The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, has made attempts to meet with opposition party leaders in an attempt to put on a united front against any potential delays to the elections.

We feel that by delaying the elections the Minister would be denying the people of Anglesey their right to be able change their representatives through the ballot box.

The Board of Commissioners are planning to cut vital services by £3.4 million, while also rising Council Tax by 5%. It is important that democratic accountability is returned to Anglesey as soon as possible, in order that such major decisions are made by elected representatives. We are still of the view that the best form of democratic renewal is to give the people of Anglesey the opportunity to elect people to represent them. There is no reason why that should not happen the same time as every other part of Wales.

We have made attempts to gather a consensus among the opposition parties in order to set out the strongest possible case against any sort of delay to the elections. As we have said before, we are more than happy to work with other parties to present a united front to ensure that the people of Anglesey have local services provided by a locally elected Council whose members and officers are accountable for their decisions and actions.

Related posts:

1. Welsh Liberal Democrat response to Boundary Commission’s Anglesey proposals
2. The need for democratic reform of our National Parks
3. Delay of year before elections in Ynys Mon is ‘unacceptable’

The local authority is currently being run by Welsh government appointed commissioners due to the authority’s poor performance in the past after years of political infighting.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Local Government, Peter Black, however has called for more urgency:

“We very much welcome the Boundary Commission review as we believe it will help to revitalise this beleaguered Council.

“However, a delay of a year before elections are held on the Island is unacceptable. If any Council is in need of democratic renewal it is Ynys Mon.

“We need to return to normality at the Council as soon as possible and that means handing it back to democratically elected Councillors in an ordered way.

If May 2012 proves impractical as a target to hold these elections, then I would favour September or October 2012 as a compromise.

“The minister cannot allow the disenfranchisement of local electors to continue any longer than it needs to.”

Aled Roberts, Assembly Member for North Wales, added:

“It is imperative that we are told what progress has been made by the Commissioners on the identified task of democratic renewal. The people of Anglesey are in no different a position to the other electors of North Wales; they are entitled to their local services being provided by a locally elected Council whose members and officers are accountable for their actions and decisions.

“The length of time it has taken to publish this review must also be called into question. The Welsh government intervention took place back in March 2010, why has it taken so long for this announcement to be made?”

Related posts:

1. Welsh Liberal Democrats call for the reopening of the Boundary Commission Review for Newport
2. Democratic accountability needs to be returned to Anglesey as soon as possible
3. Veronica German welcomes independent review into Boundary Commission

It has recently been revealed that Arriva is being excused from rules which require local bus companies to provide a Criminal Records Bureau report on drivers of school buses.

The company, which is the biggest public transport operator in Wales, has not been forced to vet drivers on a number of routes in North and Mid Wales carrying pupils and students. Most Welsh companies have been ordered to provide a Criminal Records Bureau report on each driver, but Arriva have been exempt from these checks, according to Anglesey Council, due to the widespread nature of Arriva’s business.

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Local Government Minister, commented:

“The Welsh Government needs to be looking at this as a matter of urgency. It is imperative that all companies have their drivers CRB checked if they are to be operating a bus service for school children.

“There is Welsh Government guidance on this important issue, but this guidance is clearly not being followed. It is completely unacceptable that Arriva are being excused from conducting these CRB checks. I will be writing to the Minister as we need to know what he will be doing about this; we also need to know how widespread this problem actually is.”

Aled Roberts, Assembly Member for North Wales, said:

“There can not be one rule for a bus company and then another rule for all the others. I understand that Arriva are operating an across country service, but local authorities need to collaborate to agree consistent standards and also to share and maintain a database of approved staff.

“Currently a number of bus drivers in North Wales have not had the relevant background checks, which means the safeguard guidelines are not being adhered to. CRB checks are vital as there is a need to prevent unsuitable people from working on a daily basis with children.”

Related posts:

1. Report says Aled Roberts followed out-of-date rules
2. Financial rules
3. Many school buildings still not fit for purpose

They say that council workers are to be balloted for industrial action at a local authority where their union claims some are facing pay cuts of up to £10,000 a year:

The proposals by Labour-controlled Bridgend council, which follow a job evaluation exercise, have horrified many of the workers affected. A union meeting which officials expected around 200 to attend ended up overflowing on to Bridgend Rugby Club’s Brewery Field stadium, with 600 members present.

Mr Belcher said the council had had 14 years to prepare for the implications of job evaluation.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf the Labour-run Council effectively sacked and re-employed their workers on new contracts after failing to reach a negotiated settlement. In Neath Port Talbot employees have had to take a pay cut to help the Labour run Council balance their books.

So much for standing up for the working man and woman.

Related posts:

1. Welsh Government report slams their own local government policy
2. The Labour-Plaid government: One record of failure
3. Leading Labour politician calls for PR for local government

The report, which has been produced by the Centre for Local and Regional Government Research in Cardiff Business School looks at the three themes of collaboration, citizen engagement and central-local relations, which are at the heart of the Welsh Government’s local government policy.

