The proposed merger of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s social services and Blaenau Gwent’s has been welcomed by the boss of the Welsh Local Government Association.
Steve Thomas, the chief executive of the WLGA, said: “We applaud the ambition and drive given to this project by elected members and officers across both authorities. Recently Westminster politicians from all parties have been urged to work together to find a way to overhaul the “failing” social care system in England here is a “live example” from Wales of innovation and service creativity.
“The scale of this project is huge. It impacts on some 3,000 staff and has a revenue budget of £107m, dealing with some of the most vulnerable clients. To set this in context the scale of this is bigger than the revenue budget of key Welsh organisations such as Dyfed Powys Police or the South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority.”
“With Ceredigion and Powys Councils also working together towards forming Central Wales Social Services, significant change is on the agenda. In both cases the councils concerned have concluded that to face the challenges and demands in the rapidly changing arena of social care, now is the right time for organisations to work together to provide a platform for further improvements.
“Local government has been criticised for its ‘reluctant embrace’ of collaboration but in this case the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas AM has offered warm support saying ‘The collaboration between Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent is exactly what we want to see and I wish them well with that work’.”
The merger of the two social services, originally announced in July 2011, is gradually taking place over three years and represents one of the largest service mergers in the Welsh Public Sector.