Larger councils 'need to stay connected' to communities

The proposed maps are similar to the pre-1996 county councils

Larger councils need to stay connected to their communities following a shake-up of local government, the public services minister has said.

Leighton Andrews said consultation on the bill to cut the current 22 councils to eight or nine and boost public involvement was supportive.

But there was concern that community area committees might not be effective enough to challenge council leaders.

Civil servants will be asked to look again at the plans, he said.

'Effective voice'

In a written statement on Tuesday, Mr Andrews said responses to the consultation showed support for ideas to get the public more involved in local government and to make councils more competent.

However, there were questions about the duties of councillors and how to improve governance, he added.

"Respondents supported the principle that larger local authorities should be effectively connected to their communities, but expressed concern as to whether community area committees would ensure communities had an effective voice or provide sufficient challenge to the Council's executive," he said.

As for the number of councils and his suggested maps, Mr Andrews said there was "no clear consensus on the future structure".

He confirmed that any decision on council reorganisation would be left to the next Welsh Government following the assembly election in May.