Plaid Cymru vow to reject Gwent Public Services Board merger

The Plaid Cymru Group on Caerphilly County Borough Council has vowed to oppose moves to create a region-wide Public Services Board.

A Public Services Board (PSB) acts as a means for public bodies to work together.

They were launched as part of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015. Each council has to have one, but there are now plans to merge Caerphilly, Newport, Monmouth, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent PSBs to create a Gwen- wide one.

Councillor Colin Mann, leader of Plaid Cymru, said they will be voting against the proposals if given the opportunity.

In a Special Council meeting, held on Tuesday, July 27, Cllr Mann argued the public could view the merger as a waste of time.

Cllr Philippa Marsden, Labour’s leader of the council, said the merging of the five areas of Gwent will allow Caerphilly County Borough Council to learn from the other local authorities.

The decision to merge the local authorities follows an Audit Wales report that advised that a regional approach to PSBs would be more effective.

Cllr Marsden assured the council that local issues would not be overlooked as a result of the merger.

A priority is “getting the balance of utilising resources and tackling local issues” said Cllr Marsden.

Cllr Kevin Etheridge, leader of Independent Group, echoed Cllr Mann’s concerns and added there should have been more focus on public engagement and consultation.

The council’s Partnerships Scrutiny Committee has urged the authority to hold a public consultation to explain the reasons for the Gwent PSB merger.

During the Special Council meeting, Councillor Mann questioned: “What difference has scrutiny made?”

Christina Harrhy, Chief Executive Officer, said the merger is needed so that the pubic service sectors can pool their resources to better serve the local community.

Cllr Marsden added that she hopes that the “collective impact will be more powerful”.

She told council the Gwent PSB will be working towards a uniformed goal without forgetting the differences of the five local authorities.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, South Wales Fire and Rescue services and Natural Resources Wales all sit on the five PSBs in Gwent, the merger aims to use their time more effectively and avoid duplication as they will be able to attend one meeting for all five local authorities.

Leader Philippa Marsden and Chief Executive Christina Harrhy would represent Caerphilly County Borough at the Gwent PSB meetings.