Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 15 February 2017.
Thank you again, Cabinet Secretary. Now, in response to a recent written Assembly question to me, you state that you have asked local authorities to highlight the ways in which they will consult, but the agreed outcome appears to be through their websites to encourage participation by citizens. However, this consultation is certainly going to bypass many of our constituents across Wales, and this has been borne out recently by the Labour Swansea council cabinet member for transformation and performance, when he said,
While more of our council services and information are provided online these days, we understand that not everyone has access to the internet, particularly older people and those on low incomes, who often need our services the most.’
Cabinet Secretary, these are the very people who I believe should be entitled to know that their model of local government is changing and that it is moving more towards a regional basis. How then do you convince this Chamber that this is deemed acceptable in terms of communicating with the people of Wales who have a right to know how their local services are going to be delivered?