Council leaders attend Welsh government cabinet meeting

The 22 Welsh Council leaders met with all members of the Welsh government cabinet yesterday for a ‘joint cabinet meeting’ considered to be the first of its kind in the UK.

The Welsh Local Government Association said the meeting followed “unprecedented levels of engagement between local government and the Welsh government since the start of the pandemic.”

He was called upon to develop “joint solutions around key challenges”, with a particular focus on social care and climate change.

Leaders and ministers “exchanged ideas for innovative and radical reform”. These included discussions on staff recruitment and retention, delivery models and sustainable funding.

WLGA Chief Andrew Morgan (Lab), Head of Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC, said: “This was a historic meeting which shows mutual respect between the Welsh government and local government; and shows a partnership never seen elsewhere in the UK.

“The Welsh Councils and Government share many priorities as part of realizing a vision to make a real difference in the lives of our communities. “

Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said: [has] developed to help us get through the pandemic and allowed us to work together on behalf of the people who needed us. “

He said that “the challenge now is to focus this partnership on the task of shaping the recovery”, adding that “jointly developing bold, creative and innovative solutions will help us achieve a better Wales”.

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said: “Today was a unique opportunity for all local government leaders and Welsh government ministers to discuss common ambitions and jointly tackle two of our collective challenges the most important: social protection and climate change.