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Welsh councils may be forced to share top officials Carl Sargeant wants Welsh councils to share officials
(about 2 hours later)
Councils in Wales could be forced to share senior officials under powers being sought by Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant. Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant has attacked "complacent" councils for not sharing senior officials.
BBC Wales understands he will tell councils a new law would give him the power to direct closer collaboration. He threatened to force them to work together if they did not make progress.
He has already criticised councils for not sharing chief executives when front line services are under threat. But he ruled out full-scale local government reorganisations, saying it would cost too much and disrupt services.
The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said it was open to a debate on the issue. Council leaders said they were working together and protecting frontline services from cutbacks.
"I think the problem here is we've got a poor man's version of local government reorganisation happening," the WLGA's chief executive Steve Thomas. The Welsh Government said Mr Sargeant wanted to challenge "complacency, under-performance and senseless bureaucracy" in public services.
He told the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) conference in Swansea on Thursday that he expected to see more collaboration and joint appointments between authorities.
The staffing structure at the 22 councils was outdated, with too many of them independently hiring chief executives over the last year without looking at other options, he said.
"We are missing opportunities not only to make savings, but more importantly, to recruit the best quality people, from within and beyond Wales, who can help us deliver an ambitious change agenda," he said.
"I am expecting much more progress in this area. If I do not see it, I will have to consider other more directive options to force the pace."
It is understood Mr Sargeant is considering legislation to make sure he can direct joint council appointments and dictate closer collaboration across council borders.
Councils could cut duplication and increase their buying power by working together, he added.
"I know there is already extensive collaboration between local authorities but there is clear scope to do more."
But WLGA chief executive Steve Thomas said: "I think the problem here is we've got a poor man's version of local government reorganisation happening.
"There's now a very strong current of thinking within local government that if a minister wants to reorganise local government he should perhaps come out and say so in the most clear possible terms."There's now a very strong current of thinking within local government that if a minister wants to reorganise local government he should perhaps come out and say so in the most clear possible terms.
"The problem is that he, like us, is caught between a rock and a hard place. It's a very costly thing to do, we've got elections next year and nobody's asked the public about this yet. "The problem is that he, like us, is caught between a rock and a hard place. It's a very costly thing to do, we've got elections next year and nobody's asked the public about this yet."
"I think collaboration is occurring, it will occur, managers are being shared across local authorities and I think some of the stuff that's been announced this morning is actually on the statute book. He added that the cost of chief executives across Wales was £4m out of a total local government budget of £5bn.
'Fixation' "The money is actually in services and not posts."
"I think we've got to be very careful here. The cost of chief executives across Wales is £4m. What we're talking about in terms of the total local government is £5bn." 'Financial challenge'
Mr Sargeant will address a conference of council leaders in Swansea on Thursday. Opening the conference, WLGA presiding officer Meryl Gravell said: "We can all be proud at the way in which local authorities in Wales have risen to the challenge of managing this very difficult financial challenge.
It is understood he will tell the WLGA of his intention to legislate to make sure he can direct joint council appointments and dictate closer collaboration across council borders. "We have all had to find ways of making savings and at the same time protecting front-line services as far as we possibly can."
He told AMs on Tuesday that authorities were not considering opportunities to share senior appointments and that he would be having a "frank discussion" with local government leaders.
The way services were delivered must be reformed, without the "cost, delay and upheaval" of full-scale council reorganisations.
"One of the things I will be frank about is my frustration at the difference between warm words in principle, and recent action," he said.
"The current senior staffing structure of 22 local authorities is unsustainable and outdated.
"How do we justify the cost of so many chief executives and senior officers when front line services are under threat?"
More than a quarter of local councils independently filled chief executive posts in the past year, with the same pattern for senior directors.
Mr Sargeant said opportunities for joint appointments were "resisted and often not even considered".
He added: "We are missing opportunities not only to make savings, but more importantly, to recruit the best quality people, from within and beyond Wales, who can help us deliver an ambitious change agenda.
"This cannot go on, it is time to stop talking and start delivering."
But Mr Thomas warned there was a danger of the joint posts debate becoming a "fixation".
He added: "The money is actually in services and not posts
"What we're trying to discuss with Carl Sargeant is not a structural reorganisation, it's a functional reorganisation. We're looking to take services to a regional level.
"We've got 22 authorities in Wales covering hugely populated valleys areas and very sparse rural areas.
'Reluctant'
"If a debate is wanted and required of local government reorganisation, let's have that debate.
"I think we're in a position where sooner or later we will be talking about reorganisation in Wales but I think in the mean time we've been told two different things.
"We've been told on the one hand that sharing joint posts is a way forward, and we've been told on the other hand that regionalism and taking our services to a different level is the way forward."
Tony Travers, from the London School of Economics, believes sharing officers is a logical step but a big move.Tony Travers, from the London School of Economics, believes sharing officers is a logical step but a big move.
"Many councils in Wales cover very large geographical areas because they are so rural and imagine having a single department running services for two councils over that area," he told BBC Radio Wales."Many councils in Wales cover very large geographical areas because they are so rural and imagine having a single department running services for two councils over that area," he told BBC Radio Wales.
"I think the reason they are often reluctant (to share) and don't do it voluntarily is because they believe that it's more responsive locally to have their own officers and staff - that's how they were set up."I think the reason they are often reluctant (to share) and don't do it voluntarily is because they believe that it's more responsive locally to have their own officers and staff - that's how they were set up.
"The move from that to something where councils are sharing officers may sound obvious and logical but it's quite a big step for them to make.""The move from that to something where councils are sharing officers may sound obvious and logical but it's quite a big step for them to make."