Council leader to take on residents’ questions in new video series

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter 

Residents in a Welsh county will be given new opportunities to ask questions of the council’s new leader who wants to improve communication with the public.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who took the top job earlier in November, said he will answer residents’ questions about public services in monthly videos.

In a bid to “do things a bit differently”, he said he would welcome “challenging” questions on the council’s policies and performance, and on its plans for all corners of the borough.

The council leader said he hoped to attract “wide-ranging” questions on matters from education to leisure, and other “key things the council deals with”.

“I’ll answer difficult questions – it’s part of my job as leader,” he added.

The new Q&A sessions will not be an opportunity for county councillors to challenge the leader, however, because they already have “various formats” to ask questions.

These include formal questions at council meetings as well as the opportunity for face-to-face conversations.

Instead, Cllr Pritchard said the idea was to appear “in front of the public” regarding the issues that matter to them.

Anyone wishing to send questions to Cllr Pritchard can submit them via a dedicated email address, [email protected]