COALITION POLITICS COME TO WALES MONITORING Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru The National Assembly for Wales SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2000 Edited By John Osmond In asssociation with: December 2000 Coalition Politics Come to Wales: Monitoring the National Assembly September to December 2000 Preface This report begins the second year of a series of publications the IWA is producing in a project tracking the progress of the National Assembly, and in particular the policy developments it initiates across the range of its responsibilities. Quarterly reports are published 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 developments in Whitehall and in the English regions. Our partner organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the Scottish Council Foundation and Democratic Dialogue. The Constitution Unit monitors developments in Whitehall while the Centre for Urban and Regional Developments Studies at Newcastle University is following developments in the English regions. Further information on this project, including the regular reports from Scotland, Northern Ireland 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 Jane Jones of the Law Department, University of Wales, Swansea; Dr Denis Balsom of the Welsh Governance Centre, Cardiff University, Editor of The Wales Yearbook; and Nia Richardson, an IWA Research Assistant. The Institute is grateful to all of them for their contribution. 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 Cathy Owens and Steven Cornelius. John Osmond Director, IWA December 2000 • The first annual report, examining the rolse of the Assembly’s Committees in policy development will be published in January 2001. Previous quarterly reports in this series (all available from the IWA) are: Devolution – ‘A Dynamic, Settled Process?’ (December 1999); Devolution Relaunched (March 2000); Devolution in Transition (May 2000); and Devolution Looks Ahead (September 2000). 2 Coalition Politics Come to Wales: Monitoring the National Assembly September to December 2000 CONTENTS PREFACE.................................................................................................................................................... 2 SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................. 6 1. THE COALITION GOVERNMENT.................................................................................................... 8 JOHN OSMOND, IWA.............................................................................................................................. 8 THE NEW CABINET .............................................................................................................................. 10 POLITICAL BACKGROUND................................................................................................................... 12 POLICY INNOVATIONS......................................................................................................................... 14 Education and Lifelong Learning ................................................................................................... 14 Health ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Rural Affairs and Agriculture.......................................................................................................... 15 Environment, Transport and Planning ........................................................................................... 15 Local Government and Housing...................................................................................................... 15 Enterprise and Economic Development .......................................................................................... 15 Arts, Culture and Sport .................................................................................................................... 16 Better Government............................................................................................................................ 16 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS................................................................................................... 16 THE CIVIL SERVICE ............................................................................................................................. 19 2. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER........................................................................................ 21 JOHN OSMOND, IWA............................................................................................................................ 21 3. THE ASSEMBLY ................................................................................................................................. 28 JOHN OSMOND, IWA............................................................................................................................ 28 THE NEW SUBJECT COMMITTEES ...................................................................................................... 28 THE REGIONAL COMMITTEES............................................................................................................. 30 OBJECTIVE ONE.................................................................................................................................... 30 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................................... 31 4. POLICY DEVELOPMENTS............................................................................................................... 34 NIA RICHARDSON, IWA....................................................................................................................... 34 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT................................................................................................................. 34 HEALTH ................................................................................................................................................. 38 EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................................... 39 AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS................................................................................................. 41 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING ............................................................................................... 42 ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND TRANSPORT .................................................................................. 43 CULTURE............................................................................................................................................... 44 5. THE BUDGET ...................................................................................................................................... 46 NIA RICHARDSON, IWA....................................................................................................................... 46 6. THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS......................................................................................................... 51 JANE JONES, LAW DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF WALES , SWANSEA ........................................ 51 FORTHCOMING PRIMARY LEGISLATION ........................................................................................... 51 THE PROCESS OF GOVERNMENT........................................................................................................ 51 REVIEW OF THE EXISTING SETTLEMENT .......................................................................................... 52 POLICY, PROCESS AND THE ENACTMENT OF NEW LAW ................................................................. 52 3 Coalition Politics Come to Wales: Monitoring the National Assembly September to December 2000 7. RELATIONS WITH WESTMINSTER AND WHITEHALL .......................................................... 56 JOHN OSMOND, IWA............................................................................................................................ 56 THE JOINT MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE............................................................................................... 56 CONCORDATS ....................................................................................................................................... 56 THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS AND CAR NUMBER PLATES .................................................................................................................................................. 57 PHILLIPS REPORT ON THE BSE CRISIS............................................................................................... 57 THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WALES ..........................................................................................