The membership and make-up of local councils, especially in cities
such as Swansea and Cardiff, has become more diverse and varied over the last
25 years. When I was first elected to the world of local government at the
tender age of 32 back in 1989 on the old West Glamorgan County Council – which
at the time consisted of a large Labour Group with a hefty majority - I was
considered very young, possibly too young to be a councillor, amongst a group
of predominantly men aged over 60 and retired.
Needless to say, local government and local democracy has come a
long way since then!
Today, Swansea Council has a gender mix of 42 men and 29 women,
with at least three of its members openly gay. The Swansea Council Labour Group
is even more gender balanced with 21 women and 27 men, whilst the Labour councillors
in my own constituency of Swansea East strike a gender balance of 10 men and 10
women.
In terms of the average age, there has been a remarkable shift
with at least 4 councillors still in their early twenties, including Cockett
Ward’s Mitchell Theaker, who I believe holds the impressive title of being the
youngest Cabinet Member in the UK.
On ethnicity, Swansea Council also has two black female councillors,
one of whom was selected by the local Morriston Labour Party to replace me as
the Labour candidate when I stood down from the council in May 2012 to
concentrate on my role as an Assembly Member.
I realise not all Welsh local councils have made the impressive
progress that has been achieved in Swansea towards producing a council
membership that is far more representative of the areas and communities it
covers; however progress has been made in other parts of Wales.
For local government to be transparent and accountable, it relies
upon an active and open local press. Again in Swansea, we are lucky in that we
have a local paper that is both daily, and closely follows the activities and
business agenda of our local council. Of course, when I was Council Leader,
there were times I wished it had followed the council less closely!
But with the reality that very few members of the public attend council
meetings, it’s even more imperative that the press is there to report accurately
and fairly what is happening and what decisions are being taken by the people
we have elected to watch over our City.
After all, it’s through the local press that most people will get their
council and local political news from, which further highlights the role of the
press in the scrutiny and decision process.
That is why I was pleased
that the previous Welsh Government Minister for Local Government, Carl
Sargeant, gave his blessing for local councils to continue to publish certain
statutory notices, including planning applications, in local papers. If that
money and “business” had been removed from the local press, I believe that it
would have seriously curtailed local reporting.
At the start of
this year, I welcomed the action being taken by the Welsh Government in
recognising the importance of broadcasting and live streaming council meetings,
which led to funding worth £1.25 million being divvied out between councils to
improve local democracy and strengthen public engagement.
Although, I’m not naive enough to think that this funding will lead to the
viewing figures of council meetings rivaling that of Coronation Street, I am fully behind the idea of broadcasting
and live streaming council meetings on websites.
In a modern democracy where technology is used on a daily basis, it’s only
right that members of the public see how decisions affecting their everyday lives
are taken, as well as having the opportunity to play an active role in the scrutiny
process.
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