'A little bit of cronyism' denied by council leader with new top job

A senior council leader who publicly supported the leadership campaign of Health Secretary Jeremy Miles has been lined-up to chair the Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

Andrew Morgan denied he was tipped for the job as a result of cronyism when he appeared for a pre-appointment hearing in the Senedd on Tuesday.

The leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said he hoped "people would judge me on my track record" rather than his politics in the Labour party.

Morgan is stepping down from his council job in April and is Miles' preferred candidate for the £69,840-a-year job.

Pre-appointment hearings in the Senedd are scrutiny sessions where preferred candidates for key public appointments are questioned.

Addressing Morgan, Reform MS James Evans told the committee: "There is going to be a perception that you backed the current health secretary to be the first minister, you are a member of the Labour party, there will be elements out there that will say there's a little bit of cronyism."

Morgan rejected the suggestion that he was in line for the job because of who he knew.

He said: "Anybody who knows me knows I wouldn't be that way inclined. If I go for something, its based on ability."

Morgan backed Miles for the Welsh Labour leadership in 2023 before his loss to Vaughan Gething.

Morgan was asked by the committee what made him suitable for the role on the board, which provides health services in Caerphilly.

He responded that he had led a major organisation with 10,000 staff, a budget of £900m, and had a "lot of experience" in having a "constructive relationship" with executive officers.

Morgan said Rhondda Cynon Taf had "exceptionally good outcomes in inspections over the last 12 months, amongst the best in Wales".

He added he had also "worked cross party" in his role as leader of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA).

"I would hope that people would judge me on my track record as an individual leading organisations, rather than my party politics," he said.

"I've always tried to be very middle of the road [and] work with everybody."

Morgan said he wanted to focus on getting "permanent in-house staff" on to the board, "rather than relying on agency" workers.

The councillor said he wanted to be confident the "model" of services at Grange Hospital, whose accident and emergency department was criticised last year for failing to improve despite extra staff and investment, was "deliverable".

While he praised "a lot" of what went on at the hospital he said some "patient experiences" at the Cwmbran hospital were "not good".

Morgan confirmed he would quit as WLGA leader after the Senedd election in May and will step down as a councillor for Mountain Ash ward in May 2027.

Other health board chairs have come from a variety of political backgrounds.

Jonathan Morgan, who heads up Cwm Taf Morgannwg, is a former Conservative assembly member; Kirsty Williams, who chairs Cardiff and Vale health board, was a Liberal Democrat MS and had served as a Welsh government education minister, while Dyfed Edwards, chairman of Betsi Cadwaladr, is a former Plaid Cymru leader in Gwynedd.