Corporate Joint Committee

A Corporate Joint Committee is a type of local government institution introduced in Wales by the Local Government and Elections Act 2021.

History

A Local Government and Elections Act 2021 became law in January 2021. It contained provisions to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 for local elections in Wales and to extend the franchise to include eligible foreign nationals. It extended the term of local councillors from four years to five years. The law allows local councils to decide to continue to hold elections under first past the post system or to switch to the single transferable vote system. It created a framework for joint regional coordination between local authorities through the formation of Corporate Joint Committees. Four Corporate Joint Committees covering all of Wales, were established by statutory instruments in April 2021.

Structure

Each committee is made up the leaders of the principal councils within its areas and chairs of national park authorities. They must appoint a chief executive, a finance officer and a monitoring officer. They are corporate bodies which can employ staff, hold assets and have dedicated budgets.

Powers

Corporate Joint Committees have powers relating to economic well-being, strategic planning and the development of regional transport policies. They have a statutory duty to prepare Strategic Development Plans and Regional Transport Plans.

List of Corporate Joint Committees

In April 2021, four Corporate Joint Committees were created covering all of Wales:

Corporate Joint Committee	Map	Principal councils	URL
Mid Wales Corporate Joint Committee		Ceredigion Powys
North Wales Corporate Joint Committee		Anglesey Conwy Denbighshire Flintshire Gwynedd Wrexham
South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee		Blaenau Gwent Bridgend Caerphilly Cardiff Merthyr Tydfil Monmouthshire Newport Rhondda Cynon Taf Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan
South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee		Carmarthenshire Neath Port Talbot Pembrokeshire Swansea