Seminar will examine frontline role of local governance in Wales in light of Brexit and Covid-19

Professor Daniel Wincott of Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre will host an academic seminar on Local Governance and Public Policy in Wales.

The first of what is planned as an ongoing series conducted by Professor Wincott into the impact of Brexit and Covid-19 across different layers of territorial government, this seminar brings together leading experts – Dr Christala Sophecleous (WISERD), Professor Steve Martin (Wales Centre for Public Policy) and Professor James Downe (WCPP) – to discuss local governance in Wales.

Daniel Wincott commented:

“Covid-19 has placed a premium on the ability of governments to deliver a coherent bundle of services to people wherever they live. From building new, large scale emergency hospital provision, to monitoring public health within residential and domestic social care, and providing test-and-trace and vaccination programmes, there has been a new urgency about the governance and delivery of social and public services across Wales.

“But while Brexit and Covid have focused attention on differences between the devolved and UK Governments, the role of local authorities has attracted much less attention. And arguably, local government was already neglected in academic research before the pandemic.

“The seminar will bring together leading experts on social and public policy and on local governance in Wales to reflect on where we are, how we got here and what are the upcoming challenges.”

The event on June 30^th will be in the format of an academic seminar using Zoom, with participants able to contribute or simply listen according to their preference. All who are interested in the topic are welcome to attend, but the seminar will be of particular use to researchers, civil servants, policymakers and post-graduate students.

Registration is available via this link.