Datganiad: Y Diweddaraf ar Ddiwygio Llywodraeth Leol
Statement: Update on Local Government Reform
Mark Drakeford Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gyllid a Llywodraeth Leol / The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. A diolch am y cyfle i wneud datganiad heddiw ar y cynigion ar gyfer diwygio llywodraeth leol.
Thank you, Presiding Officer. And thank you for the opportunity to make a statement today on the proposals for the reform of local government.
Mae llywodraeth leol yn chwarae rhan hanfodol bwysig ym mywydau pob dinesydd yng Nghymru. Cynghorau sy’n darparu’r gwasanaethau sy’n addysgu ein plant, sy’n edrych ar ôl ein henoed, sy’n cael gwared ar ein gwastraff, ac sy’n goleuo ein strydoedd. Ac maen nhw’n parhau i wneud hynny yn ystod cyfnod y mae’r Sefydliad Astudiaethau Cyllid wedi ei alw’n gyfnod eithriadol o gwtogi gwariant cyhoeddus dros 10 mlynedd neu fwy.
Local government plays a vital part in the lives of every citizen in Wales. Councils provide the services that educate our children, look after our elderly, dispose of our waste, and light our streets. They go on doing so, moreover, during a period that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has called an extraordinary 10 or more years of retrenchment in public spending.
Mae cyni’n arwain at bwysau gwirioneddol, ac mae angen gwirioneddol hefyd i gryfhau awdurdodau lleol. Felly, mae diwygio llywodraeth leol yn rhywbeth sy’n rhaid ei wneud ac nid yn fater o ddewis. Ac o ran y diwygio, wrth gwrs, fe gafodd llawer o gynnwys y Bil Llywodraeth Leol (Cymru) Drafft a gyhoeddwyd yn ystod y Cynulliad diwethaf ei groesawu gan awdurdodau lleol a’u partneriaid. Fodd bynnag, fel y bydd yr Aelodau yn gwybod yn iawn, roedd agweddau pwysig o’r cynigion blaenorol lle na lwyddwyd i sicrhau cytundeb.
The pressures that austerity produces are real, and there is real need also to build new resilience into local authorities. That is why reform is a requirement and not a choice. As far as reform is concerned, of course, there was much in the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill that was published during the last Assembly that was welcomed by local authorities and their partners. However, as Members here will be well aware, there were important aspects of these previous proposals that did not find agreement.
In seeking now, Dirprwy Lywydd, to create a new consensus, I want the Welsh Government’s relationship with local authorities to be based on trust and a willingness to work together and an appreciation of our respective but distinctive roles in improving outcomes for people in Wales. In pursuit of that new consensus and that new relationship, I have visited all 22 local authorities since taking up this responsibility. I’ve held meetings with the Welsh Local Government Association, trade unions and other stakeholders, as well as political parties represented in this Assembly. I’ve listened carefully to all these views on the challenges faced by local government and ways these might best be addressed.
As anticipated, my discussions with local authority leaders have shown that there is much we agree on, including many of the reform proposals set out in the previous Bill. I hope that we have now reached a level of agreement on a way forward on those matters where consensus was previously absent. In this oral statement, I intend to set out the broad elements of this emerging way forward.
In the first instance, this model would see retention of the 22 existing authorities as the democratic tier of local government to which councillors are elected in Wales. Some authorities may, nevertheless, wish to respond to local circumstances by bringing forward proposals for voluntary mergers. I intend to make that possibility available to them and, where such proposals come forward that improve the resilience of these authorities, we will offer positive support to them and work closely to help bring about change.
While authorities will be the front door through which citizens continue to access services locally, my proposals require more widespread and concerted collaboration between authorities in regional arrangements. I intend, therefore, to pursue options for a new enhanced level of mandatory and systematic regional working. This will provide resilience in staffing and finance and enable the design and delivery of services at the scale necessary for them to enhance effectiveness. This means mandating the services and governance arrangements on consistent geographical footprints and rationalising existing collaborative arrangements.
The approach most advocated to me in discussions over the summer was a two-footprint model. One based around city regions, covering strategic transport, land-use planning and economic development, and another aligned to health boards for services such as education improvement, social services and public protection. At this point, Dirprwy Lywydd, I have an open mind on the specifics of geography and function, but I am clear that these practicalities must be consistent with the principle of mandated and systematic arrangements. As a result, we will consider all services as part of our discussions, and in particular those that we jointly consider to be the most at risk in times of austerity.
