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Standard Note: SN/PC/06542 Last Updated: 31 January 2013

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Standard Note: SN/PC/06542 Last Updated: 31 January 2013 Political developments in Wales to December 2012 Standard Note: SN/PC/06542 Last updated: 31 January 2013 Author: Hazel Armstrong Section Parliament & Constitution Centre This note provides an update on political developments in Wales between January and December 2012. It updates the previous Library Standard Note (SN/PC/06177), Political Developments in Wales to December 2011. Contents 1 Electoral arrangements 2 1.1 The Boundary Commission review 2 1.2 Future electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales 3 2 Policy developments 4 2.1 Status of Acts of the National Assembly 4 2.2 First Act of Welsh Assembly 7 2.3 Other legislation in progress 7 2.4 Consultation on Welsh law 8 2.5 Parliamentary Committees 9 2.6 Badger controls 10 3 Political Parties 10 4 The Silk Commission 11 This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. It should not be relied upon as being up to date; the law or policies may have changed since it was last updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is required. This information is provided subject to our general terms and conditions which are available online or may be provided on request in hard copy. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing with Members and their staff, but not with the general public. 1 Electoral arrangements 1.1 The Boundary Commission review The Boundary Commission for Wales published its initial proposals for the review of Parliamentary constituencies, mandated by the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Act 2011,1 on 11 January 2012. Under the new arrangements, Wales will be entitled to 30 seats instead of its current 40. The United Kingdom Electoral Quota is 76,641 while the average electorate of the existing 40 constituencies in Wales is 57,040. Under the initial proposals all of the current 40 constituencies would be changed. Further details on the initial proposals can be found in Library Standard Note 6195, Initial proposals for new constituency boundaries: Wales. The Electoral Reform Society Wales attacked these proposals and claimed they did not take notice of Welsh geography. Stephen Brooks, Director of the Electoral Reform Society Wales said: If Wales’ new boundaries seem to fly in the face of common sense then responsibility rests with the UK government. The Boundary Commission for Wales was dealt a bad hand. The UK Government’s 'One Size Fits All' approach was never going to work for Wales. The UK Government chose to ignore the existence of our mountains and valleys in order to fit a bureaucratic formula. It’s a vision of equality where the maths matters but our communities don’t.2 Following a consultation period the Boundary Commission published revised proposals on 24 October 2012. Revisions were made to 21 of the 30 proposed constituencies. The main changes made by the Commission affect the seats covering Cardiff (except Cardiff West) and the valleys of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly. The Commission stated its reasons for the revisions as: The Commission has sought in its revised proposals to take into account the views that were submitted during the public consultation and to better reflect factors such as: geographical considerations (the size, shape and accessibility of a constituency); local government boundaries; boundaries of existing constituencies and any local ties that would be broken by changes in constituencies. In response to the views raised the Commission has decided to revise its initial proposals for the composition of 21 of the 30 proposed constituencies in Wales. The revisions include: • Widespread changes to the constituencies in South East Wales to take account of responses received in relation to Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys. • Changes to the composition of the Llanelli, Gower and Swansea West and Swansea East constituencies to reflect submissions made about community ties in that area. • Changes to the composition of constituencies in mid and north Wales to reduce the division of the existing Montgomeryshire constituency and to take account of local ties in specific areas.3 1 Boundary Commission for Wales, Initial proposals, January 2012 (accessed 29 January 2013) 2 Electoral Reform Society, News release , 11 January 2012, Wales’ new political map, (accessed January 2013) 3 Boundary Commission for Wales, Boundary Commission publishes revised proposals for Parliamentary constituencies, Press Release, 24 October 2012 [accessed 22 January 2013] 2 Further details on the revised proposals can be found in Library Standard Note 6226 Constituency boundaries: the Sixth General Review in Wales. 