Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent social services merger agreed

The councils of Caerphilly County Borough and Blaenau Gwent have agreed to merge their social services departments.

Caerphilly’s cabinet approved the merger on Tuesday following Blaenau Gwent’s decision at a meeting on June 22

The leaders of Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly County Borough Councils, Councillor Des Hillman and Councillor Allan Pritchard, welcomed the move in a joint statement.

It said: “We are delighted to announce today that this exciting and innovative collaboration between our two councils will go ahead – the first of its kind in Wales.

“We want to continue to deliver high quality, person-centred social services to the residents of both county boroughs and by collaborating our services in this way we can make sure that we are doing this in the most effective and efficient way.

“It is becoming more recognised that greater collaboration is the way forward to improve public services in Wales and we are delighted to be at the forefront of this innovative way of working.

“We now look forward to sharing both our resources and the expertise of our dedicated workforces so that we can build on our strengths and improve services for our local communities, helping people reach their potential and caring for and protecting vulnerable people.”

The merger will gradually take place over the next three years with the overall aim of cutting costs.

Cllr Judith Pritchard, Caerphilly’s cabinet member for social services, also welcomed the decision,
She said: “This is an historic occasion as we are clearly leading the way with this exciting scheme. The move will have a positive impact and will help protect service users now and in the future.”

Beverlea Frowen from the Welsh Local Government Association, said: “This is one of the most innovative and bold collaborative projects in Wales. It is based on sound principles and the WLGA looks forward to supporting the project board as it moves forward.”