  This relationship will continue to strengthen as the Council meets its legal requirements following the recent introduction of the Social Partnership Duty.