1.2 Future electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales The Secretary of State issued a consultation document on future electoral arrangements for the Assembly on 21 May 2012.4 At the moment the constituencies used to elect Assembly Members are the same as those used to elect Members of Parliament. The changes to a smaller House of Commons which would be a consequence of the Boundary Commission review of parliamentary constituencies would break that link. The Green Paper looked at the effect of these changes on the National Assembly for Wales and asked whether people would be better served by continuing to have 40 Assembly constituencies, but with modified boundaries to make them more equal in size, or whether to re-instate the link with Parliamentary constituencies by changing to an Assembly of 30 constituencies. In each case the size of the 60 Member Assembly would not change and so the number of regional Members would increase from twenty to thirty if the link with Parliamentary constituencies were re-established. The Green Paper also sought views on whether the National Assembly for Wales should have four or five year terms; removing the prohibition on standing as a candidate in an Assembly election in both a constituency and a region; and whether Assembly Members should be prohibited from sitting in Parliament. In response to the publication of the Green Paper, the First Minister stated that There is no mandate for this. The electoral system for the assembly is a matter for the people of Wales and no one else. The Prime Minister has assured me that there would be no change to future electoral arrangements without the agreement of the assembly.5 The Green Paper was the subject of a debate in the Welsh Assembly on 12 June 2012. The motion agreed by the Assembly was: NDM5006 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Notes the Green Paper on future electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales; and 2. Believes that no change to the current electoral arrangements should be introduced by the UK Government without the consent of the National Assembly for Wales. 3. Notes that under the Government of Wales Act 2006 the power to make provisions about the National Assembly for Wales' elections resides with the Secretary of State for Wales.6 The Green Paper was also the subject of a debate in the House of Lords, in Grand Committee, on 18 June 20127 and in the House of Commons, in Westminster Hall on 3 July 2012. 8 The Secretary of State tabled a motion for a debate in Welsh Grand Committee to 4 Wales Office, A green paper on future electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales, Cm8357, May 2012. 5 BBC News, Welsh Assembly voting: Cheryl Gillan proposes new seats for 2016 election, 21 May 2012 6 National Assembly for Wales Record of Proceedings, 12 June 2012, p.94 &ff 7 HL Deb, 18 June 2012, cGC125 8 HC Deb, 3 July 2012, c187WH 3 take place on Monday 2 July, but this was objected to by the Labour Party, who wanted the debate to take place in the Commons chamber.9 The Secretary of State canceled the Grand Committee debate. The consultation period closed on 13 August 2012. The Wales Office published a summary of the sixty-eight responses received.10 This showed that of the options offered, almost all respondents favoured reinstating the link between parliamentary and Assembly constituencies: Assembly constituencies Question 1: Do you prefer Option 1: 40 Assembly constituencies, each containing a broadly equal number of electors and constituency boundaries periodically reviewed; or Option 2: reinstate the link between Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies by changing to an Assembly of 30 constituencies, with an equal number of constituency and regional members (30:30)? Assembly constituencies are currently the Parliamentary constituencies in Wales. The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies (PVSC) Act 2011 provides for the number of Parliamentary constituencies to reduce to 600, and for constituencies to be made more equal in size. The number of parliamentary constituencies in Wales would reduce from forty to thirty as a result. The 2011 Act also breaks the link between Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies to ensure that these changes would not result in a smaller Assembly. The four UK Boundary Commissions are currently consulting on proposals for new parliamentary constituencies and must present their final recommendations to the Secretary of State before October 2013. Parliament would need to approve the final proposals. The Green Paper sought views on whether forty Assembly constituencies should be retained, but made more equal in size, or whether the link between parliamentary and Assembly constituencies should be reinstated. Almost all respondents to this question favoured Option 2: reinstating the link between parliamentary and Assembly constituencies. On 27 November David Jones, the Welsh Secretary, confirmed in answer to written question, that the Government would need to wait decisions on the reviews being conducted by the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions before deciding how to proceed on constituency boundaries for the National Assembly.
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