On collaboration they say that ‘both local public service providers and the Welsh Government, have settled for relatively small wins – in the form of improved dialogue and joining up – while failing to advance the big issues of strategic coherence and economies of scale.’ They suggest that the Welsh Government should take decisive steps to safeguard the provision of strategic services either through local government reorganisation, the establishment of regional authorities or the re-allocation of functions between local and national government. They say that collaboration needs to be designed into the governance of Councils, rather than encouraged as a desirable.

They also criticise the Welsh Government’s policy on citizen engagement as ambiguous, saying that there is no clarity how people should be involved in decision making, and are critical of the nature of relations between Central and Local Government. They say: There is a danger that departments rely unthinkingly on ‘the way which we’ve already done it round here’. There are, as a result, instances of excessive prescription when perhaps there should be more autonomy, competition for grants when a standard formula may be more appropriate, and partnership in performance management when either hierarchy or competition might prove more transparent and effective.’

It seems to me that what this report is saying is that Ministers know what they want to achieve but have no idea how to deliver it. They are floundering around looking for a holy grail when they should be showing leadership. When they do try to take a lead they focus on the wrong priorities and often contradict their own and the policies of other Ministers.

More worryingly, it is my impression that the Welsh Government has retreated into silos more than any other time since the Welsh Assembly was founded. There appears to be no joined up thinking across Government as to how to deal with local councils and that is leaving Councillors in limbo. There needs to be better partnership working between all levels of government but if we are to achieve that then there has to be coherence and clarity at the top as to the direction of travel and how we are going to arrive at our destination. That is clearly missing.

Related posts:

1. Diversity in Welsh Local Government : “More Please!”
2. Time for Welsh Labour Government to make 2003 Awema report public
3. The Welsh Government must give assurances it has in place a robust higher education funding policy

Currently nearly £750 million a year is given to local government through grants where the money is ring fenced for particular initiatives. This method of funding has been estimated to cost Local Government in excess of 5 per cent of this figure on administration costs.

If this money was paid directly to local government then these administration costs could be avoided and more than £35 million could be saved every year which could be reinvested and used on essential front line services.

Veronica German, South Wales East Assembly Candidate and Shadow Local Government Minister said:

“I find it incredible that at a time when everyone is pulling together to cut waste and spend less, the Labour-Plaid government is forcing local government to spend such huge amounts of money on an overly bureaucratic and unnecessary process.

“Labour and Plaid Cymru have made waste, incompetence and inefficiency into an art form.

“Local councils are trapped in a thicket of orders from the Labour-Plaid government. The Welsh Liberal Democrats would reduce the complexity and costs arising from these grants so that we save money and have more efficient and stronger local councils, delivering for local people.”

Related posts:

1. WASTE WATCHERS – Day 11
2. WASTE WATCHERS – Day 16
3. WASTE WATCHERS – Day 1

Mr Sargeant demanded an “urgent” investigation into the council by the WAG appointed board last January after further infighting between members.

But within weeks of that report commissioners were ordered in and members stripped of executive powers.

It seems that the need to appear to acting tough overrode any considerations as to what was best for Anglesey or local Government. Once more a Labour Minister has demonstrated that when faced with a difficult situation they will centralise and interfere in the democratic process instead of trusting the voters to put things right themselves.

Related posts:

1. Education Minister urged to reveal legal advice
2. Electoral Commission advice brings referendum closer
3. It is all about giving students the correct advice

Currently councils are trapped in a thicket of orders from the Welsh Government, which means they are not able to deliver change for their people. This goes entirely against the purpose of local councils which are designed to deliver services depending on community’s needs. We believe that it is only possible to improve councils by giving them the freedom to meet their own standards and deliver their own priorities.

The fact is that a ‘one size fits all’ approach just won’t deliver the required services and this is something that the Labour-Plaid government just can’t get into its head.

Only recently we’ve seen their determination to hoard power and the breath taking arrogance they have shown in regard to local governance. The Local Government Measure which was meant to ensure diversity in councils has been moulded into something entirely more sinister. Through last minute amendments, the Labour-Plaid government of Wales has given itself the powers to abolish councils by ministerial decree with limited consultation and lack of scrutiny. Something we will strongly resist.

But we also look to the future.

This motion proposes to end the process of ring-fencing money to local authorities which means they cannot decide for themselves what to spend money on. We want to roll existing grants into the Revenue Support Grant so that councils can spend this money on what they decide are their own spending priorities.

Currently specific grants cost over £35 million a year in administration fees, a huge amount of money at a time when every penny counts. By transferring specific grants into the Revenue Support Grant we will not only deliver higher flexibility, we will make considerable savings.

We do recognise however, that many of these grants deliver disproportionate amounts of money to more deprived or more rural areas, so we will review the formula for distributing money to Councils so that deprived or rural communities do not lose out from our changes.

Furthermore the motion proposes to order a formal audit of the number, cost and effectiveness of the many statutory duties on local Councils. Many of these place an additional bureaucratic burden on local authorities without improving services. We’ll scrap the ones that can’t prove they’ve delivered improvements.

