Strategic Partnership Renewed by Welsh Government and Councils

As shellshocked English council leaders bemoan the loss of trust in government over the delay to reorganisation, the picture in Wales couldn't be more different.While feelings of limbo dominate in England, the Welsh Government and Wales' 22 councils last week cemented their relationship at the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) annual conference by renewing their strategic partnership agreement, reaffirming their commitment to work together as ‘equal partners to deliver for communities across Wales'. Under the agreement – 30 years on from Wales' own fairly smooth local government reorganisation – both spheres of government have committed to ‘early engagement, mutual trust and respect, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and respecting their respective democratic mandates'. English councils can only dream.WLGA leader Cllr Anthony Hunt said: ‘We will not always agree on everything, but early and honest conversations lead to better decisions. By working together as equal partners, we can tackle the pressures facing our services and deliver better outcomes for communities across Wales.'The signing of the agreement between the WLGA and Welsh Government was among the first actions of the Plaid Cymru Government after it won the Senedd election earlier this year.Welcoming scrutiny and stressing the importance of transparency, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth told WLGA conference delegates: ‘We are determined to be a different sort of Government.'Plaid coming to power threatens to disrupt what some described as the too cosy relationship between the Labour-led WLGA and the Welsh Government, which had been run by Labour since devolution.Professor Dan Bristow, who leads the Wales Centre for Public Policy, said there was ‘scope for the sector to be much more vocal'. But, for now, at least the warm words are continuing.Cabinet minister for local government, housing and planning Siân Gwenllian, a former deputy leader of a council, said: ‘Renewing this strategic partnership agreement shows our commitment to working hand in hand with local government, as equal partners with a shared purpose. Councils know their communities best, and this agreement ensures their voice is heard early and clearly as we shape decisions that affect people's daily lives. Wales succeeds when national and local government work together as trusted partners and the renewed strategic partnership provides a strong foundation for that work.‘Over the coming months, we will build on this agreement together so that people across Wales can see and feel the benefits of a strong, trusted relationship between local and national government. By working together we make better decisions, achieve stronger outcomes and improve people's lives.'Gwenllian said she viewed her role as ensuring councils were ‘heard across Government' and that she wanted councils to ‘know that we will work with them, not around them, as we take forward our priorities for Wales'.She insisted she recognised the ‘cumulative impact of the things we ask you to do' but warned about the ‘impact of reduced funding from Whitehall'.Ending on a co-operative note, Gwenllian added: ‘I'm convinced that lasting change cannot be done to local government. It must be done with local government.'WLGA deputy leader Cllr Rob Stewart was still in school when Welsh councils were last reorganised.‘We have fantastic relations with the Welsh Government that we have built over many years', he told delegates at the conference in Swansea, where he is council leader.‘You only have to look over the border in England to see how easy it is for credibility and certainty to be replaced by chaos.‘We have an opportunity to meet with the First Minister on a regular basis. That gives us an advantage that no other part of the UK has.' However, one Welsh policy expert suggested this close relationship could discourage more sweeping reforms.‘If you do something controversial [as a minister] you're going to know about it', they said.‘Previous Welsh governments have done radical things. They've shied away from more radical things for local government because of the proximity.' Gwenllian insists she is ‘prepared to have frank conversations' while Hunt said he would not shy away from honesty. This could be useful as radical solutions may be needed to deal with the sector's predicament. Chair of the Welsh branch of senior officers' group Solace, Rob Thomas, who is chief executive officer of Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: ‘No local authority chief executive in Wales is under any illusion that the way local government currently functions is sustainable.'A report into the future of councils in the principality by an independent working group formed by the WLGA and Wales Centre for Public Policy has called for local government to be overhauled to become more ‘collaborative, preventative, outcome-focused, adaptive, financially empowered and digitally enabled'.The report, which partly overlaps with the Welsh Government's priorities, called for a shift in culture among councils, which would have to ‘work with communities rather than simply acting for them'.It added partnership arrangements needed to be reformed as they were currently blighted by ‘institutional silos' and complexity.The report read: ‘Cultural change cannot happen in isolation; it requires funding, performance and accountability frameworks that actively incentivise the desired behaviours.'Hunt was particularly keen to stress the importance of prevention.He added: ‘Prevention is not a luxury. It is a route to sustainable public services. Local government is the engine room of preventative services.'The importance of prevention was backed by auditor general for Wales Catherine Mealing‑Jones, who told WLGA conference delegates bluntly: ‘Prevention is no longer a desirable ambition. It is a necessity.'Vice-chair of Solace Wales Emma Palmer, said her council Powys had invested in HR and legal, adding: ‘As a result of doing that, it speeds everything up.'Amid uncertainty ahead of the UK and Welsh Budgets, Welsh councils are still waiting to find out what exactly a change of Government in Cardiff will mean for them.Hunt said he was planning to sell to the Welsh Government ‘what we can offer' amid what is expected to be a tough finance settlement.In any case, as joint chief executive of Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen CBCs Stephen Vickers said: ‘More money to do more of the same is not a sustainable answer.'

Title

WELSH LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

Working together in Wales

By Dan Peters | 21 September 2026

Popular articles by Dan Peters

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING

Popular articles by Dan Peters