Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services – in the Senedd at 2:46 pm on 13 June 2018.
No, I wouldn't accept that, and, of course, my friend, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs has just answered questions on these matters, and so I don't wish to pursue any further debate or discussion on the particular issue of planning. What I will say in trying to answer the question in a positive sense is to refer you to the points I've made about the citizens owning the governance of this country and not politicians owning the governance of this country. And what is important to me is that we're able to look for different and new means and methods of holding us as politicians to account, as Ministers to account, as Assembly Members to account and local authority councillors to account. But also, how do you empower different levels of local government? I had a very good meeting with a panel of town and community councils this morning, debating and discussing some of their proposals, which, I hope, will be published in the coming months. But, for me, this is a positive and enriching debate about empowerment; it's not simply a debate about lines on maps, processes of mergers and how to either propose or avoid those matters. For me, the really important issue about the debate on local government reform is the ambition, the end point, the vision and not simply the process.