Cllr Janet Finch-Saunders AM, Shadow Minister for Local Government in the National Assembly for Wales, continued to put pressure on the Minister for Local Government and Communities this week in a debate on Public Service Reforms.

Responding to the opening of the debate by the Labour Minister, Janet called for him to live up to his word.

Following his comments on the need for strong and democratic accountability, Janet said: "I note the Minister’s comments about strong and democratic accountability. I can see you talking the talk, but it is about how we walk the walk.

"Many local councils are already collaborating successfully, and this has been done under their own initiative and with the individual and joint needs of the councils in mind. Only local councils themselves can truly know what is best for their business and local need, and this allows local authorities to develop relationships with each other organically and not in a forced and prescriptive way.

"The example of the education services consortium agreed between Cardiff, Newport, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Torfaen councils demonstrates how successful collaboration can be when it is judged by the councils themselves to be of value to their areas.

"Closer to home, I can confirm that Conwy and Denbighshire county councils work extremely well together and are currently looking at steps to undergo joint scrutiny arrangements.

"It is called 'local government’ for a reason. Councils best represent the needs of their communities. There is no clarification on the effective local amalgamation Orders. How on earth should we be convinced that this abstract dream is more desirable than the real results and experiences of those working in local authorities for their local areas?

"The Welsh Conservatives want to see public service reform that brings together the public sector and an independent third sector, with citizens and communities at the centre. We want to see public service reform responding to public need, we want to see collaboration where demand for other services will be reduced as a result, and where a whole-service approach and co-production work best. We do not want to see unilateral action by the Welsh Government to force collaboration or amalgamation without consultation."