<p>Local Government Reform in Wales</p>

Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 4 July 2017.

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Photo of Siân Gwenllian Siân Gwenllian Plaid Cymru 1:59, 4 July 2017

(Translated)

There’s been a great deal of emphasis on collaboration between councils at the regional level in the Welsh Government’s White Paper, ‘Resilience and renewed’. Plaid Cymru is eager to see the four western counties of Wales working strategically on issues that are unique to west Wales and arise from that unique knitting of the rural economy, housing, planning and the Welsh language. We could enhance that to create a regional assembly for the west, which would work alongside the city regions. As Eluned Morgan notes, the Government here does need to support rural Wales, but the creation of a new commissioner isn’t the most efficient way of doing that, in my view. Do you agree that encouraging collaboration between the westerly counties does provide an initial solution that is cost-effective and practical as well as being sensible?