Welsh Government issues Green Paper on plans for “larger, stronger” councils

Local government reorganisation in Wales is back on the table after the Welsh Government published a Green Paper with proposals for the creation of “larger, stronger councils”.

However, the Welsh Local Government Association said the announcement had caused “disquiet and confusion”.

The Green Paper, Strengthening Local Government: Delivering for people, sets out “for debate” a number of possible options on how the strengthening of local government could be achieved. These are:

• Voluntary mergers: this option would see the Welsh Government make provision to enable the 22 local authorities to come forward with merger proposals if they were within a specified future footprint which defined new authority areas. “Where, for example, two existing authorities within a proposed new local authority area wished to merge, but the other authority or authorities did not, we think there is a case for enabling the willing authorities to proceed on their own.”
• A phased approach with early adopters merging first followed by other authorities: this option would see the Welsh Government make provision for local authority mergers in 2026, in line with a specified future footprint for local government, but also enable local authorities to choose to move more quickly and come forward in time for new authorities to be vested in 2022.
• A single comprehensive merger programme: this option would see the Welsh Government make provision for local authority mergers in 2022, in line with a specified future footprint for local government.

The Welsh Government said that for each of the options in the consultation, it thought it was important to have a clear template for the future footprint of local government which any mergers must be consistent with.

It has proposed for discussion ten indicative new authority areas:

1. Isle of Anglesey; Gwynedd.
2. Conwy; Denbighshire.
3. Flintshire; Wrexham.
4. Powys.
5. Ceredigion; Pembrokeshire; Carmarthenshire.
6. Swansea; Neath Port Talbot.
7. Bridgend; Rhonda Cynon Taf; Merthyr Tydfil.
8. Vale of Glamorgan; Cardiff.
9. Newport; Caerphilly.
10. Torfaen; Blaenau Gwent; Monmouthshire.

The average population of the new areas would be just over 311,000.

The proposals would be delivered in combination with offering further powers and freedoms to local government, proposals to reinvigorate local democracy, increase transparency, provide more effective scrutiny and better support for elected members, the Welsh Government said. “This would form part of a broader approach which includes strengthened regional working in key areas.”

It said working together regionally was crucial and must continue, but argued that it was “not enough on its own”.

Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services Alun Davies said: “I believe in public service and the fundamental role local government plays in communities across Wales.

“Wales needs strong, effective, empowered local authorities which can weather continued austerity and build local democratic structures fit for future generations. I do not believe that our local authorities, as currently constituted, can fully play this role; and I am not alone.

“Councils have been clear that services are wearing down to the point of collapse and there is a general acceptance that things cannot carry on as they are and a general acknowledgement that more money, even if it were available, would not solve the problem.”

Davies added: “I also know local government has made real efforts to change, adapt and invest for the future but I also understand that in the face of UK Government cuts, there are limited options to ensuring the future sustainability of local services. Unless we do something radical in response to these challenges we all recognise, the role of local government will increasingly be one of managed decline.

“The next step must be game-changing. I believe there are many in local government who understand this and I am committed to working with them to secure change.”

The Cabinet Secretary said: “I recognise there are a number of challenges in creating larger, stronger authorities; but these challenges are not insurmountable. If we do proceed with one of the options for creating larger authorities in the future, we will provide early practical support to local authorities.”

The WLGA said it noted the publication of the Green Paper. It added: “Local government was already responding proactively to the previous reform programme of regional collaboration and is progressing with the City and Growth Deal agenda. Consequently, this announcement has caused disquiet and confusion. It has arrived midway through the Assembly term and following the recent Welsh Government assurance that no reorganisation would occur for 10 years.”

The Association said local authorities would “want to clarify and digest the implications of another shift in government policy in an area where there have been a significant number of previous reports and commissions”.

It claimed that the proposals were yet to be fully costed and most academic analysis had concluded that such reform programmes rarely delivered the savings or changes in performance that were hoped.

The WLGA said the Cabinet Secretary was attending its council meeting this Friday (23 March) and that his proposals would “undoubtedly generate a full and rigorous debate”.

It added: “In the meantime authorities will continue to work in developing city and growth deals at the regional level which has been fully supported by Welsh Government to date. Crucially, WLGA will continue to press the case for proper funding of councils. As current examples in England show scale is not an answer to the crisis in social care and deepening austerity. Merging authorities on the breadline to create larger authorities without the necessary resources is not a sustainable solution to the problems councils face.”