Anglesey council to run its own affairs again

23 May 13
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.

By Richard Johnstone | 23 May 2013

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 on May 2.

Commissioners have been running the authority since March 2011 after the Wales Audit Office said direct government control was necessary following long-running political and personal disputes between factions of independent councillors.

Local Government Minister Lesley Griffiths said today she was ‘convinced the council can now manage its own affairs without external intervention’.

After visiting the council and addressing the newly elected members, she said the authority had made ‘sustained progress’.

She added: ‘Therefore the Welsh Government’s intervention will formally end when the current direction expires on May 31.

‘Under the guidance of the commissioners, the council has demonstrated green shoots of recovery and we expect to see continuing improvement.’

Griffiths added that, in order to ensure progress was maintained, the government was in discussions with the council, commissioners and the Welsh Local Government Association to determine if ongoing support was required. ‘This stage of the council’s recovery journey is now complete and progress in the past two years has been encouraging.’

Speaking on behalf of the team of commissioners, Mick Giannasi, who has been involved throughout the intervention, said the authority had ‘a bright future’.

He added: ‘As commissioners, we were glad to be in a position where we feel confident to recommend the minister brings intervention to an end. During the two years we have spent on Anglesey, we have met many hardworking and dedicated people fully committed to doing the best for the people of the island.’

Anglesey chief executive Richard Parry Jones welcomed Griffiths’ announcement.

He said: ‘I'm confident that the authority is now more than capable of managing its own affairs. We're already making good progress in delivering service improvements and have responded positively to the guidance provided by commissioners and our regulators.

‘The authority now has an ambitious transformation programme in place which will provide a catalyst for significant service improvements on behalf of people of Anglesey.’

Spacer

CIPFA logo

PF Jobsite logo

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top