North Wales has once again been side-lined by Labour ministers as the newly appointed Citizens Voice Board (CVB) contains only one representative for the region.

In addition, an astonishing 6 out of the 7 board members have an association with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where the current Chair of the Board was the Vice-Chancellor.

Welsh Conservatives are calling on the board to appoint further members to genuinely reflect the whole of Wales, especially the North, and for the headquarters to be located in North Wales.

Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for North Wales Darren Millar MS said:

“This is yet another example of the Welsh Government’s blind spot when it comes to North Wales.

“This new organisation needs to represent the whole of Wales, not just part of the country. And with one in four citizens living in the region we should have 25% representation on the board of this important body.

“The voices of patients and service users in North Wales are equally important as elsewhere and we deserve to have a board which reflects that, especially given the challenges faced by the NHS here in recent years.

“Ministers must now give an indication of its commitment to the region by boosting our representation on the board and establishing the head quarters of Citizen Voice Body in North Wales.”

Also commenting, following raising the issue with the Health Minister in Plenary earlier today, Sam Rowlands MS said:

“It really is a sad state of affairs to see Labour ministers treating North Wales with this disdain.

“Staggeringly, six of the members went to the same university where the current Chair of the Board was Vice-Chancellor. Once again, when it comes to the Labour Government, it seems to be who you know, not what you know.”

“Labour Ministers need to sort this out and ensure North Wales is properly represented on the board.”