The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has highlighted the need for all parties to continue discussions on the future of Welsh Council’s, following an agreement made between Plaid Cymru and the Labour Welsh Government.
The WLGA writes:
Following the passing of the Local Government (Wales) Bill the WLGA recognises that no further progress can be made on local government reorganisation until after May 2016.
Against this setting, the WLGA has restated its previous call for all parties and local government leaders to be involved in important national talks following the May 2016 National Assembly for Wales elections to determine the future shape of public services in Wales.
The call comes after an agreement was struck between Labour and Plaid Cymru to pass the Local Government (Wales) Bill.
Responding to the agreement, a WLGA spokesperson said:
‘Continued speculation around local government reorganisation is making life intensely difficult for local councils who are trying to plan and reform local services in the face of major financial pressures. It also impacts on the morale of hundreds of thousands of local government workers who are being adversely affected by the insecurity such ongoing speculation causes. This is taking place in a wider context within which the key issue facing local councils is not a distant restructuring in 2020, but the impact of the UK Spending Review where cuts to local services ranging from between 25-40% are being explored at Westminster.
‘With the Labour-Plaid agreement struck today it is essential that the Welsh public is fully involved in any plans to reorganise and reform local councils. As such it is vital that these should be fully explained in party manifestos which can be scrutinised and judged by the electorate as part of next year’s Welsh elections.
‘Local council leaders will seek to work with the next Welsh Government to make sure we get this right by creating a system of local government that is effective and sustainable well into the future, and one that stresses the importance of local democracy and ensures that localism is at the heart of Welsh public policy.’
