Welsh councils issue wish list ahead of 2026 Senedd Elections including calls for sustainable funding for social care and greater planning freedoms

The manifesto, produced by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) in collaboration with all 22 Welsh councils, outlines six themes aimed at improving how councils function.  

These themes are:

• A sustainable funding plan for services, including social care, so that councils can move from "firefighting" pressure points towards long-term planning for the future.
• A council-led way of working together across regions that's flexible and focused on saving money, strengthening services, and helping people.
• Working together for Wales by strengthening the Partnership Agreement between local and Welsh Government, with fair funding for any new duties.
• Adopting a new Prevention focus to tackle ill-health, climate change adaptation, nature recovery, as well as leisure and recreation. 
• Prioritising a digital Wales by fully resourcing a digital strategy for Wales, using data and technology to transform public services
• New freedoms and flexibilities for Welsh Councils to deliver urban renewal and rural resilience, focusing on the sustainable growth of our communities.

On its recommendation regarding planning, the WLGA said: "[We want to see] a shift of emphasis from legislative prescription to new freedoms and flexibilities for Councils to demonstrate how, by working together, they can produce local and regional strategies that deliver urban renewal alongside the sustainable growth of the more rural areas, in a way which sustains their social, economic, and environmental character."

Elsewhere in the document, the WLGA said there should be earlier engagement and meaningful co-design between Welsh councils and Welsh Government on new legislation and policy initiatives.

"When Welsh Councils agree to take on new duties, these will be fairly funded, replacing government-imposed burdens with opportunities to deliver," it added.

It also called for parties and Welsh councils to co-produce a strategic vision for regional governance, sustainable growth and planning, respecting local democracy and giving councils the tools to collaborate where it improves people's lives.

This should include a "commonly agreed, democratically based and flexible regional approach, with additional powers passed down from national to local government, not just powers moved from the local to regional level", the manifesto added.

The document called on Welsh political parties to consider these themes in their own manifestos.

The WLGA will follow up the six themes with a more detailed Phase 2 document, which will seek to positively inform the next programme for government and the wider debate around the vital 2026 elections.

Adam Carey