Lyn Cadwallader Ch ie f Executive Prif Weithredwr

1. One Voice WalesUn Llais Cymru Lyn Cadwallader Chief ExecutivePrif Weithredwr Implementation and interpretation of the Local Government Wales Measure 2011 The Voice of Community and Town Councils Llais Cynghorau Chymuned a Thref www.onevoicewales.org.uk

2. Community and Town Councils - some key facts: • 1st tier of government in Wales • 735 community and town councils across Wales • 8,000 Community Councillors – provide their time unpaid (IRP report pending) • Funded by local precept added to council tax • Combined annual expenditure excess of £45 million • From very small rural communities to large towns spending in excess of £750,000 • Cover 94% of land mass and 70% of the population

3. Community and Town Councils - some key facts: • Support to local voluntary groups and associations • Wide range of powers and some duties (e.g. allotments, cemeteries, bus shelters, Christmas lights, community centres, crime prevention, highways, open spaces, play areas, toilets, and community transport) • Key role in consultations, local planning applications and community safety initiatives • One employee, the clerk, typically administers the affairs of community councils – often part-time • Average number of seats in Welsh councils is 11

4. Changing times...legislative and policy context • Aberystwyth Report 2003 • Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 – Power of Wellbeing • Simpson Review – 21 recommendations for how local government should be delivered in future • One Wales: One Planet - Welsh Government central organizing principle • Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 • Sustainable Development Bill • Local Democracy Consultation • Current financial climate – pressure for new models of working at the local level • Currently awaiting statutory guidance on the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011

5. How the Welsh approach has differed • Since devolution, there have been stark contrasts in the ways in which the UK and Welsh Governments have approached public service reform • In England: • centred on the importance of offering choice to users as to what services they receive. • that by allowing public services to compete with each other for users, it will force the poorest performers to improve. • Free’s services from central control but requires performance monitoring and league tables to drive forward improvement. • In Wales: reform has focused on encouraging collaboration, rather than competition, between service providers. • based on the presumption that Welsh population densities are too low to support multiple providers • emphasis on sharing expertise and resources to maximize efficiency gains

6. A new role for Community and Town Councils... Under the Local Government Wales Measure 2011, Community and Town Councils have the power to promote wellbeing. “In Wales, sustainable development is defined in terms of the enhancement of the well-being of people and communities, and quality of life. There is broad stated public support for this approach: a 2005 poll, 89% of those surveyed in Wales agreed with the statement: A government’s prime objective should be achieving the greatest happiness of the people, not the greatest wealth. The other important feature of this definition is long-termism – reflecting the pursuit of wellbeing for future generations, locking in a commitment to maintain ‘endowments’ or natural, social, human and economic capital that will affect wellbeing in the future. It is important to recognise that sustainable development is not only or primarily an environmental concept – it is not ‘greening up’ of government activity, but a broader and deeper concept.” Clive Bates, Director General Sustainable Futures, Welsh Government, July 2011

7. Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 – key changes (1) • Community meetings • Community polls • Merging or Grouping of Community Councils • Member Co-options • Community Youth Representative Members • Council Areas and Electoral Arrangements

8. Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 – key changes (2) • The Power of Wellbeing in Wales • Grants • Charter Agreements • An Accreditation Scheme • Payments and Pensions for Members

9. Local government functions in Wales – a comparison Unitary Authorities in Wales • £4 billion via Welsh Government revenue grants • 150,000 staff • 1,257 councillors • 0ver 400 statutory services Community and Town Councils • 56% of clerks work less than 10 hours per week • Average (median) precept for a community council in 2010-11 was £13,000…£45 million precept across Wales annually • 8,000 councillors • 40 statutory powers

10. Implementing the Local Government Measure – key facts • Skills and training • 1 in 3 councils support notion of accreditation scheme in Wales • One third of councils send councillors on training courses (although only last year we trained 1,000th councillor) • Three quarters of councils will ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ use the Power of Well-being • ICT • 47% of Councils in Wales have a website • 7 in 10 have access to the internet • 1 in 20 have no computer, email, internet

