Powys County Council Reinforces Leadership Oversight to Restore Services

22 May 2026

Powys County Council has confirmed strengthened leadership arrangements within its Place directorate, alongside refreshed Cabinet responsibilities, to improve oversight, responsiveness and accountability across frontline services.

As part of these changes, Cllr Richard Church, Cabinet Member for Legal and Regulatory Services, has taken on responsibility for the council's waste and recycling service. This aligns key frontline services within a single portfolio, creating greater opportunity to strengthen performance, integration and accountability. 

Cllr Church and Matt Perry, Chief Officer for Place, will also provide closer operational oversight across services to drive improvement and ensure lessons are learned following recent service challenges.

This enhanced leadership approach is designed to:

• Strengthen day-to-day operational grip and accountability
• Improve responsiveness to residents and partners
• Provide clearer oversight of service performance and risk
• Ensure previous issues are addressed and not repeated

Cllr Richard Church said: "Residents of Powys are entitled to reliable, high-quality services, and it is essential that we restore confidence where this has fallen short.

"By strengthening both political and operational oversight, and bringing key services together under clearer leadership, we are ensuring services are held to account and that improvements are delivered at pace. Our focus is firmly on putting things right and making sure failures are not repeated."

Matt Perry added: "Our immediate priority is restoring the services that residents rely on. By increasing senior leadership visibility and oversight, we will improve how services are managed, how quickly issues are addressed, and how effectively we respond to our communities.

"We are committed to learning from recent challenges, strengthening our systems and delivering consistent, reliable services going forward."

The council will continue to closely monitor progress, with a clear focus on delivering sustained improvement, rebuilding trust, and ensuring residents receive the level of service they expect and deserve.