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Local government reform in Wales

Outsource iStock 000007727531XSmall 146x219Gareth Owens, chair of the Wales branch of Lawyers in Local Government, reports on the latest moves towards reform in the sector and the role LLG is playing.

During the term of the last Assembly, Welsh Government (WG) pursued a policy of introducing legislation to reduce the number of Welsh unitary local authorities from 22 down to 8 or 9. Legislation was passed empowering WG to combine authorities and enabling the Boundary Commission for Wales to make the necessary electoral arrangements. LLG Wales Branch participated in consultation on this piece of legislation and also sent a representative to give evidence to the Senedd Committee scrutinising the legislation.

A further draft Local Government Bill was introduced in the Senedd which made legislative provision as to how the mergers would take effect. It also made provision for further wide-ranging reform of local government covering diverse topics including :

  1. Providing for the constitution of county councils in Wales
  2. Applying the general power of competence
  3. Giving town/community council competence in some cases
  4. A statutory duty to promote participation in democracy
  5. Statutory duties on councillors to attend training, hold surgeries and answer correspondence
  6. “Improved governance” in the form of mandatory corporate plans combined inspections by regulators

c. the power for WG to undertake governance reviews in county councils

Current context

Following the Welsh Assembly elections in May 2016 it was clear that the new Welsh Government did not have the political support to pursue the reduction in county council numbers. The new minister with responsibility for Local Government, Professor Mark Drakeford, has given a commitment that the current number of county councils will remain at 22 for at least two terms (the next 10 years) but reform is still on the table in some guise.

The tentative vision is for the number of county councils to remain the same but with greater collaboration between them and with third parties such as health authorities where appropriate on the provision of key services. At the WLGA Conference on 3 November 2016 Prof Drakeford announced the timetable for reform – see statement below. He was seeking to agree a consensus on what the proposals will include by the end of the calendar year with formal consultation early in the New Year, prior to the Local Government elections in May 2017. Draft legislation would be introduced in the second year of the Assembly term. These proposals are being couched in much more collaborative language than was previously the case and the minister seems genuinely keen to work by consensus.

Informal discussions with civil servants indicate that large parts of the previous draft Local Government Bill will be brought forward again. The senior civil servant responsible is keen to discuss the proposals with the Wales Branch and was to attend our meeting on 2 December to update us on the programme.

Role for LLG

Informal consultation on how services are to be delivered is already underway and a white paper is promised for March 2017. This will be in terms of county councils being the “front door” for services which will be delivered in some cases on a collaborative basis or by town/community councils and third sector. Behind the scenes there will be a mandatory shared service arrangements at a regional level. It is unclear at this stage how many of the wider proposals contained within the previous draft Local Government Bill will feature in new legislation.

The consultation on the overarching vision and arrangements will be a formal public consultation to which LLG will be able to respond from a governance perspective. For example the governance and accountability arrangements for mandatory shared regional services are unclear at the moment and will need to be transparent to the public should they come into force. Clearly, colleagues from England with experience of combined authorities will be able to share valuable learning and insight to that process.

The Wales Branch has established relationships and lines of communication with WG, which recognises that LLG speaks on behalf of the legal profession across all local authorities in Wales. Whilst WG will select legislative drafting issues on which it wishes to seek the views of the Wales Branch, there will again be scope for LLG to submit responses to any formal consultation about the imposition of new duties.

The Wales branch also has strong links with the WLGA, and the Wales branch of SOLACE. Co-ordination of responses will be possible, and may be advisable, to ensure a cohesive and unified message from local government.

Conclusion

The Branch will inevitably debate the consultation generally at its branch meetings, inviting civil servants to branch meetings to understand and discuss the proposals. It will respond to the formal consultation under the LLG brand and will also work with civil servants around any specific legislative drafting issues on which they seek our views. As was previously the case, LLG will also seek to participate in the scrutiny of any legislation in the Senedd.

Appendix

In a speech to the WLGA’s Annual Conference in November 2016, the Local Government Secretary Mark Drakeford called on councils to keep working with the Welsh Government and keep up the momentum for a new Local Government Bill. 

Mark Drakeford said:

“I have listened carefully about the corrosive impact that uncertainty has had on our councils and I’m mindful of the fact that we’ve not been able to agree a way forward in the past. 

“I’ve now set out a new set of proposals based on an enhanced level of systematic and mandatory regional working. I think we’re all aware that there is a real reputational risk to local government if we can’t move forwards on these proposals. We simply can’t afford to step back. That’s why I will be meeting with you all over the coming weeks so we can reach a consensus by the end of the calendar year.

“This will be followed by formal consultation in January, concluding before the local government elections next year. If we get the process right, then we’ll be able to move quickly towards a new Local Government Bill that provides Local Government with the means to address the significant challenges of continuing austerity, rising demand for certain services, higher public expectations and Brexit which lie ahead.

“Looking at the bigger picture, we need to remember why reform is so important and the reason is this: local government makes a real difference. Councils provide the services which touch everybody’s lives, every day; whether it’s educating our children, looking after our elderly, disposing of our waste or lighting our streets. That is why we need to create a new relationship between the public and their local councils.

“If we’re going to do this, then we need to see a cultural shift. The reforms I’m proposing may appear challenging but if we look back over the working lives of the people in this room, we’ve seen enormous cultural shifts in the way our councils work. For example, thirty years ago nobody would have thought Wales would be recycling at the levels we see today. If we succeed in making these regional arrangements work then that not only makes services more sustainable but sets a future precedent for doing things differently and in a much better way.

“In the meantime, I want local authorities to use the next eighteen months to think about the future pressures they are going to face. The aim of last month’s Local Government settlement was to provide some much-needed stability in challenging times; a platform from which to plan for the harder choices that lie ahead. That’s why there was the first cash increase in the local government settlement since 2013-14. Under the funding floor we introduced, no council will have to manage on less than 99.5% of the cash provided to them last year. 

“I want to thank local authority leaders for the constructive conversations we’ve had over the past few months. I want to see a new beginning in our relationship with local government and for us to move forward together. In order to do this we must develop trust, a willingness to work together and to compromise, as well as a mutual appreciation of our respective but distinctive roles in improving outcomes for people in Wales.”