Review of Public Service Delivery in Wales

In my oral statement in Plenary on the 14th June on the action plan for Making the Connections, entitled Delivering the Connections, I referred to my intention to establish a radical review of local service delivery.

The aim is to identify opportunities for real service improvements - better quality, efficiency and accountability – within existing structures.

I’m pleased to announce that Sir Jeremy Beecham has agreed to conduct the review. His experience of local government is vast. He was leader of Newcastle City Council for 17 years, and was elected Chair of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities in 1991. In 1997 he became the first Chair of the Local Government Association, a post he held until last year, he is now the vice Chair.

His expertise extends into many other fields including health, for example as a member of the UK Government’s NHS modernisation board. He is a highly respected figure across the political spectrum.  

He is both committed to local government and completely open –minded about developing and improving its role and operation.  He has been a leading thinker and practitioner in this field for several decades and I’m delighted that he is willing to work with us in thinking radically about improving delivery in Wales.

Sir Jeremy will work with a small team of senior people with complementary expertise. Its role will be to ensure that the review is informed by new thinking across sectors - we’ll be announcing the details in September.