NEWPORT council has dipped into the local government reorganisation debate, urging a body looking into the issue not to lose sight of the importance of identity.

A report approved by cabinet says Newport council should be a key centre in any future model for governance, but there needs to be a real debate about the type and level of public services that can be afforded in Wales.

The arguments come in a submission to the Welsh Government-backed Public Services Commission, which has been widely heralded as looking into the future shape of local government in Wales and is looking into how public services apart from health are governed.

“Newport City Council.... is a very good example of a sense of place combining with a significant population cluster to provide the basis for a long term centre for public service delivery,” the submission says.

“The city has an identity which reaches far beyond the boundaries of the city of Wales which stimulate investment and thus create economic growth.

“Compromising the benefit which this identity brings could lead to a diminution in the quality of public services in the future,” it continues.

“As such we believe this should be a material consideration for the commission in its deliberations.”

The response to the commission also argues that there “needs to be a real debate about the type and level of public services which can be afforded within Wales.”

It argues that the size of the organisations is not the most relevant factor in the debate, saying

Will Godfrey, chief executive of Newport council, gave the examples of the defunct Avon and Cleveland county councils to a meeting of Newport's cabinet.

“One of the reasons they were abolished as that no one had any commitment to them,” he said, suggesting they didn’t reflect the identities of the areas they served.

Newport Labour council leader Councillor Bob Bright said: “Newport clearly has a sense of place. We see it as a hub. We need to manage that change and embrace it.”

Debbie Wilcox, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said it is a “game changing moment” in the provision of public services and local government.

Some local government figures in Wales have called for 21 local authorities in Britain to be slimmed down, although the Welsh Government is reported to have ruled out shaking up how councils work in Wales before the next Assembly election.