360° SearchNetwork Hot Spots Trends Time Series

Welsh Local Government Association

Type: Organization

Name: Welsh Local Government Association

First reported 19 hours ago - Updated 19 hours ago - 1 reports

Anglesey council to run its own affairs again

The Welsh Government is to end its two-year involvement in the running of Isle of Anglesey County Council at the end of the month, handing control back to councillors following elections earlier this month. Commissioners have been running the authority ... [Published Public Finance Magazine - 19 hours ago]

Entities: Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Government, Interference, Welsh Local Government Association, Wales Audit Office

First reported May 22 2013 - Updated May 22 2013 - 1 reports

Wales TUC

'Painful' cuts decisions warning

The first minister is to signal further cuts to Welsh public spending, warning of "painful" decisions ahead. Carwyn Jones is due to address the Wales TUC conference later.He is expected to tell delegates his government is braced for further cuts in funding ... [Published BBC - May 22 2013]

Entities: Carwyn Jones, Wales TUC, Welsh Local Government Association, Lesley Griffiths

First reported May 19 2013 - Updated May 19 2013 - 1 reports

Fears of social service reform costs

Major changes to social services could result in extra costs for taxpayers, health service and local government leaders have warned.The Welsh government says legislation giving new rights to carers will be "cost neutral". The minister responsible said ... [Published BBC - May 19 2013]

Entities: Gwenda Thomas, Welsh Local Government Association, Welsh NHS, Wales, Well-being

First reported May 13 2013 - Updated May 13 2013 - 1 reports

'Nightmare scenario' as Welsh councils fear violent cuts to services after Treasury spending review

The Welsh Local Government Association has warned the days of "small scale savings" are over, with funding for sports facilities, libraries, children's centres and museums at riskChancellor George Osborne is set to deliver a spending review next mont ... [Published Wales Online - May 13 2013]

Entities: Welsh Government, Wales, Nightmare, Welsh Local Government Association, UK Government

First reported May 03 2013 - Updated May 03 2013 - 1 reports

Welsh Government: Minister calls for more to be done to increase diversity

Welsh Government press releaseMinister calls for more to be done to increase diversity of Councillors in Wales.More needs to be done to ensure County and Community Councils better reflect the communities they serve, Local Government Minister, Lesley Griffiths ... [Published PoliticsHome - May 03 2013]

Entities: Welsh Government, Wales, Welsh Local Government Association, Lesley Griffiths

First reported May 03 2013 - Updated May 03 2013 - 1 reports

Merthyr council's chief executive 'disappointed' at findings of critical Wales Audit Office report

Chief executive of Merthyr Tydfil council Gareth Chapman said he was disappointed with some aspect of the Wales Audit Office report that criticises the authority's performance over the last 12 months, but says he will accept its recommendationsMerthyr ... [Published Wales Online - May 03 2013]

Entities: Wales Audit Office, Recycling, Landfill

First reported Apr 27 2013 - Updated Apr 27 2013 - 1 reports

Welsh Government announced National Adoption Service model

A MODEL for a National Adoption Service has been announced by the Welsh Government.Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, said she had received a functional model for the service proposed by the Association of Directors of Social Services ... [Published This Is South Wales - Apr 27 2013]

Entities: Welsh Government, Adoption, Gwenda Thomas

First reported Apr 22 2013 - Updated Apr 22 2013 - 1 reports

Frustration over council contracts

A policy to help local companies win contracts worth billions has only been adopted by two Welsh councils, BBC Wales has found.Finance Minister Jane Hutt told The Wales Report that she expects councils to "improve their game" in procurement. 51% of the ... [Published BBC - Apr 22 2013]

Entities: Jane Hutt, Wales, Welsh Local Government Association, Steve Thomas, Leanne Wood

First reported Apr 19 2013 - Updated Apr 20 2013 - 2 reports

Reorganisation Wales grasps the nettle at last

By Alison ThomasWell, you wouldn't start from here, would you. Many people I have talked to in Welsh politics and public administration over the years have readily admitted that having 22 unitary councils in a small country of three million people is ... [Published Public Service - Apr 19 2013]