Our intentions with this motion are also to change the inspection requirements on local authorities, by concentrating less on structures and processes and more on outcomes. We will also reduce the inspection cost by a third by making inspections fewer.

The second part of the motion talks about the Bill of Rights for Communities. Passing a Community Bill of Rights would strengthen the powers local authorities and community councils have to ensure that they can thrive despite economic and social changes.

As the economy and society changes, many communities are struggling to maintain their own identity and decide their own future. Too many communities are also becoming identical – with local landmarks and circumstances not respected. We want to give local authorities and communities greater control over their future.

Each policy is worthwhile on its own, but together this will be the biggest package of “localism” in the Assembly’s history. It will not only give communities more power but will also give them self-confidence, which is essential to resurrecting local democracy.

The Community Bill of Rights would put an end to things like garden grabbing and developments on village greens. It will ensure that community councils are given first right of refusal when facilities like leisure centers and libraries are sold off by local authorities. In short, it will ensure that our local communities will have more of a voice and the power for their voice to not only be heard, but listened to.

By passing this motion we have sent a clear message about how local government should be run.

We all rely on local services and we all want what is truly best for our local communities. A thriving, unique community is something that we all want to be part of.

But this can only be if we are allowed to make the decisions necessary to build and maintain such a community.

This policy will truly deliver for local communities who, have been forced to sit back and watch as the Labour-Plaid Government have delivered one of the most centralising and restrictive regimes for local democracy in the western world.

And with the proposed Local Government Measure these powers are set to increase to alarming heights.

Local government isn’t about delivering what the Ministers in Cardiff Bay want, spending money on what they want. It’s not about trying to fit every community in Wales into a Labour mould. It is about delivering what residents want, what communities need.

The fact is, no one community is the same, they all have differing needs, as a result there can be no ‘local government formula’ which applies to all.

This motion proposes to give the freedom and flexibility to councils to deliver what they know communities require. It gives them the tools to make something great, that works, that flourishes.

We could go down the Labour route and refuse to trust local councils to deliver, but we won’t, we’re bigger than that. We hold the people of Wales in higher regard. We trust our local councils to know what their communities want.

Ministers and central government have no right to tell local councils what their priorities are, only they know that for sure. By passing this motion we have shown that we have faith that local councils will deliver these priorities.

Related posts:

1. Peter Black calls on Welsh Government to create financial stability so Councils can better use their reserves
2. Welsh Councils fail to enforce planning agreements
3. ‘Tenant tax’ costs Welsh councils £94 million

The Labour-Plaid Government last week announced plans to amend the proposed Local Government Measure. The plans would give ministers sweeping powers to merge or amalgamate councils with minimum debate and consultation and virtually no scrutiny.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Local Government, Veronica German, said:

“The Labour-Plaid government wants the powers to allow a reorganisation of local government by Ministerial decree with minimal consultation with the communities affected and next to no scrutiny and debate in the National Assembly. These proposals have been brought forward very late in the day and after the Stage One evidence and scrutiny has finished.

“The proposals make a laughing stock of the Labour-Plaid commitment to local government and to the Assembly. Such behavior is a dreadful advert for devolution and plays into the hands of No campaigners who would prefer powers to rest in London.”

Peter Black AM, who is Welsh Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, added:

“These proposals show breath-taking arrogance from the Labour-Plaid administration and total contempt for the communities of Wales. It is totally unacceptable for Labour to use their huge majority in the Assembly to railroad through proposals of this type for which they have no mandate. Neither Plaid Cymru nor Labour put these proposals in their manifesto, nor did they form part of their coalition agreement.

“Welsh Liberal Democrats are proposing a series of amendments all of which seek to improve the measure by extending consultation and limiting ministerial power. Taking individually, they would improve the proposals but we are clear that the Labour-Plaid government must withdraw these proposals and think again.”

Related posts:

1. Welsh Liberal Democrats want a Community Bill of Rights for local people
2. Welsh Liberal Democrats Announce Legislative Priorities
3. Plaid Defector says Welsh Liberal Democrats are the ‘Party of Principle’

She said: “This breathtaking and frankly outrageous arrogance from the Labour-Plaid administration shows utter contempt for the communities of Wales.

“The Labour-Plaid government wants the powers to allow a significant reorganisation of local government by Ministerial decree with minimal consultation with the communities affected and next to no scrutiny and debate in the National Assembly.

“Ministers seem to be indicating that it is only relation to Anglesey that they will use these powers, in which case they should be honest about what they see as the issue in Anglesey and bring forward specific proposals to address them.”

“These attempts to acquire ever more power tell you all you need to know about Labour-Plaid’s approach to local government and to the Assembly. Such underhand behaviour is a dreadful advert for devolution and plays into the hands of No campaigners who would prefer powers to rest in London.

Related posts:

1. Complacent inaction shows contempt for South Wales businesses and communities
2. Communities First puts communities last
3. Labour-Plaid government failing young people in Wales