The consultation period for the reorganisation of local councils is due to end this month.

Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Public Services at the Welsh Government is promising the White Paper, Reforming Local Government: Power to Local People will reform councils into a smaller number of stronger councils to focus on key priorities and learn to improve the delivery of services across Wales.

"Local councils that reflect local communities are more likely to achieve the trust of those communities when difficult decisions have to be taken by local leadership. We should be making it easier for new people to enter local government at town or community and principal council level," he said. "We must ensure local councils are wholly representative of local communities. We need a far more diverse range of councillors."

There are 22 county or borough councils in Wales spending about £8 billion with over half this coming from The Welsh Government in the form of a grant, the rest is made up of council tax, fees and charges.

At present, there are 1,254 councillors in Wales and the Welsh Government are seeking views on whether the number should be reduced and what factors they should take into account in determining the right number.

There are 735 community councils who work at the town or village level and some serve a very small area. They believe this is too many and the smaller ones simply don't have the resources to get much done, The consultation document goes on to say "they aren't always open and don't always involve the public they serve. In principle they are democratic bodies and for this reason they can raise local taxes, but in reality there is no competition for the vast majority of seats in community council elections".

You can send your views to: Reforming Local Government Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ, or by email to: [email protected]">[email protected].

The closing date is 28th April 2015.