Council leader admits cabinet need to earn trust of the people

Recently, leader councillor Rosemarie Harris launched the 'Powys 2025' which sets out what the county council and the cabinet want to achieve over the coming years.

She admitted the new cabinet has been looking at addressing issues that came about from the last cabinet, and there new message is about being more "open and transparent".

She said: "We appreciate that we need to earn the trust of the people.

"When we formed the new cabinet, we looked specifically at the issues that we had been told about in the run up to the election in May and because there were many comments about HWRCs we listened to the people and looked again at the issues and decided to change the original decision.

"There have also been other, similar issues.

"Powys has always prided itself on being and open and accountable council but the new cabinet is determined to build on past successes and strengthen its links with communities, particularly town and community councils.

"Community delivery, where other organisations increasingly delivery local services, has become a key feature recently and that work demands clear communication between organisations.

"It is important that residents, businesses and partners understand our aims and ambitions for the county."

May's election brought a raft of changes within Powys county hall.

A number of old councillors stepped aside with a wave of new faces filling the council chamber.

One change was Councillor Harris, as the first female leader, and she has already implemented change within the council.

The council has become more commercial, already securing a deal to offer fraud investigation services to two other councils.

She said challenges lay ahead but the cabinet are keen to change things to tackle these challenges.

She said: "A strong economy is essential if we are to continue to provide good quality service delivery.

"The council is embarking on a number of significant capital projects and providing community benefits is an important part of contract management.

"The council is also taking a more commercial approach to the way it works and that is designed to keep the Powys pound in Powys and help support the economy.

"The cabinet has set out an ambitious vision for 2025 but it would not be a vision if it wasn’t ambitious."

The 2025 vision set out plans for the council to create more jobs and apprenticeships for young people.

Councillor Harris admitted one challenge would be there the finances will come from to fund that, but it is a challenge that the cabinet will relish.

She added: "Local government has undergone and will continue to undergo huge change to raise to the challenge of service delivery in the 21st century.

"Like all organisations we need an agile, flexible and skilled workforce to maintain service delivery, to do that we have to recruit and retain high calibre staff, provide training and professional support and be an exemplar employer.

"The council has a significant revenue and capital budgets as well as other resources which it can use to achieve its goals.

"The vision will require imaginative use of existing budgets and resources to deliver real change for residents.

"The council can also act as an enabler in many situations and may not even have to provide investment."