The Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) have renewed their Strategic Partnership Agreement, with commitments covering fair funding, reducing bureaucracy and sector-led improvement.
The renewed agreement was launched at the WLGA Conference and is intended to strengthen the working relationship between national and local government. It includes new collective commitments on Welsh-speaking communities, economic development and regeneration, alongside updated commitments on equity, inclusivity and participation, health inequalities, poverty and abuse in politics.
Siân Gwenllian MS, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, said: “This renewed Agreement reflects our determination, as a new Welsh Government, to build a close and trusted partnership with local government from day one.
“Councils are on the front line of delivering the services people rely on every day, and I want them to know that we will work with them, not around them, as we take forward our priorities for Wales.
“It is important that people across Wales can see the real difference this renewed relationship makes to their lives and communities.”
WLGA Leader Councillor Anthony Hunt said: “Strong partnership between local and national government matters because the decisions we make together affect people’s everyday lives, from the care they receive and the homes they live in to their schools, jobs and local communities.
“This agreement gives us a shared foundation for working together with trust, openness and respect. By listening to councils and drawing on their understanding of the communities they serve, we can make better decisions, support services under pressure and improve outcomes for people across Wales.”
The agreement applies to Wales’s 22 principal county and county borough councils. It does not cover town and community councils, fire and rescue authorities or national park authorities, which have separate agreements.
