Since my last bulletin there have been several changes on the political scene.
The General Election came and went, no change in Anglesey with Albert Owen retaining his seat, but there have been major changes at Westminster with a coalition of Conservative and Liberal Democrat members forming the new UK government. They have set the budget deficit as their principal challenge and are expecting Local Authorities and Government Departments to deliver the substantial savings required over the next four or five years to balance the UK economy and reduce borrowings currently standing at around £160 billion pounds.
On the local front there have also been changes with a new alliance running the County Council. In July 2009, the Corporate Governance Inspection report was published, it instructed the Authority to address several key issues and lead to the appointment of David Bowles as Interim Managing Director. A Recovery Board was also set up chaired Professor Elen Clos Stephens to supervise the progress and to report to the Minister.
It would be fair to say that initially all members of the Council welcomed the steps taken but over the intervening period a small number of Councillors have made comments which seriously question their commitment to improvement and change. This is a concern to the Minister as much as it is to me and whilst the majority have publicly and privately backed the very many changes that Mr Bowles and Group Leaders have introduced, there remained a few who were frustrating the process.
I decided that if the Council was to maintain the progress that had been made to date, we needed to encompass all groups represented on the Authority. One way of achieving this was to form an unofficial Board with representatives of all groups sitting on the cabinet. Discussions on this radical change to how the Council was governed were commenced under the watchful eye of Steve Thomas, Chief Executive of the WLGA (Welsh Local Government Association).
On Monday 7th June 2010, a further meeting had been convened to implement the changes. At that meeting Môn Ymlaen withdrew from the alliance. A new Executive was formed that included two members of the Labour group and two members of the Menai Group together with three Plaid Cymru Councillors and three from Llais i Fôn.
One of the immediate tasks facing the new Executive was to appear at the Hawl i Holi sessions which took place in Llangefni on 10th June, 2010. I was personally disappointed with the turnout especially as these sessions are, I believe, almost unique in Wales where the public can ask any question of the Executive. I hope that over the coming weeks, the public do turn out in support of the remaining session. There have been considerable discussions about the Council and its direction on local websites and in the press, I am more than happy to meet the public and to discuss policies being pursued by the Executive, I would also welcome constructive input from the public on the future direction of the Authority.
Anglesey County Council along with other Welsh Local Authorities is facing huge budget reductions and we are having to rethink our priorities and how service is delivered. It is for that reason that a good public attendance at Hawl i Holi improves our knowledge and ability to take difficult decisions.
On Friday 18th June 2010, The Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM officially launched the Energy Island project. As an Authority we are very proud of this project as it will deliver a number of opportunities on and around Anglesey, including co-ordinating services towards a new nuclear build at Wylfa. These opportunities will translate into serious employment prospects for our young people and could usher in a period of long term prosperity for Anglesey.
Clive McGregor
Email: leader@anglesey.gov.uk