Dirprwy Lywydd, experience in the NHS has shown that shared supporting services are able to offer savings and improvements in quality. I intend to explore with local government those functions that could best be taken forward in the same way. I want to be clear today that, as part of this reform package, we are setting out on this shared-service journey with a new determination. I’m prepared to see progress over a sensible and practical time frame, but progress must be made.
Finally, let me recognise the part played by town and community councils as part of the local government landscape. They play an important role in many communities, but in my visits across Wales I have been struck by the enormous variability in scale, scope, capability and ambitions within the sector. I intend to enact a set of immediate arrangements to help town and community councils as they exist today to become more effective. However, alongside this, I intend to establish an independent group to take a root-and-branch look at the future role of this tier of government and to develop a blueprint for getting the maximum potential out of the sector in future.
Dirprwy Lywydd, I am conscious that local government has been through a period of extended uncertainty about its future and the corrosive impact this has had on morale. It has been part of my aim in taking on responsibility for local government to resolve this uncertainty as soon as practicable. I announced in June that councillors elected to existing councils in 2017 will serve a full five-year term to 2022, providing clarity and certainty for those standing for election next year. Today, I am able to announce that there will also be elections to these councils—less any that merge voluntarily—in 2022. This confirms a permanent five-year election cycle and provides local government with a 10-year stable platform from which to take forward reform.
Dirprwy Lywydd, I’m under no illusion about the challenge that still lies ahead. We will work with local government and other stakeholders over the coming months to develop the detail of the approach I have outlined this afternoon. My own approach throughout will be to work with other political parties in what I believe to be the shared ambition to secure a successful future for local government in Wales. Quite certainly, this cannot be developed and delivered by Government alone; shared leadership, political and official, is essential.
By the turn of the year, I hope to have identified, with local government, their recognised trade unions and other partners, a viable way forward. We will have narrowed down what the footprint for regional working should look like, the functions to be delivered through regional working and the related governance and accountability arrangements. We will also consider how the local government funding system should be aligned to support the change programme. There is a great deal to be done. Today, I have set out a fresh approach and the building blocks for reform with the aim of securing a resilient and renewed local government in Wales.
Janet Finch-Saunders
I’d just like to endorse earlier comments made about how welcome this statement is today and the fact that you acknowledge now that your Government needed to do a u-turn on what was a fiasco during the past three years.
I would just respectfully disagree with you as regards the draft local government Bill, where you said you’d found much agreement. If you do recall, Cabinet Secretary, in committee, my colleague here, Mark Isherwood, and I were very much witness to the fact that it wasn’t met with much—there was more that they didn’t agree with than what they actually did agree with. Had it not been for the casting vote of the Chairman, on previous Bills to do with this, they wouldn’t have seen any light of day. I think, let’s be honest: there wasn’t any political consensus last time because it was a mess. I think we’re all now wanting to work with you positively, where we can agree, but I have to say that the model that you do present does concern me a little, when you talk about regional authorities, where the devil is in the detail, as to how much influence Plaid Cymru themselves have had on these plans going forward.
There has been much demoralisation over the past three years and this certainly does bring more clarity to the table. You, of all people, know that I really welcome the acknowledgement and the work that lies ahead as regards community councils, but I do have some questions on this one.
You do mention further consultation. Again, that was not the best way to go about it in terms of the previous three Ministers, over the past five years, when many local authorities felt that they’d actually been dictated to. Many members of the public and community councils felt that they’d been completely not acknowledged in any of the responses. So, I would really ask you: how open, how transparent and what timescales do you have in mind for further consultation on this?
Obviously, I’m very pleased to see the voluntary mergers being back on the table and, where local authorities decide to come forward, can prove to you, can cost them on really strong business cases, how will that fit into your arrangements going forward with regionals? Will you be looking more at getting that process in place first and then allowing voluntary mergers, or will voluntary mergers be allowed along the way?
I noticed that you’ve mentioned about healthcare boundaries or health boundaries. Because many of us now are seeing our local health board in special measures, some of the queries there have been rather about the geography, the demography, and how will you address those?
