A REPORT detailing plans to merge 22 Welsh authorities into eight or nine larger councils, putting close to 2000 administrative jobs at risk, has been criticised by Vale council leader Neil Moore.

Responding to the publication of the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill, Councillor Moore has said that the merger plans have been "a mess of confusion and contradiction from the start" and implored the Welsh Government to abandon the "flawed plan".

The plans, spearheaded by Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews would see up to 1900 administration jobs lost across Wales, but are estimated to generate savings of up to £650m over 10 years.

The merger proposals have favoured the idea of merging the Vale of Glamorgan council with Cardiff City Council, a move the Vale has openly opposed.

If the plans are taken forward after the Assembly elections in May, the new councils could be in operation by April 2020.

Councillor Neil Moore said: “My position as Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council on local government reform has not changed. A merger of the Vale of Glamorgan Council with Cardiff was untenable in June and is even more so today.

"There can be no rationale for merging the highest performing local authority in Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan Council, with Cardiff.

"Such a move would without doubt negatively impact on our excellent track record of high performance and prudent financial management.

"The Vale of Glamorgan is a very different place to Cardiff, both geographically and culturally and has very different needs to that of the capital city.

“The proposed reorganisation of local government in Wales has been a mess of confusion and contradiction from the start.

"In February of this year we were told that our proposal of a voluntary merger of the Vale of Glamorgan with Bridgend County Borough Council would not be considered because it crossed health boundaries. Then bizarrely in June the draft map showed a proposed merger doing just that by merging Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf councils."

Councillor Moore added that, with no meaningful discussions being held with council leaders about the reforms he considered the announcements to be merely a distraction from the "unprecedented budgetary and other significant challenges that local authorities in Wales currently face".

He said: "I continue to urge Welsh Government to abandon this flawed plan and have a real and meaningful conversation with those who understand local government and who work within it for the benefit of local citizens."