AS I gather my thoughts for my Politically Speaking column, the dust is still settling after a lively day’s debate at Powys County Hall.

As you will have read elsewhere in this edition, the motion that would have allowed full council to have the final say in issues of secondary school organisation in Powys, rather than the ten strong Cabinet, was defeated by a slender margin of three votes.

I spent a lot of time taking soundings from residents the length and breadth of Powys before coming to my decision. Today, alongside two fellow Liberal Democrat Councillors - and several of the Independents in the Powys Administration - I voted in favour of the full council having the final decision. It is not easy to break ranks with colleagues, especially those held in high regard, but on this occasion, democracy, openness and accountability had to come first.

As Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, I have become increasingly aware in recent months of disquiet over the way local authority cabinet government can operate, with power vested in too few hands - and with a culture where the majority is excluded from influence.

At its worst, it can lead to the arrest and hand cuffing of an ordinary citizen in Carmarthenshire simply for filming the public proceedings of a county council meeting.

I have also given full support to the action taken recently in Pembrokeshire both by Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Education and Skills and Gwenda Thomas AM, Deputy Minister for Social Services, in the face of a dysfunctional County Council that posed a serious threat to the safety of children.

It is no coincidence that a review into the corporate governance of Pembrokeshire County Council has also been launched by the Wales Audit Office.

Powys has the opportunity to operate Cabinet arrangements in a more inclusive way - and not to be ‘prisoners of procedure.’

I hope that today’s slender majority will serve as a reminder to the Powys Cabinet to proceed with caution, especially given the importance and sensitivity of secondary school reorganisation in the County.

I trust that, had he been present, my colleague Cllr Russell George AM would have cast his vote in favour of a full council decision.

Meanwhile, in the National Assembly this week, the Minister for Environment and Sustainability, John Griffiths AM, will be presenting the Sustainable Development Annual Report.

It is disturbing to note that there has been clear progress in only 19 of the 44 indicators selected by the Welsh Government - which is disappointing for an Administration that has so often trumpeted sustainability as its ‘central organising principle.’ However, it is right to celebrate the outstanding success of two Powys communities, namely Presteigne and Norton, in achieving a recycling rate of 74 per cent between April and June this year. This is no mean achievement.

The local residents, the Cwm Harry Land Trust and the Cabinet Member for Recycling, my Liberal Democrat colleague County Councillor Ken Harris together with his team all deserve recognition for their efforts.

If you want to give me your views on any of the issues raised in this article or if you want to consult me on any other matters of concern to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

My email is: william.powell@wales.gov.uk or you can write to me at the National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA, or telephone my Office on 0333 344 0270 (normal call rates). You can also visit my website on www.williampowell.org.uk