11. Implementing the Local Government Measure – key facts • Interacting with Communities • Reporting local problems/planning issues • 6% of councils have youth representatives • Most common method of communication is telephone • Members of community often did not know what the responsibilities of the community and town councils were • Interacting with Unitary Authorities (UA’s) • Three quarters have a good relationship with UA’s • 9 Charters at present • Problem with UA’s and slow response times • Quarter of C&TC’s sit on UA’s committees

12. A model for the community council of the future (1)… Future roles for community councils... • Identifying, utilising and optimising assets • Achieving fairness for everyone • Empowering local governance • Increasing resources for community benefit • Enjoying locally relevant services

13. A model for the community council of the future (2)… • Enriching social capital and well-being • Valuing local distinctiveness • Developing reliable infrastructure • Enhancing environmental capacity • Supporting a dynamic local economy

14. Community and Town Council Sustainability Action Plans The main elements of sustainable development that are relevant at the community level can be summarised as follows: 1. Energy efficiency 2. Community owned renewable energy generation 3. Food and allotments 4. Management of green space and parks 5. Management of local natural resources and ecosystem services 6. Reuse, recycling and waste management 7. Sustainable travel planning 8. Measures to promote well being 9. Stimulating local sustainable trade

15. Strong Roots • Partnership by Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales, One Voice Wales and The Climate Change Consortium Wales. • A project to increase the capacity of community and town councils to both lead and support sustainable development • Enable the development of sustainable, resilient, low-carbon communities. • A bilingual training programme now being delivered by Cynnal Cymru to the Community and Town Council sector

16. Strong Roots Councillors will build their capacity to: • Take action on sustainable development and climate change; • Support voluntary and residents groups to develop their own initiatives; • Provide leadership on sustainable development in their communities and facilitate effective links between citizens and other tiers of government and public administration.

17. Penllyn Partnership • Partnership between five town and community councils in the Bala area • Set up originally to improve the relationship with Gwynedd council • In 2008/9 Gwynedd Council entered into a formal agreement with these authorities whereby the authorities manage the following services – • Grass cutting • Management of local toilets • Management of street furniture, benches etc • Management of recreation areas and children’s play areas • Some road works

18. Penllyn Partnership • Services provided have developed incrementally over the past 3 years • The partnership ha s now secured a grant of £100,00 - pressure to set up a separate body • Issues: • What kind of body to set up? • The creation of local Forums by Gwynedd • roles and responsibilities • need to employ staff with appropriate skills • Issues about representation

19. Monmouthshire RDP Community Led Planning Pilots • Realising rural potential initiative • Axis 3 funding • ‘Connecting Monmouthshire’ pilots • Community led planning • 2 day over weekend consultation • Identification of local service issues • Defining potential future roles for community councils

20. Case Studies Mold Town Council – Cittaslow Gelligaer Community Council – Environmental initiatives Penllyn Community Council – community growing Presteign Town Council – re-cycling Blaenau Ffestiniog – The Green Town initiative Nantglyn Community Council – energy efficiency Llandough Community Council – Biodiversity Scheme Talgarth – sustainable regeneration Mumbles Community Council – community planning

21. There are challenges though... • Funding the transitional growth of local councils • Need for bottom up as well as top down community planning processes • Some kind of bridging will need to take place between the local community and the authorities to create the right decision making spaces to enable communities to engage eg participatory budgeting • Move to vertical integration of community planning (multi-level governance)rather than horizontal co-ordination across agencies • Firm agreements on procedures or protocols for communicating between local communities and key stakeholder organisations eg social enterprises • Recognising time will be needed to embed above including training provision

22. And finally a message to community and town councils post 2012 elections... “Review what you are doing for your communities against your statutory powers including the Power of Wellbeing and be ambitious for your communities in future...challenge yourselves to improve...learn from your innovative peers actions and work with local agencies to deliver better environments for your residents”

23. One Voice WalesUn Llais Cymru Lyn Cadwallader Chief ExecutivePrif Weithredwr Thank You Diolch yn Fawr www.onevoicewales.org.uk

24. Our workshop tasks today (in 20 minutes...) The future role of Community (Parish) Councils in the provision of services to local communities: 3 Ideas for action that can be developed/delivered in Wales / England 3 Issues that others in the conference may be interested in knowing about  or any questions or challenges that the workshop identified.