Posted on: Tuesday 21 January 2025
Torfaen councillors have today approved the appointment of Stephen Vickers as the permanent Joint Chief Executive for both Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent County Borough councils.
Blaenau Gwent Councillors will be asked to make their decision in full council on Thursday 23rd January.
The latest reports received by both councils follows a 7 month ‘discovery phase’ during which both councils agreed to share the Chief Executive role, while exploratory work took place to understand the opportunities and risks of closer working.
The review supported by Local Partnerships concluded following engagement with councillors, senior officers, and staff, as well as representatives of Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association and Trade Unions.
The reports recommended the permanent appointment of a joint Chief Executive, the establishment of a joint leadership team and further work to explore the opportunities and benefits for services. It also highlighted a strong and enthusiastic appetite among councillors for closer working and collaboration.
The Leader of Torfaen County Borough Council, Cllr Anthony Hunt, said: “The status quo isn’t a sensible or attractive option if we want to improve outcomes for residents and sustain vital local services.
“Our decision supports a federation of two councils of equal status. We want to align our organisations where it makes sense to do so, and deliver efficiencies starting at the very top, including the shared salary costs of a federated leadership team. This will allow us to focus resources at the coal face of local service delivery in our communities whilst maintaining our financial and political sovereignty and governance arrangements.
"It also opens the door to sharing best practice and specialist skills and will improve the resilience of small teams, help recruitment, and reduce management and administration costs."
Should Blaenau Gwent councillors also approve the appointment, Local Partnerships who are a joint venture between the Local Government Association, HM Treasury and Welsh Government, will be engaged to develop a strategic outline case including a financial model and criteria for service alignment and prioritisation.
Report to Torfaen Council
Report to Blaenau Gwent Council