Posted on: Tuesday 20 January 2026
A cross-section of people took part in the first Citizens' Assembly on Saturday to consider the Torfaen Deal, a new social contract with residents.
The day began with presentations from Chief Executive Stephen Vickers and Council Leader Anthony Hunt about how a new Torfaen Deal will help the council to meet increasing demand and tackle health and social inequalities in the borough.
Cllr Hunt said: "The Deal is the starting point to set out a shared vision for a fairer, healthier, and more resilient borough - one where every resident is empowered to thrive and health inequalities are tackled.
"The Deal is a new borough-wide mindset. It will transform the way we all work together in the future.
"This will mark a shift away from traditional models of service delivery in our communities and will require a new relationship with residents and partners that builds on the strengths and capacity in communities."
The Assembly also heard from Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, Executive Director of Public Health at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, who welcomed the new approach, and Aimi Morris, from Torfaen Voluntary Association, and Torfaen Litter Champions founder Ron Ford, who talked about the work of community volunteers.
The 33 Citizen Assembly members discussed how the Torfaen Deal themes of pride in place, social responsibility, connected communities and shared power could be developed.
They were also asked what would empower communities to act on the changes they wanted to see.
The Citizen Assembly will meet again on Saturday January 31. You can meet some of the assembly members by clicking below.
Plans for a new Torfaen Deal follows other measures taken by the council to address the challenges of reducing budgets and increasing demand.
Last year, the council became the first federated local authority with Blaenau Gwent and both became Wales' first joint Marmot Councils.
Citizen Assembly meetings are also taking place in Blaenau Gwent to develop a separate Blaenau Gwent Deal.
You can find out more information about the plans for a Torfaen Deal by visiting Get Involved Torfaen.
Meet some of the Citizens' Assembly members: https://getinvolved.torfaen.gov.uk/torfaen-deal/widgets/142849/team_members