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Jayne Bryant MS, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government

First published:
23 January 2025
Last updated:

I wish to congratulate Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen County Borough Councils on agreeing to appoint a permanent Joint Chief Executive for both councils. 

The appointment follows a 7 month ‘discovery phase’ during which both councils agreed to share the Chief Executive role, while exploratory work took place to evaluate the impact of closer working.

The review from Local Partnerships, which has now concluded, identified several benefits to this approach. There are opportunities to gain financial efficiencies, create a culture of improving services for residents, and drive collaboration and knowledge-sharing. The discovery phase has seen evidence of benefits from increased scale of delivery, stronger strategic planning, and better staff development within the councils.

Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen County Borough Councils have undertaken this exciting project as a federation of two councils of equal status, seeking mutual benefits and exploring new ways of working. They have engaged and built trust among leaders and elected members across councils, building on shared aims to benefit their residents. They have taken a social partnership approach, involving the trades unions throughout. These are clear signs of a healthy curiosity, a commitment to innovation and the maturity of partners across the councils. 

This is an exciting and innovative approach, and one which supports long-term sustainability whilst also retaining the financial and democratic sovereignty of both councils. I applaud their innovation to be proactive in facing current and future demands. There are a number of opportunities for shared learning stemming from this work.

Officials will continue to work closely with partners in the WLGA to support Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Councils and I look forward to seeing the outcomes and learning from their next phase.