Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:56 pm on 29 June 2016.
I thank Mr Bennett for his opening remarks and for reminding me of my own lengthy political history from 30 years ago. Local government reorganisation the last time happened while I was a councillor, just to show how far back that happened. The timetable that I’m hoping to pursue is as follows: there is a necessary period over this summer in which I want to spend my time listening and learning from those who have a view of this matter. I met with trade unions this morning from local government to hear what they had to say, and I’ll be meeting with local authorities and others. I want to see whether it is possible to create some sort of consensus about the way forward. I recognise the corrosive effect of delay on the lives of people who work in local authorities, and I’d like to be able to bring that to a conclusion as soon as I can. But, that does depend on creating a sense of shared purpose in the future of local government organisation here in Wales. If that matures quickly, I hope to be able to come forward early in the autumn with a statement. If it takes a bit longer, it will be a bit later in the autumn, but that’s the timetable that I’m working to at the moment.