Mark Isherwood: They also noted that there is no specific role for the Welsh Government in imparting information and guidance to local authorities to support them in achieving improved participation or involvement. Amendment 112 therefore requires principal councils to involve connected authorities when encouraging public involvement in the making of decisions at all levels of local government. A lot of our...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. Well, clearly I'm pleased to hear the Minister state that her officials are going to meet the Building Communities Trust. I hope that she will instruct them or invite them to ask them what the term 'involve' means. As I stated previously, this is a term widely utilised not only in the UK, but internationally, and its driving green shoots of credible programmes in many...
Mark Isherwood: Well, if Members of the Senedd believe that members of councils in remote attendance at meeting should be enabled to vote in the event that facilities enabling remote attendance fail, then they must vote for amendment 118, which places a duty on principal councils to prepare and publish a procedure for this. The amendment also voids any meeting where technical problems prevent voting unless...
Mark Isherwood: I was waiting for the 'unmute' button, which finally arrived. Thank you.
Mark Isherwood: Amendment 119 seeks to reintroduce provisions to require principal councils to prepare and publish arrangements for the performance management system of the chief executive. There seems to be a lot of confusion around what 'performance management system' means, but it's actually about supporting employees at every level to their mutual and your mutual interest. During Stage 2 proceedings,...
Mark Isherwood: Yes, please.
Mark Isherwood: Unmute. Yes. Well, prior to being elected to the Senedd, I spent over two decades managing teams of people within performance management structures. This was hugely motivational for them. It helped me greatly, as someone managing them from behind, recognising that I did not have a monopoly of wisdom or power, but that, collectively, we could unlock the strengths of all to our mutual benefit...
Mark Isherwood: Amendments 120, 121, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133 and 135 remove provisions that allow Welsh Ministers to mandate the creation of corporate joint committees where no request has been made, as we just heard from our Plaid Cymru colleague. During Stage 1 proceedings, concerns were raised by a number of stakeholders regarding this issue. For example, the Welsh Local Government...
Mark Isherwood: Well, amendments 123 and 124 seek to insert a duty on Welsh Ministers to make and publish guidance on how a corporate joint committee is to discharge its economic well-being function. These amendments seek to strengthen arrangements for the scrutiny of corporate joint committees to ensure accountability and transparency when they discharge their functions, as well as involving local people...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Thank you. Amendment 136 introduces a new provision to allow local town and community councils to be invited to be party to a panel performance assessment. The Bill, as drafted, requires each principal council to appoint a panel at least once during each electoral cycle to assess its performance. In written evidence to the Equalities, Local Government and Communities Committee, One...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Well, we will be supporting Welsh Government's amendments to this, but disappointed to hear once again a failure perhaps to fully grasp what I'm trying to state, that openness, accountability, transparency and engagement lead to strengthened relationships, better operating organisations, happier, more motivated people and more engaged communities, not because I say so, but because...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Well this, once again, is seeking to drive forward the localism and community agenda, putting people first, so amendments 138, 139, 140 and 141 remove provisions from the Bill that allow Welsh Ministers to make regulations to restructure principal areas without receiving a request to do so. The purpose of this amendment is to prevent the mandation of council mergers against the wishes...
Mark Isherwood: Very briefly, just in terms of the comments made by the Minister about our amendments. The purpose of these amendments is not to prevent Welsh Government intervention when a local authority is unsustainable or not sustainable—quite the opposite; we would encourage more of that when a council needs intervention and support, not as a big stick, but as an opportunity to address issues to...
Mark Isherwood: Welsh Government amendment 47, as we've heard, requires local authorities to have regard to guidance issued by Welsh Ministers, and guidance may be produced regarding a local authority's duty to provide its head of democratic services with such staff, accommodation and other resources that the local authority considers sufficient to allow the functions of the head of democratic services to be...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. Amendment 142 removes section 164, 'Combined fire and rescue authorities: inquiries'. Section 164 of the Bill covers inquiries into finance and governance arrangements for fire and rescue authorities. These are established by combination Orders under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Section 164 amends the 2004 Act to remove the requirement for Welsh Ministers to hold an inquiry...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. The Minister repeated the statement made at Stage 2, which I read out, that removing this additional and unnecessary requirement will simplify an overcomplicated and expensive process, despite every fire and rescue authority in Wales saying to the contrary—that this would not be without risk to public and firefighters' safety, that there are clear flaws in the proposals,...
Mark Isherwood: Amendment 143 establishes a duty on Welsh Government to compensate local authorities for any costs incurred as a result of provisions contained within the Bill. The regulatory impact assessment states the total cost of the Bill will be around £17.17 million, including transitional costs to local government of approximately £2.95 million. Given pressures on local government finances, and...
Mark Isherwood: Briefly, thank you. The local government sector I engage with in Wales has long been telling me about the cumulative additional cost they've had to absorb in consequence of unfunded or underfunded Welsh Government policies or legislation. That is not a comment on the merit or otherwise of the legislation; it is on their ability to deliver that without compromising other services. The...
Mark Isherwood: 1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses in north Wales? OQ55812
Mark Isherwood: Thank you. Last week, a survey on the impact of lockdowns on the tourism, hospitality, retail, leisure sectors and their supply chains in north Wales, conducted by North Wales Tourism with support from the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council, was published. Carried out over four days, from 21 October, with 364 businesses responding from across the region, this found that 31 per cent would...
