A report due out on Monday on the future of public services could call for a cut to the number of councils in Wales from 22 to 11
Council leaders are braced for a major shake-up of Welsh local government and a threat to thousands of jobs.
The Welsh Government commissioned Williams report on the future shape of public services in Wales is expected to be published on Monday.
But council chiefs say that the re-drawing of the local government map – possibly cutting the number of county councils from 22 to 11 – could cost £200m-£300m.
Steve Thomas, the chief executive of the Welsh Local Government Association, said: “I don’t think that figure is unrealistic when you add redundancy costs, new IT systems, the costs of rationalising buildings.”
Halving the number of unitary authorities across Wales – leaving just two or three in North Wales rather than six – would cut 11 chief executives and 66 directors at the top level.
It would also result in staff cuts in shared services such as IT and human resources.
“Our submission to the commission talks about 15,000 to 20,000 job losses, which I don’t think is extreme in a reduction from 22 to 11 authorities,” Mr Thomas said.
“You are looking at about 10% of the workforce.
Source; Daily Post
