Yep, you could save hundreds of millions of pounds if welsh councils merged and centralised systems.
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Well I was quietly getting grumpy about the prospect, seems to have distracted all people on Facebook complaining about the eisteddfod to complain about bins instead anyway. Even one comment I saw “they’ll expect us to throw toilet waste from the windows next”
Reading the comments on here has changed my mind and I’m back to not caring again, good to get some balance
Yep, you could save hundreds of millions of pounds if welsh councils merged and centralised systems.
I think that's good in theory, but one good thing (for me at least) about our local authorities is that it puts council control in the hands of more local people who, should at least, have more of an idea of what their local communities need. Imagine a large South Wales council (say like the old Glamorgan). What do locals in Cardiff know about the top of the valleys and vice versa? It's also why I'm an advocate of devolution, decisions about Wales mainly happen in Wales by people who live in Wales. Westminster knows feck all about what Wales needs. I'd be saying that regardless of which party is in power. I'd rather be ruled by Tories in Wales (if that happened) than by Tories in Westminster.
It is noticeable that most criticisms of council decisions in Wales comes from those who would vote Tory or Reform - it's an anti-Labour thing - if Labour thought this up then it must be a bad idea. That happens in reverse as well, though I will look at Tory and Reform ideas and dismiss them if I think they're nonsense, not just because of where they originated.
People forget that it's the public who vote for local councillors. Good councillors get re-elected if they've been good enough at their job and I think candidates are as strong as parties. Voting percentages are always crap for local elections, so I find it amusing that people moan about councils without even voting in council elections.
You are right about a benefit of so many local authorities being that you generally will get more localised councillors. That is surely true and no bad thing.
On balance though, I don't think we have it right in Wales. 22 Local Authorities is a pretty insane number per capita and we could merge several (blaenau Gwent and Torfaen, Merthyr with Caerphilly etc) and get down to perhaps 15 or so I think it would help. There is a lot of duplication of resources.
To compensate, I am a big fan of community councils, who have often tiny budgets but are rooted in communities in terms of events and information and low level maintenance. I would gladly see more of them and a consolidation of local authorities.
Talking to my youngest sons partner she reckons they made a massive cock up when ordering the new fleet of trucks which can't pick up the wheelie bins at all.