Plans to cut the number of councils in Wales to eight could save £650 million over ten years, the Welsh Government has claimed.
Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews confirmed plans to cut Wales’ local authorities from 22 to eight or nine, on November 24.
The Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill contains recommendations put forward by the Williams Commission and could see the lost of 1,900 “administration” jobs.
It makes the recommendations despite most local authorities in Wales rejecting the plans.
The changes could see Caerphilly County Borough Council merge with Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Newport.
In response to the Williams Commission, Caerphilly Council last year unanimously voted to propose ‘going it alone’, with Plaid Cymru and Labour uniting against any merger.
A Labour group spokesperson said: “The Labour group’s position on Caerphilly Council hasn’t changed. We are opposed to merging and believe we should stand alone.”
The draft bill forms the basis of further consultation and would not become law until after the Assembly Election in May.
Announcing the bill, Mr Andrews AM said: “There is a real opportunity here for local government to make significant savings for taxpayers and if councils work together, plan well and involve their staff there is the opportunity for savings even greater than the £650 million we have identified.
“This means more money for front line public services, more money to invest in communities and more money to support local economic prosperity.”
But the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) criticised the impact reorganisation could have on “up to 2,000 jobs”.
A WLGA spokesperson said: “This is on top of the 8,000 jobs already lost since 2010 and the loss of thousands more in the next few years as a result of cuts.
“For many communities, local government is by far the biggest and best employer. The media is rightly concerned when the private sector sheds jobs but the scale of losses in local government which surpasses this is almost occurring without comment.”
They claimed any potential savings could be over a decade away and “will not remedy the enormous financial challenges we face over the next five years”
Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Local Government, Simon Thomas, said Labour had “made a mess of local government”.
He said: “Plaid Cymru has set out our plans to retain the existing structure of 22 local authorities making them work together as combined regional authorities.
“This will save money, keep local accountability for decision-making, and deliver services strategically as coherent combined regional authorities. Plaid Cymru wants to see between five and seven of these combined authorities in Wales.”
Councils in Wales will be reorganised in some way, whatever CCBC wants. As I see it the main problem for the town of Caerffili is that it will be lumped in with Gwent, yet again, despite the town being part of Glamorgan.
This process has gone on for around forty years and has had serious implications for the town. We were moved into Gwent police and lost our police station, our police were all based in Blackwood for a time, though some policing is now based at Bedwas. We lost our magistrates court this year and the town was left without a court of any kind for the first time in several centuries.
Our health care has also been adversely affected with the closure of our hospital in 2011, I should say our last hospital as the town once had more than one. I live four miles from a major teaching hospital at Heath, Cardiff, yet am expected to attend the Royal Gwent which Google Map tells me is 12.3 or 17.8 miles away according to the routes suggested. I wonder what bright sparks thought that was a good plan? The Miners Hospital, by the way, was less that half a mile away from home.
A merger which puts Caerffili into a new Monmouthshire based council will have an impact on the quality if life in Caerffili and it will not be a positive impact.
More council tax I suspect. Merging councils will not necessarily benefit from returns to scale or similar concepts. A large council will give more money for the elected higher powers to squander. How many more silly schemes can there be to waste money?
Ah I am glad to see that the Caerphilly Labour group remains in its dreamland state of pretentiousness. Surly they are politically aware enough to know that their views count for absolutely zero with the Labour Gang down The Bay? Let’s go back to the old Mid-Glamorgan and be done with it.