CONSERVATIVE Welsh Assembly leader, Nick Bourne AM, will raise questions in the Welsh Assembly to discover if any Assembly money was spent on the plans to merge Powys County Council and Powys Local Health Board.
The planned merger between the two authorities was recently halted, with a number of difficulties cited including the financial implications, particularly the health board's £20 deficit and its policy of making no redundancies.
He is also writing to the council and the health board to discover what precise decisions have been taken on the proposed merger and how much money has so far been expended on this project.
Nick Bourne, who is also Leader of the Opposition in Wales, said: "I am certainly pleased that the plans to merge Powys County Council and the Local Health Board are on hold. The economic viability of the merger was at best always deeply suspect and I raised these concerns repeatedly.
"The report from KPMG and the consequential decision to shelve these merger plans, demonstrates that scepticism was well founded and that close collaboration, rather than full integration, is a better goal.
"The decision to merge two publicly funded organisations with vast financial problems during the economic turmoil of the last 18 months was always a decision of limited judgement.
"I would very much like to know how much money has been spent on these halted merger plans and I will be asking questions to obtain this figure. The taxpayers of Powys have a right to know how their money is being spent.
"That said, if a more effective and efficient working collaboration between both organisations is the result of the aforementioned process, then that would certainly be a positive. Efficiency savings are a must for both the council and the health board and will be greatly welcomed."
Both Powys County Council and the Local Health Board responded by inisisting plans have not been shelved - and both are committed to finding a way forward.
Chief Executive, Jeremy Patterson told councillors that the report showed potential for savings of £6m-£14m but that there were significant barriers to a full merger. The findings however, should not prevent work continuing to integrate services and management to deliver these savings and service improvements.
“We will continue to look to integrate services as widely as possible to generate efficiency savings and streamline service delivery and we should not allow these obstacles to prevent this.” he said.
Mr Patterson said the report highlighted the health board’s £20m deficit, no redundancy policy, different decision making processes and staff modernisation issues as barriers which would have to be overcome to achieve full merger. He told councillors he would be writing to the Welsh Assembly immediately to explain how the council and the teaching health board proposed to take the merger forward.
Andrew Cottom, Chief Executive of Powys teaching Health Board added; “We are firmly committed to further integration of health and social services. There are obstacles to overcome with regard to full merger and these remain subject of discussion but we are fully committed to the principles of a full merger."
The KPMG report will be considered at future board meetings of both the county council and health board.