You’ve mentioned that it will be systematic and mandatory, but we do need to be very wary of the level of prescriptiveness that comes in. Of course, Plaid Cymru did state in their manifesto that they would legislate to create up to six regional combined authorities comprised of existing local councils, with an emphasis on the integration of public services. What my constituents in Aberconwy will be asking me is, ‘Janet, is this another layer of bureaucracy? Is it another layer of democratic administration?’ Because, I think, right now, the last thing that people want is more bureaucracy and more expense in terms of having more elected politicians, but you know I’ve raised those issues with you.
I would like you to answer the Chamber directly: can you confirm just how Plaid Cymru’s policies in their manifesto have influenced your announcement here today? Of course, they also look for the Welsh Government to look at moving from a per-pupil funding mechanism to a funded model based on the catchment area, which could see local authorities such as Monmouth receiving significantly less than Rhondda Cynon Taf. Given your party’s close workings now with Plaid Cymru, will such reforms be part of a Welsh Labour Government led regional shared services agenda? Of course, in the UK, under the Conservative led Government, they set up the efficiency and reform group to bring in shared services in the public sector, leading to £14.3 billion of savings. But the ERG delivers by ensuring that Government acts as one customer, combining buying power, buying more quickly, buying locally, and increasing the pool of suppliers and small businesses, thereby supporting UK growth. Now, we want to see that kind of growth here in Wales.
So, I’d ask you: do you really feel that local authorities are up to the mark when it comes to procurement? Because I’ve worked previously with the previous Minister for finance, Jane Hutt, on this and I think it’s fair to say that, with local authorities, in terms of local procurement and cost-effective procurement, we still have a long way to go.
My final question then: what stakeholders have been engaged from successful ICT shared services in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how are you looking at other devolved nations to see how they are actually working in terms of local government reform? Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.
Mark Drakeford
Thank you for the questions. I won’t spend a lot of time going over previous history, but there are a series of things in the draft Bill that was published that were very much welcomed by local authorities—the general power of competence, the new local government performance framework, the strengthening of the role of local councillors and so on. So, there is quite a lot to build from.
Turning to the specific questions, in terms of consultation, my plan is to use the rest of this calendar year to have a further round of detailed discussions with local authorities and their partners on the statement that I’ve made this afternoon. If we can bring that to a successful conclusion, then there will be a formal consultation, as we will be required to undertake on these matters. So, there’s an extended period of discussion coming up.
I regard voluntary mergers as being capable of being carried out alongside regional arrangements; I don’t think the one has to follow in time after the other.
In terms of the systematic and mandatory nature of the reforms we’re trying to bring about: both of those principles are important to me. We need to make sure that the arrangements we agree happen in the same way across Wales and I’m not, myself, prepared to follow the advice that I’ve had from a relatively small minority of local authority leaders that we should simply leave it to them, tell them what we’d like them to do, and I’m sure they would get on and do it. I’m afraid we’ve been round the track of bringing horses to water, encouraging them, leading them round the pool, letting them see their reflection in the water, hoping they will drink, only to find out, at the last minute, somebody makes a bolt for it, and we end up not being able to carry out things that most people would regard as sensible.
I don’t believe that this is a new layer of bureaucracy. It doesn’t lead to more elected councillors, certainly. And, as I’ve said, there is a large history of shared regional arrangements in Wales without that accusation being made against it. The origins of the proposals come through discussions with members of all political parties. We do have, through our compact, a particular relationship with Plaid Cymru, and I had a very early discussion with their local government spokesperson, as I think you would expect in those circumstances. And I’ve discussed directly the proposals with Plaid Cymru leaders of councils in Wales, as I have with Conservative Party leaders, Labour leaders, and leaders of no political party at all. My aim has been to try and find a way in which we can create a consensus in which we draw together strands from a range of different sources.
Finally, on shared services, I said in my statement that I want to be clear that we must make progress on that. Procurement will be a part of it, but we do need to do it sensitively. I can’t imagine that if I had said today that we were going to take shared services away from Conwy Borough Council and locate them in a single shared service centre somewhere 200 miles away that members of her electorate would be coming up congratulating Janet on the Conservative party’s approach to that matter. So, we will take it forward, but we’ll do it in a way that is sensitive to local needs and circumstances.