Reform needed so councils have quality and inspire confidence
As people in Wales vote in today’s council elections, Political editor-at-large Martin Shipton asks whether or not local authorities should be given more powers
IN THE 19th century, local government figures like Joseph Chamberlain – who led Birmingham City Council – were seen as political giants.
They reshaped the cities and towns they ran, erecting grand municipal buildings and developing modern infrastructure, creating the conditions that enabled enterprises to flourish.
It’s fair to say that they got things done: massively improving the water supply and providing street lights were among their important achievements.
But nearly 150 years after Chamberlain was elected mayor of Birmingham, local government is sadly diminished in comparison with what was once achieved.
No-one expects the turnout in today’s council elections in Wales to reach 50% and the negative comments beneath online articles about local authorities and those who serve on them reflect a combination of apathy and cynicism that has become all too familiar.
As part of the constitutional debate, it’s been suggested by some politicians that more power should be given to councils in Wales.
But while that may sound desirable in theory, what would it mean in practice?
Leighton Andrews was Public Services Minister for Wales and hoped to reform local government.
But his plans to merge councils met bitter resistance and got nowhere.
In 2016 he lost his seat, made the transition to academia and is now Professor of Practice in Public Service Leadership and Innovation at Cardiff Business School.
He said: “When I was the minister responsible for local government, there were some proposals to give local authorities extra powers.
“The Welsh Local Government Association wanted councils to become responsible for public health, but that didn’t go anywhere.
“In view of Covid, I think it’s a good thing that it didn’t. During the pandemic it made sense to have a single public health body – Public Health Wales – responsible for the whole of the country.
“My view is that any changes to the responsibilities of local authorities should be accompanied by reform to the structure of councils, with a reduction in the number of them and the number of councillors.
“But that will only be possible if there is a consensus between the parties. For the moment, that would mean agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru.”
Jeff Jones is a former Labour leader of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC). He believes local authorities in Wales are a pale shadow of their former selves, and are in desperate need of change.
He said: “The first thing is to decide what you want local government to do. The situation today is vastly different from the Victorian period, when councils tended to be run by businessmen who wanted to ensure the conditions were right for their businesses.
“Councillors elected to BCBC today have very little under their control.
“The council isn’t responsible for housing, leisure, the arts, libraries and swimming-pools – all of it has been hived off to entities not controlled by the council.
“That means there is no democratic accountability.
“The local authority doesn’t even have control over schools in a meaningful sense any more, because education in Wales now comes under regional consortia, which again, aren’t accountable to anyone.
“Backbench councillors have little say in anything. I doubt whether many of them were aware that the council’s social services department has been in special measures twice.”
The Arbed home insulation scandal that affected houses at Caerau, near Maesteg, stemmed from poor workmanship carried out by a company run by a senior councillor who is now deceased. It took years for home-owners to get the promise of justice, with the Welsh Government and the council both due to pick up hefty tabs.
“It’s no wonder people have such a low opinion of the council and those who sit on it,” said Mr Jones, who went on to claim that similar criticisms could be levelled at many local authorities in Wales.
“We need councils covering bigger areas with fewer councillors – but they should be paid to do the job full time,” he said.
“At present Bridgend has 48 councillors and all of them are paid more than £16,000 for a role that has no real responsibility. In Maesteg, where I live, there are seven councillors. It would be cheaper to have one councillor paid £30k than to have seven paid more than £16k each.
“Currently the county borough has 48 councillors, while in Scotland – where they have had local government reform – there are far fewer councillors. Dundee, which is a city, has 29 councillors elected by single transferable vote.”
Mr Jones also looks to England, where former Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham is now the elected mayor of Greater Manchester.
“He and others like him are accountable to voters, and they can be removed at an election,” said Mr Jones.
“In Wales, where increasingly the big decisions are being taken on a regional level, there is no democratic structure to hold those with power to account. I believe Wales should have four or five regions, each with an elected mayor. The services that have been hived off should be returned to democratic control and then we should debate further reform.”
What’s undoubtedly the case under present arrangements is that many residents feel alienated from and ignored by their local authority.
Such feelings often derive from planning disputes, where local people come to the conclusion that their views don’t matter.
There are many examples across Wales where campaigners trying to save a threatened building or stop an unsympathetic development come up against what they see as an undemocratic planning system that simply doesn’t take account of their views.
Even when their local authority’s planning committee backs the residents, developers can appeal and win their case if the local development plan isn’t watertight enough to withstand challenge.
Some councils are trying to be more accessible to their residents, but much more needs to be done to restore trust.
Negativity is ingrained in some people, but it would be good to think that future online news stories relating to the performance of local authorities will include some complimentary comments and not the usual abuse.