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February 2003 Nations and Regions: The Dynamics of Devolution Quarterly Monitoring Programme Wales Quarterly Report February 2003 The monitoring programme is jointly funded by the ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust DRAGON DEBATES ITS FUTURE Monitoring Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru The National Assembly for Wales December 2002 to March 2003 Edited By John Osmond In association with: March 2003 ISBN 1 871726 95 6 Preface This report is the latest in a series of publications, now in its fourth year, tracking the progress of the National Assembly, and in particular the policy developments it initiates across the range of its responsibilities. The reports are published quarterly and also posted on the IWA’s website (www.iwa.org.uk) together with a more substantial annual publication*. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Welsh Governance Centre at Cardiff University under its Director, J. Barry Jones, and is supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. It is also being pursued in association with the Constitution Unit, University College, London, as part of a monitoring exercise of all the UK devolved institutions, together with tracking constitutional developments in Whitehall and in the English regions. Our partner organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the Department of Politics, University of Strathclyde, and Democratic Dialogue. The Constitution Unit monitors constitutional changes and responses in Whitehall, while the Centre for Urban and Regional Developments Studies at Newcastle University is following the devolution process in the English regions. Further information on this project, including the regular reports from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Whitehall and the English regions can be found on the Constitution Unit’s website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/ This report has been produced with the assistance of Sarah Beasley of Cardiff Law School; Alys Thomas and Gerald Taylor of the University of Glamorgan; Mark S. Lang of the Welsh Governance Centre, Cardiff University; Denis Balsom, Editor of the Wales Yearbook; and Jessica Mugaseth, the IWA’s Research Officer. The Institute is grateful to all of them for their contributions. The Institute is also grateful to the public affairs consultancy Strategy Wales for allowing us access to their weekly monitoring reports on the National Assembly, and in particular to Laura Morgan, Helen Northmore-Thomas, and Maggie Abbett. John Osmond Director, IWA March 2003 * The latest is Birth of Welsh Democracy: The First Term of the National Assembly for Wales, published in March 2003 and available from the IWA at £19.99. It follows Building a Civic Culture: Institutional Change, Policy Development and Political Dynamics in the National Assembly for Wales (March 2002), and Inclusive Government and Party Management: The National Assembly for Wales and the Work of its Committees (March 2001). Both are available from the IWA at £15. Previous quarterly reports in this series (all available from the IWA at £10) are: Dragon Takes a Different Route, December 2002; A Bilingual Wales, August 2002; Engaging With Europe, June 2002; Education Policy Breaks Loose, March 2002; Coalition Creaks Over Health, December 2001; A Period of De-Stabilisation, September 2001; Farming Crisis Consolidates Assembly’s Role, May 2001; The Economy Takes Centre Stage (March 2001); Coalition Politics Come to Wales (December 2000); Devolution Looks Ahead (September 2000); Devolution in Transition (May 2000); Devolution Relaunched (March 2000);and Devolution – ‘A Dynamic, Settled Process’? (December 1999). CONTENTS SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................................1 1. ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT..........................................................................................................2 JOHN OSMOND AND JESSICA MUGASETH, IWA CLEARING THE DECKS FOR THE MAY GENERAL ELECTION..................................................................2 ‘CLEAR RED WATER’...........................................................................................................................3 TOP UP FEES ........................................................................................................................................4 CIVIL SERVICE EVIDENCE TO THE RICHARD COMMISSION ...................................................................6 NHS WAITING LISTS ............................................................................................................................8 NHS WALES RESTRUCTURING COSTS..................................................................................................8 A WELSH PUBLIC SERVICE.................................................................................................................10 ELWA IRREGULARITIES .....................................................................................................................12 LORD ROGERS RETURNS ....................................................................................................................13 2. THE ASSEMBLY.............................................................................................................................14 JOHN OSMOND AND JESSICA MUGASETH, IWA RICHARD COMMISSION AND THE ASSEMBLY’S FUTURE .....................................................................14 DEPUTY PRESIDING OFFICER TO STAND AS AN INDEPENDENT............................................................17 ASSEMBLY DEBATES IRAQ .................................................................................................................17 AMS IGNORE REGIONAL COMMITTEES ..............................................................................................19 OATH OF ALLEGIANCE .......................................................................................................................20 ANTI-SMOKING DEBATE.....................................................................................................................21 RON DAVIES RESIGNS ........................................................................................................................21 3. POLICY DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................................................23 JESSICA MUGASETH, IWA HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES .........................................................................................................23 EDUCATION ........................................................................................................................................25 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................................................27 STRUCTURAL FUNDS ..........................................................................................................................28 ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND TRANSPORT .....................................................................................30 RURAL DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................................................31 CULTURE............................................................................................................................................31 4. THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS....................................................................................................34 SARAH BEASLEY, CARDIFF LAW SCHOOL HOUSE OF LORDS SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION .........................................................34 WELSH AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.............................................................................................................36 SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION ..............................................................................................................37 BILLS IN PARLIAMENT CONFERRING FUNCTIONS ON THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY...............................39 5. RELATIONS WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT.............................................................................41 ALYS THOMAS, UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN WALES PROGRAMME FOR IMPROVEMENT ..........................................................................................42 ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS.............................................................................................................43 6. RELATIONS WITH WESTMINSTER AND WHITEHALL.........................................................44 MARK S. LANG, WELSH GOVERNANCE CENTRE EDWINA HART ATTACKS HOME OFFICE.............................................................................................44 LORDS COMMITTEE QUESTIONS ROLE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WALES ............................44 WELSH AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT ON TRANSPORT IN WALES.........................................46 7. RELATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION...........................................................................48 JOHN OSMOND, IWA, AND MARK S. LANG, WELSH GOVERNANCE CENTRE REPRESENTATION IN BRUSSELS..........................................................................................................48 GOVERNMENTS ADVOCATE GREATER ROLE FOR REGIONS IN THE EU...............................................49 REDUCTION OF WELSH MEPS ............................................................................................................50 FUTURE OF THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS.................................................................................................50 8. PUBLIC ATTITUDES .....................................................................................................................52
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