St David's Day: Should Wales be able to choose its own bank holidays?

A move to make St David's Day a "bank holiday" for one council's workforce has been granted.

Gwynedd Council has voted to make the country's patron saint's day a public holiday within its own borders.

The move was granted at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, despite the UK Government rejecting the plans for a national bank holiday.

Wales is the only nation in the Union not to have the power to decide its own national holidays.

Cabinet member Nia Jeffreys said: "It is a national disgrace that in Wales we cannot choose and identify our own significant events, be they culturally, linguistically or of importance to our heritage.

"Westminster refuses to devolve the power to the Welsh Government to decide on this fundamental right."

Both Scotland and Northern Ireland have chosen to make the days dedicated to their patron saints, St Andrew and St Patrick, bank holidays.

Llandderfel councillor Elwyn Edwards, who brought the proposal before the council, said she was "delighted" that the proposal had passed.

"It gives a clear message that we are serious, here in Gwynedd, to challenge the British rule of disregarding our own identity and heritage within Wales."

However, due to the "national terms and conditions" of teaching contracts, deputy leader Dafydd Meurig said the council was unable to include them in the process.

It will cost the council about £200,000 to make 1 March a bank holiday, according to the council's finance team, as casual staff would need to be employed "to ensure service continuity during staff absences".

St David's day was previously celebrated as a holiday in Anglesey, shortly after local government reorganisation and creation of the Isle of Anglesey county council in 1996.

But the council said reorganisation had led to changes in terms and conditions, which resulted in staff losing certain benefits.

"As part of a compromise deal reached, staff were offered St David's Day as a statutory/concessionary holiday," said a council spokesperson.

"The St David's Day holiday came to an end on Anglesey after the formal adoption of single status (job evaluation) in 2015."

In Carmarthenshire, the leader of the council has written to Welsh government to ask for an all-Wales approach on St David's Day.

Powys council said a motion to make 1 March a bank holiday lost by 12 votes in 2018.

No other councils revealed plans to mark St David's Day as a bank holiday when contacted by BBC Wales.

The UK government the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday is "considerable".

A spokesman added: "The UK government has no current plans to change the accepted arrangements for bank holidays in Wales."