Leighton Andrews The Minister for Public Services

this morning, I issued a written statement that set out the Government’s initial views on the consultation responses to the ‘Power to Local People’ White Paper. I also announced the Welsh Government’s preference for the future configuration of local government in Wales. Maps, with two options in respect of north Wales, were published alongside this.

Earlier this year we held a consultation on our ‘Reforming Local Government: Power to Local People’ White Paper. There were over 700 consultation responses to the White Paper itself and over 3,000 responses to the opinion poll. In addition, 38 engagement events were held across Wales with local authorities and stakeholders, with over 600 individuals attending. All 22 local authorities responded, and 200 town and community councils did. That level of engagement demonstrates to me that people care deeply about local services and the future of local government. We need to harness the enthusiasm and engagement witnessed during the consultation as we move forward and work with communities in designing future services.
Our full analysis of responses to the consultation will inform the draft local government mergers and reform Bill, which we will publish for consultation in November this year. The intention would then be to introduce legislation into the Assembly following the Assembly elections in 2016.
The White Paper itself covered a wide range of themes. Our initial analysis of the consultation responses has shown agreement and consensus on a range of issues in the White Paper. For example, local government has argued for some time that a general power of competence is needed. We will therefore take forward the general power of competence as part of the mergers and reform Bill. There was also strong support for a public services staff commission. This work is being taken forward and our non-statutory commission will be in place this autumn with a full and challenging agenda from the outset.
While there was much in the White Paper that local government and others supported, there were also clear views against some of the proposals, including limiting the length of continual service of an elected member to 25 years, and that of a leader or cabinet member to 10 years. Having listened to a range of views, including the arguments of younger councillors who’ve spoken passionately of their commitment to working for their communities throughout their lives, I’ve decided not to pursue this idea.
There were also strong representations against the proposal to enable local government elections to be undertaken in phases. Many argued that this would lead to political instability in councils, with administrative and governance complications, and would also be an additional burden on electoral administration, adding further to an already crowded electoral calendar. I think these are legitimate concerns and, as a result, I don’t intend to pursue this proposal.
Finally, on the competency test for community councils, there was a feeling that the threshold of £200,000 was too high for some community councils, and I’ve therefore decided to omit this test from the provisions in the Bill.
In terms of the number of elected members the newly merged authorities might have, I propose that the current cap of 75 elected members per authority is removed and a higher cap considered. I accept that, otherwise, larger councils could mean councillors representing an unreasonably large number of electors. I therefore intend to consult shortly on the directions I intend to make to the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales and look forward to welcoming views on what an appropriate cap for the number of councillors might be for the new authorities best to deliver effective representation and democratic governance.
Turning to the Welsh Government’s preference for the future configuration of local government in Wales, we have consistently stated that, while Williams option 1 was our preferred option, we remained open to considering alternatives. The case for fewer local authorities in Wales is compelling and widely accepted. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to reform and reshape our councils to drive funding into improving front-line services. We will drive down the cost of politics and administration in local government. Last week’s KPMG report illustrated the scope for savings. This announcement provides further clarity on the future configuration of local authorities in Wales. It sets out our preference for the future structure in south, mid and west Wales, while facilitating further discussion around north Wales. The case in north Wales is finely balanced between two or three local authorities. We therefore feel that there is a case for a further debate and would welcome views.
I want to emphasise this is not a final decision. It is the next phase in our public debate. Following that, we will publish and consult on our draft mergers and reform Bill in the autumn. This will include further formal consultation on our proposals for local authority mergers and include a regulatory impact assessment.

