Welsh ministers to press for greater collaboration under new measure
Welsh ministers will be able to issue statutory guidance encouraging greater collaboration between local authorities, and between local authorities and other bodies, under a new, far-reaching measure – or law – proposed this week by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Local Government (Wales) Measure also makes provision to:
- Broaden and increase participation in local government by permitting steps to remove barriers and disincentives to standing for election to local councils
- Enable the review and improvement of governance structures introduced through the Local Government Act 2000 “so that they better suit the circumstances of local government in Wales”
- Enhance the role of non-executive or “backbench” local authority councillors in the scrutiny of local services
- Develop and strengthen the role of community councils in Wales, “including enabling them to deliver a wider range of services and actions locally as well as to increase the effectiveness of their representational rle and their ability to work in partnership with other bodies", and
- Reform the system for setting allowances for councillors.
According to the explanatory memorandum for the measure, the provision in relation to collaboration rectifies an omission in Part 1 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009, which left out provisions allowing ministers to issue statutory guidance.
Guidance on collaboration developed – and soon to be published – by the Assembly Government is explicitly noted to be non-statutory.
The memorandum said this position was “needlessly confusing”. It added: “Furthermore it is widely acknowledged by local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association that collaboration is fundamental to improving service quality and efficiency, especially in the current financial climate. The Welsh Assembly Government strongly supports that view, and wishes to assist authorities as far as possible in this area.”
Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant recently said that shared officers with neighbouring authorities must become the “default position” when a senior officer leaves a local authority in Wales.
The proposals also include introducing duties on councils to: monitor the equality and diversity profile of candidates in elections; provide adequate training, developmental and appraisal systems for elected members; provide reasonable officer administrative and research support to non-executive members; facilitate remote attendance for council meetings; and (for principal councils) enable councillors to take parental leave similar to that available to officers.
The overview and scrutiny proposals include enabling two or more local authorities to form joint overview and scrutiny committees, placing a duty on scrutiny committees to scrutinise services delivered by providers of public services in their area, and requiring local authorities to establish an audit committee to monitor their financial affairs.
On breaking down the barriers to becoming a councillor, Carl Sargeant said: “Local councils, and the councillors who sit on them, need to be representative of the whole community. However the current system can make it difficult for people who, for example, have family obligations or who have physical conditions that make it difficult to get out and attend meetings.
“This measure will take local government into the 21st century and will open up the opportunities to anyone who thinks they can make a difference to their local community.”