Entities: Nettle, Wales, Welsh Local Government Association, Welsh NHS

First reported Apr 15 2013 - Updated Apr 16 2013 - 2 reports

North Wales News: Housing welfare cuts will ‘lead to more evictions’

CUTS to the housing benefit system in Wales will prompt rising rent arrears and evictions, alongside ??chaotic? social problems, MPs were warned yesterday.Welsh housing minister Carl Sargeant set out his ?deep concern? over the implications of the UK ... [Published North Wales Daily Post - Apr 16 2013]

Entities: Constructive Eviction, Wales, Welsh Local Government Association, Social Welfare, Carl Sargeant

First reported Mar 22 2013 - Updated Mar 22 2013 - 1 reports

22/03/2013 Torfaen education report shows the need for urgent action from all levels of government

Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Minister Simon Thomas has said urgent action from the Welsh Government and Torfaen’s Council leadership is needed to ensure improved education outcomes for children in Torfaen and across Wales.An Estyn report into Torfaen ... [Published Plaid Cymru - Mar 22 2013]

Entities: Education, Welsh Government, Plaid Cymru

First reported Jan 22 2013 - Updated Jan 22 2013 - 1 reports

22/01/2013 Plaid Cymru Leader Warns of “Catastrophic” Effect of Bedroom Tax

The leader of the Party of Wales has warned of the “catastrophic” impact the bedroom tax will have on the 40,000 people in Wales affected by the changes to housing benefit.According to calculations made by the Welsh Local Government Association, this ... [Published Plaid Cymru - Jan 22 2013]

Entities: Plaid Cymru, Wales, Leanne Wood

Quotes

Appearing before the assembly's health committee, Welsh NHS Confederation director Helen Birtwhistle said: "We too would question whether this can be cost neutral and I know that there's a lot of background work going on. "Our colleagues in the WLGA are looking at costs and finances and financial implications and assessments of that. I think that's going to be a very important piece of work. "It goes without saying in the current economic climate costs continue to be a challenge for public services, whether it's health services, social care and indeed the third sector." She said it was not clear from the information provided by the government "how transformational change will be funded". "Cost is a big issue and the bill is very broad," she added. Deputy social services minister Gwenda Thomas said: "Evidence shows that the current model of social care provision in Wales is no longer sustainable. "The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill is a response to this and seeks to put inin place a more robust framework for care and support which will last a generation. "It follows that it is financially imperative for this bill to be cost neutral over the long term. "There is no more money and we simply cannot replace the existing framework with one that costs more." She said the Welsh government would provide "transition funding" to implement the changes and that grants were available to train staff. "I welcome the WLGA's acceptance that there are built-in savings but do not agree that these will be outweighed by potential costs," Mrs Thomas said. She added she was confident that savings would be found through "greater integration of health and social care, a more proportionate approach to assessment and an increased focus on early intervention and prevention"."

Fears of social service reform costs [Published BBC - May 19 2013]

"It is a model that I believe will achieve the step-change and radical reform we have all sought" she added

Welsh Government announced National Adoption Service model [Published This Is South Wales - Apr 27 2013]

..." Ms Hutt said "collaboration" was the answer. She said: "In north Wales all the local authorities have to work together. They have a single framework for the 21st Century Schools programme. "That's over £160m we're talking about; that's jobs in the construction industry. Collaboration is the name of the game here in Wales and that's what we expect as a Welsh government." Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood called on the Welsh government to introduce legislation. She said: "We have been talking about our procurement policy for years and we're still only at 50%. Legislation would lock public spending into our communities. We cannot afford to wait." The Wales Report is on BBC One Wales on Sunday nights and is also available on the iPlayer."

Frustration over council contracts [Published BBC - Apr 22 2013]

The Welsh Government has announced a new Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery, with the aim of providing "an opportunity for those who are involved in delivering services, those who are politically accountable for them and users of them to examine how public services are governed: that is, held accountable for their performance and delivered most effectively to the public."

Reorganisation Wales grasps the nettle at last [Published Public Service - Apr 19 2013]