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Former Education Minister Leighton Andrews has made a dramatic return to frontline Welsh politics in a surprise Welsh Government reshuffle.

The controversial Rhondda Assembly Member was handed the role of leading reform of local government reorganisation and public service reform as the head of a new Public Services ministry.

Mr Andrews said it was a “slight surprise” to find himself back in government.

Despite his appointment, he kept a commitment to take part in a panel debate at a conference organised by the Institute of Welsh Affairs on the implications of the Scottish referendum for Wales.

He said: “I prepared for this conference as a backbencher and ended up having to speak as a representative of the Government.

“I’m very pleased to be back. There’s a big challenge ahead of us in terms of improving public services in Wales. There’s obviously a very big agenda ahead of us in terms of local government reform.

“I think we’ve got to recognise that it’s a very difficult time at the moment for people to be councillors. We’ve got to find ways of ensuring that people want to stand for local councils and understand the opportunities that local government brings and I want to look again at that agenda.”

Asked whether he went along with the Williams Commission’s recommendation that the number of councils in Wales should be roughly halved, he said: “I need to look at what has been considered internally. Obviously there have been discussions about the possibility of voluntary mergers. I want to see whether progress has been made on those.

“There’s been a consultation within the Labour Party that’s been going on and other parties are also looking at what they think about the future. I want to see whether it is possible to achieve a consensus around reform in Wales.”.

When asked whether there was resistance to change among some elements of the Labour Party, Mr Andrews said: “I think there is very significant movement in favour of change. People know things can’t stay the same. I think that’s become more and more evident over the last 18 months. I think there are still many unresolved questions that we need to get to grips with. But this isn’t just about the Labour Party, this is all political parties and people outside the political structures. What kind of delivery of public services do we want to see post-devolution? The current structure of local government was obviously invented prior to devolution and I think there is a very active and healthy debate under way.”

Mr Andrews said he had a “big challenge” ahead of him, adding: “I am keen to hear from people across Wales on their views on how we improve local services.

“We have a big chance to renew local government and I am keen to hear how we empower local democracy.”

In terms of timescale, Mr Andrews said: “I haven’t been into the department yet, I haven’t looked at the commitments that have been made. I need to review what the First Minister and the Local Government Minister were looking at themselves. I’ve obviously had some discussion of these issues in the last year as a member of the local government committee, but I think there are a number of quite thorny issues that we need to look at. There are new proposals coming forward even in the last week from local government themselves. I think I’ve probably got a lot of reading to do.”

The reshuffle, announced role-by-role by First Minister Carwyn Jones’ official Twitter account, saw no surprise changes in the major roles, with Mark Drakeford remaining Health Minister, Huw Lewis retaining Education and Edwina Hart remaining Economy and Transport Minister.

But there were some significant departures from the Cabinet, with Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister Jeff Cuthbert leaving and announcing he would stand down as an AM in 2016.

The most recent Culture and Sport Minister and former Environment Minister and Counsel General, John Griffiths – a long-standing ally of Carwyn Jones – also left the government.

In pictures: The new look Welsh Government Cabinet:

The reshuffle was criticised as being a cabinet of the “same old tired faces” by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies.

Former Education Minister Mr Andrews had long been tipped for a return to the Cabinet, after he resigned from government in June last year after he was pictured campaigning against the closure of Pentre Primary School in his constituency, in contradiction to his own department’s in schools closure policy for schools with surplus places.

Known as a Marmite figure in the education sector for his hardline style and reforming agenda, the new Public Services reform brief will likely be dominated by the extremely controversial plans to slash the number of Welsh councils, which have met stiff resistance in local government.

After the news was announced, he tweeted simply: “Pleased to be returning to government as Minister for Public Service.”

Other changes included Lesley Griffiths replaces Mr Cuthbert as Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister, with housing and regeneration included, while Jane Hutt – a Minister since the start of devolution – remains as Finance Minister, but also takes on Ms Griffiths’ previous role as Minister for Government Business.

Carl Sargeant moves from Housing and Regeneration to the Natural Resources brief.

Long-serving Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, also left the government with Vaughan Gething becoming a Deputy Minister for Health.

Ms Thomas’ departure prompted Mr Jones to pay tribute to her work delivering the Social Services Bill.

He wrote: “The ground-breaking Social Services Bill will improve so many lives across Wales. It wouldn’t have happened without Gwenda.”

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates, tipped as a rising star, remains a Deputy Minister but moves from Technology and Skills to a Culture and Sport brief, while Rebecca Evans – appointed as a Deputy Minister for agriculture and fisheries only in July – retained a similar brief with Farming and Food.

Swansea West AM Julie James also entered government as Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology.

Carwyn Jones said: “This is a cabinet equipped with the skills and experience to deliver the changes that Wales needs in the crucial months ahead.

“We promised this would be a term of delivery and I am proud of what we have achieved together in the last three years. Unemployment is lower here than in England.

“We have seen our best ever inward investment figures, record exam results, and ground-breaking legislation. However, there is still a huge amount for us to do, especially in the delivery of our public services reform programme.

“I give my heartfelt thanks to John Griffiths, Jeff Cuthbert and Gwenda Thomas as they leave Government. I have valued their hard work, advice and loyalty and I look forward to their continued contribution to Welsh politics and public life. I welcome Julie James to her first role in Government, and welcome back Leighton Andrews to the cabinet.”

Tory leader Mr Davies said: “This reshuffle resolves Carwyn Jones’ knee-jerk reaction to the pre-summer sacking of Alun Davies for breaching the ministerial code and attempting to smear opposition AMs.

“The new Public Services Minister seems equipped for his role having lost his last cabinet job for campaigning against Labour’s own public service reforms.

“Welsh Labour may have shuffled some deckchairs, but this makes no difference to the damaging policies pursued, cutting the NHS budget, dumbing down the Welsh education system and neglecting private enterprise.

“Some of the same tired faces who’ve been sat around the cabinet table since 1999 remain in post and continue to give post-war Eastern European communist politicians a run for their money.”

The reshuffle as it happened: