Over at Wales Home the new Minister for Social Justice and Local Government tells us he is getting to grips with his new portfolio.
He correctly identifies the difficult financial climate as the biggest challenge facing local councils but at the same time places himself firmly on the side of public service provision rather than outsourcing. As a philosophy that is fine but it does not take account of some of the difficult decisions that Councils may have to make to deal with the situation they find themselves in. Nor does it fit with his own government’s policy of promoting housing stock transfer for example.
He says that services must identify and respond to the needs of local citizens and communities in sustainable and equitable ways. What he does not do is to explain how this can be achieved with reducing resources.
There is a lot of talk about partnership and joint working and even mention of local services boards but, as the new First Minister identified during the Labour leadership campaign this agenda has failed to deliver the changes needed. What we need to know is what the new Local Government Minister offers that is different to that of his predecessor?
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