Failure to connect is a merger maze - German

1.50.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 24th May 2005

Far from 'Making the Connections' the Labour Assembly Government's quango reform is in danger of unravelling the good work done in promoting tourism and attracting inward investment.

That's according to Mike German, Assembly leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, following the publication of the responses to the Assembly Government's consultation on the mergers of ELWa, WDA and WTB with the Government.

Mr German said:

"There is clear concern that Rhodri Morgan's incoherent merger process will take the focus away from service delivery, staff and skills will be lost and that bringing service delivery quangos into the civil service will mean that they would be less customer orientated. These are the very real fears of the people who work in the areas being merged, and those who benefit from their work.

"Rhodri Morgan's muddled thinking and approach to this reform has clearly not inspired confidence that the merger will go smoothly and benefit the people of Wales. That respondents such as Unison, PCS and Prospect feel the need to point out that the 'Change Programme' needs to be handled with 'sensitivity (and) high level commitment' suggests that the process so far has not been conducted appropriately.

"The 'uncertainty about the future' raised by the WTB highlights Rhodri Morgan's failure to think through, consult properly and give any clarity on the role of expert and experienced staff following the merger. The report makes it clear that there is a need to reassure staff as soon as possible in order to retain skills and expertise. It is typical of Rhodri's high-handed, disconnected approach that staff have to ask for this assurance, despite these reforms supposedly leading to joined-up government.

"The WDA Board is correct when it says that the success or otherwise of the merger will be judged by the extent to which there is a discernible improvement in service delivery, with effect from the first day of the merger. That should be the day when Welsh public service delivery must emerge from Morgan's merger maze, improved, strengthened and more accountable. However the consultation responses shows that Labour's quango reform is stuck in the middle of the maze, failing to make the connections for better services that the people of Wales demand and expect.

"Changes to public service delivery must not endanger the support and expertise that is available to the small business community or the success of commercially minded tourism promotion."