Janet Finch-Saunders
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I’m not really sure I should say I ‘welcome’ the statement, but it is actually quite useful now to know exactly what the Welsh Labour Government’s plans are for local government. In terms of the second statement that you’ve delivered—talking about 700 consultation responses, 38 engagement events, and 3,000 responses—you go on to make a point about the level of engagement:

That level of engagement demonstrates to me that people care deeply about local services and the future of local government.’
And, yes, we are talking about the very same local services that you are wishing now to centralise like never before.
Your full analysis of responses to the consultation will inform the draft local government mergers and reform Bill, and you mention that you’ll publish the consultation in November. I think it would be useful for us as an Assembly so that we can scrutinise every single aspect of this if you could publish the responses to that consultation now. I note from the Library that it’s not available as of today.
Moving on, I’m very glad that you have actually, so far, listened as regards the White Paper—talking about continual service of an elected member to 25 years, that you’re now going to have second thoughts on that—and also about strong representations against the proposal to enable local government elections to be undertaken in phases. It is really good that you do appear to be listening to some members of the community. However, I do have concerns that, in any form of local government reorganisation, I would’ve thought that you should have some idea—and I have asked you in written Assembly questions—as to what your Government’s preferred elector-to-elected member ratio is. Of course, in England, the majority there is around 3,500 electors per elected member. Judging from your statement, there seems to be a distinct lack of clarity. I am not alone in this Chamber, and certainly outside, in thinking that this has been a very shambolic process from the start. The finish, of course, will be decided upon following the next Assembly elections because, currently, you simply don’t have the political consensus or mandate to deliver such a radical change.
The news today and the interesting maps that you’ve produced will send shock waves across all those who work at every level and at the very heart of our democratically elected councils, those who tirelessly give of their best each and every day whilst having endured, under your Labour leadership, years of a failed job evaluation process, years of a failed collaboration exercise, and, now, what we predict to be an accident waiting to happen—a failed reorganisation process.
Will the Minister now please tell this Chamber where on earth you’re going to get the money from to fund such folly? We know that the failed voluntary merger bid between Conwy and Denbighshire, for instance, with estimated costs of reorganisation, was in the region of £14 million alone, and yet, when Conwy County Borough Council entered with their expression of interest, in all good faith, and asked for £300,000 the bid was simply rejected.
We know from taking evidence in committee that the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales is going to struggle going out to consultation within our communities. I don’t know whether Members are aware that there are even now thoughts from the boundary commission of not actually going out to consultation. How on earth is this transparent and open democracy? How on earth are they expected to do it within the predicted timescales? As I’ve also mentioned, we don’t know what your elected member-to-electorate ratio is.
This lame excuse for reform will see us jump back in time to a structure long confined to the history books. Let’s just hope that you are not given a political mandate next May that would see you responsible for the decimation and centralisation of our local government services here in Wales.

I’m very glad that the Conservatives’ spokesperson did recognise in the course of her remarks that I had listened to the consultation and that we have made a number of changes to our proposals as a result of the consultation. Let me start by saying that, of course, we will publish the responses to the consultation. She can be assured of that. Our White Paper that we published in February was very much about decentralisation. It’s about making the suggestions of granting the general power of competence to local authorities and giving them the powers and responsibilities that they deserve and that they have requested. So, it’s not about centralisation.

In respect of the issue that she raises of the ratio of electors to elected members, I said in my statement that we would want to consult further on that. I think that we will do that in the context of making the judgment about what should be an appropriate cap on the number of councillors in an authority.
She asked about finances, and I suggest that she reads the report that I published on Friday from KPMG, which illustrated how savings of £151 million in administration in local government in Wales could be achieved if local authorities approached the best in practice in the UK. I’m pleased to see that two authorities—Conway and Rhondda Cynon Taff—were picked out for having very low administrative costs, but others, clearly, are spending well in excess of them. So, there are significant savings to be found.
This has been a transparent process. The Williams commission was appointed in April 2013. It reported in January 2014. There was then an opportunity for the public and for local authorities and others to make their views clear to the Government before a White Paper was published in July 2014. Only half of local authorities in Wales responded to that White Paper when there was a consultation on that. We have had a subsequent consultation on the White Paper I published in February, and I’m delighted that every local authority in Wales decided to respond to that consultation. This process has been transparent throughout.