Posted on: Thursday 19 February 2026
Citizens’ Assembly members met for the final time last weekend to help shape the principles of the new Torfaen Deal.
The Deal is a new way of working between the council, communities and partner organisations, with the aim of building a fairer, more resilient county, improving resident health and well‑being, and reducing inequalities.
The residents, who were randomly selected, have given their time to participate in three sessions where they have heard how the Torfaen Deal could look and work in practice.
They proposed and agreed the Deal should:
Principle 1. Work with communities, not for them
Principle 2. Use a wide range of communication
Principle 3. Build trust through accountability
Principle 4. Strengthen community ownership and collective responsibility
Principle 5. Empower communities through partnership
Principle 6. Minimise barriers to participation
Principle 7. Pursue environmental sustainability
They asked the wording of some of the principles be amended and agreed before the principles are included in a report to council in March.
This week, assembly members David Thomson and Elizabeth Aston took part in a Cross Cutting Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting to talk about their experiences.
David said: "The Citizens' Assembly was an opportunity to speak to like-minded people from different areas, brainstorm ideas and come up with a way forward where the council and residents can work together.
"There's a lot going on in our communities and that is where we can make a difference. We need to get the message out and it's how we do it going forward."
Elizabeth added: "I felt everybody was able to contribute and discuss their points of view. As a team, we felt valued and it felt like the council staff were highly invested in the initiative."
Council Leader Cllr Anthony Hunt said: "It was great to get active engagement from a unique group of residents. We had a positive and engaged response from people who clearly care about our communities and want to play a part in helping to improve them.
"We made a promise to the group to keep them engaged and to update them on our efforts to progress the Deal, including getting them back together in a year’s time to talk about the difference it’s made. "Honest and regular dialogue will be really important to test the progress of the Deal and the impact that it has in communities."
You can listen back to the Cross Cutting Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.
Find out more about the Torfaen Deal: https://getinvolved.torfaen.gov.uk/torfaen-deal