SPECIAL cabinet meetings will be held simultaneously by two Gwent councils to discuss a possible merger.

The leader of Torfaen Council, Cllr Bob Wellington and the leader of Blaenau Gwent Council, Cllr Hedley McCarthy have announced jointly that the meetings will happen on on Monday 20 October.

This announcement follows Torfaen’s previous response to the Williams Commission which outlined that should reorganisation be necessary, a preferred position would see Torfaen merge with Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire.

The Williams Commission recommended that Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly merge.

Cllr Bob Wellington, said: "The special cabinet will seek approval for a discussion in full council to open exploratory talks with colleagues in Blaenau Gwent.

"Local government is evolving and the pragmatic view is that the status quo is no longer an option. An uncontrolled drift towards a forced merger will become a massive distraction and will not deliver the speed or savings required to avoid services being cut to a point of no return.

Cllr McCarthy said: "We have now reached a tipping point. With finances expected to decline for several years we can only expect fundamental changes to local public services. We have a duty to explore options for a voluntary merger which could alleviate current financial pressures and could also benefit from support and financial benefits from the Welsh Government.

"We must not seek solutions in isolation and believe opening discussions with Torfaen presents the best option for our communities and the best way to preserve valued services that local people rely on." Cllr Wellington added: "We are also still open to wider discussions which could deliver a merger solution in line with our original preference. This was considered the least problematic solution for south east Wales and made sense geographically with Newport remaining as a city local authority.

"In the meantime, both Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen will continue to seek clarity from the Welsh Government on the proposals with regard to timescales, transitional arrangements, service and workforce implications and above all cost. Any change must be firmly based on a robust cost benefit analysis and precise identification of the up front resources required to pay for such large scale change.

"Before making any final decisions in June 2015, we will hold a full debate in Council and speak with our staff, Trade Unions and local residents."