Local Assembly Members Paul Davies and Angela Burns have condemned the Welsh Government’s plans for local government reform in Wales, which would result in Pembrokeshire being merged with Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire. The Welsh Government’s plans, highlighted in the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill will result in cutting the number of Welsh councils from 22 to eight or nine and as a result, Pembrokeshire will be merged into a Dyfed-style authority.
Mr Davies said, “I’m extremely concerned that the Welsh Government are turning the clock back to an old Dyfed-style model that was distant and unpopular. Centralising local public services does not mean in improvement in local services and any merger with Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion is certainly not representing the will of local communities in Pembrokeshire.”
He added, “Pembrokeshire is a distinctive global brand, synonymous with tourism, agriculture and food produce. I want to see that brand protected and promoted to attract more and more people to our county and there are fears that the Pembrokeshire brand would be lost under these proposals. I will continue to campaign against these proposals and do all that I can to protect Pembrokeshire’s unique identity.”
Mrs Burns said “when will the Labour Government learn? People in Wales want to be able to influence the services they receive. It’s hard enough to deal with the Group in Haverfordwest but how much more difficult if they were Carmarthen or Llanelli centric. I thought that we had all made our views clear when we were a part of the deeply unpopular Dyfed.
And I am deeply suspicious of the alleged savings that the Labour Government claim the reorganisation will produce. Having observed the promise of savings without reduction in provision over the past years in other areas such as Health and Education it seems to me that the costs don’t go down, that accountability becomes more fudged and that equitable and consistent service provision simply doesn’t happen. I will continue to protect the interests of Pembrokeshire”
