2. What principles underpin the consultation, 'Strengthening Local Government: Delivering for People'? OAQ52319

The Green Paper consultation is about having a constructive debate on how we can deliver strong and empowered local government.

Thank you for that brief response. I'd hoped you would have talked about collaboration in your response, because that’s what’s missing, it seems to me, at the moment in response to this consultation. I’m not sure why the Government is so enthusiastic for reforming and reorganising local government when they have proposals from local authorities themselves to collaborate more effectively and more strategically, in the light of all the changes that are going to occur as a result of Brexit. How does the Minister intend to respond to that consultation on the basis of local government’s response to date, which seems to show that they’re pushing against his ideas, and that he isn’t offering collaboration with them?

We have been discussing how we can work with local government, and we’ve been doing so for some time.

May I say this? What I wish to do throughout this process is to ensure that we are proposing not just the reform of local government, because there’s no purpose in doing that unless there is a good reason behind it. So, what I want to do is strengthen local government, strengthen councils, strengthen the way in which we elect councillors, strengthen the way we get local political accountability, strengthen political leadership on a local level, and strengthen the services that we get locally. So, this is a positive process of devolving power from this place to political centres across our nation. I would hope, at least, that that is something that he and his party would agree with. 

If I can just inform the Cabinet Secretary, I'm not sure that many in local government see this as a positive process. In fact, they actually see it as an arrogant process.

Anyway, in their response to your Green Paper, Conwy County Borough Council have stated that the real and realistic alternative to the proposals in the Green Paper is for the Welsh Government to provide a period of support and stability. And how let down were they when your predecessor actually promised them, only a year ago, 10 years of such stability? Moreover, Denbighshire County Borough Council have come out very strongly against your proposals, stating that a credible case for change has not been made, noting that the past experience of some authorities with regard to voluntary mergers, and Government's response to them, is hardly encouraging.

We know that the proposals put forward by Conwy and Denbighshire were rejected out of hand by your predecessor. So, can you explain to those local authorities, who saw their voluntary merger proposals thrown out without even an explanation during the fourth Assembly, and who then accepted the reassurance by your predecessor's promise of 10 years of stability just last year, why you have now sought to continue with this foolhardy approach towards forced local government mergers?

Presiding Officer, sometimes, this debate can be extraordinarily repetitive rather than illuminating. I've answered the question that the Member's asked on a number of occasions. I have to say that if we offered local government the same stability as local government in England is being offered, which is the stability of knowledge that there will be fewer resources next year than last year, fewer resources the following year than next year, that we will remove the revenue support grant, that we will ensure that local government has powers removed from them, is emasculated and sees significant reductions in their ability to shape the future of their local communities, I'm not sure that that's the stability that they would want. Do you know, I listen to Conservative Members time and time again in this Chamber, coming to me and telling me that they disagree with the approach taken by successive Welsh Governments, but I have yet to hear a Conservative councillor contact me, come to me, meet me, write to me and say to me, 'Please introduce Conservative policies in local government'? Not one local councillor from any part of Wales wants to see a Conservative-led policy to support, sustain and strangle local government.