Councils urged to 'look at leadership' in merger process
The man who wrote a report on council reorganisation has urged authorities to examine closely the way they are run as well as their boundaries.
A year ago, Sir Paul Williams had called for the 22 councils to be cut by around half among recommendations about improved leadership and a review of their services.
Since then six authorities - Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan, and Conwy and Denbighshire - had proposed pairing up.
But their proposals were rejected by Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews, who felt the six councils had not set out a "compelling vision" for merger.
Sir Paul told BBC Radio Wales that further delay would "harm" frontline services, but he said there was more to reform than creating larger councils.
29 Jan 2015