Memorandum submitted by Public Affairs
Cymru
Public Affairs Cymru (PAC) was established in
October 2006 to enable networking, organise events and to promote
good practice among the many organisations that are involved in
public affairs or political lobbying in Wales. We are akin to
the Government Affairs Group in London and the Northern Ireland
Government Affairs Group in Belfast. We are communication professionals
who have regular dealings with government in its widest sense.
Our dealings with government are not restricted to lobbying, but
embrace all aspects of public affairs.
Members of PAC have made a collective contribution
to this submission which aims to represent a holistic voice for
all who work in the public affairs industry in Wales.
1. Westminster: How does Parliament deal with
devolution issues, eg legislating for Scotland and Wales
For individuals involved in lobbying it is very
difficult to establish what exactly is devolved. There needs to
be greater clarity as to the extent of devolution on all issues.
It is difficult to establish who is responsible for what so therefore
difficult to establish who to target and with what information.
There seems to be a tendency, especially on partially devolved
subject areas for there to be an element of buck passing on more
controversial issues. There needs to be a greater understanding
amongst politicians, MPs in particular, of the extent of devolution
and it may be an option for them to accept that they will also
be lobbied by professionals as well as constituents whilst they
are spending time in their constituencies.
Prior to the Government of Wales Act 2006, devolution
in the Welsh context was markedly more complex than in the Scottish
case. The absence of primary powers left the National Assembly
in the position of hoping that primary legislation bids were included
in the Queens speech. Inevitably the already gridlocked Westminster
legislative timetable meant regularly only one out of four bids
for Wales's legislation was successful. Once formalised the proposed
instruments laid out in the 2006 Act lends itself to a far more
amicable way for the National Assembly to propose its new laws.
2. What issues remain outstanding, eg "The
English Question"
The "West Lothian" question is one
of the most difficult to answer and will be perennially difficult
whilst there is a Union as we know it today. The main difficulties
arise where part of a Whitehall Department's responsibility is
devolved and another not, also where particular issues pass between
one department's responsibility and another. A lasting and clear
devolution settlement is the only way to settle this. Another
suggested way of improving this is closer working between Select
Committees in Westminster and Cardiff and some form of clear joint
decision making process on partially devolved issues.
The West Lothian Question is not so apparent
in the Welsh case. As the absence of primary legislation has meant
that a voice is still needed by Welsh MPs in Westminster. With
the coming into effect of the 2006 Act this will be even more
crucial. One outstanding issue will be the means that the National
Assembly is allocated its budget. At present this is decided by
the Barnett Formula, although there is opposition party pressure
for this to be on a needs based budget allocation.
The West Lothian Question hasn't been such a
political hot-potato in Anglo-Welsh relations as it has been in
Anglo-Scottish relations. For a start, fewer Welsh Ministers dominate
the UK Government, and with fewer powers devolved to Wales than
to Scotland, then there are fewer policy areas that Welsh MPs
cannot legislate over. As more and more powers are devolved to
Cardiff, however, then this may come to change, and calls for
"English-only" votes in the Commons on devolved matters
may intensify.
The new Government of Wales Act, however, throws
a potential spanner into the works. From 2007 onwards non-Welsh
(ie English, or possibly Scottish, or even Irish) MPs will be
able to scrutinise, comment on and perhaps delay legislative proposals
originating from the Welsh Assembly that are on their way to the
Welsh Secretary as part of the "Orders in Council" procedure.
As this could potentially involve MPs without a mandate in Wales
influencing Welsh Assembly Government policy; this would be almost
like the West Lothian Question in reverse the case of Wales. With
Welsh MPs then being able to vote on matters in England that have
been devolved to Wales, the situation has the potential to become
farcical on both sides of the border.
3. Whitehall: What impact has Devolution had
on Whitehall? Has there been a change in culture? How have they
responded to the divergence in policy making? How have the Concordats
developed, and are they working?
On issues such as health, which again are partially
devolved, there are examples where concordats are not as working
as well as they should. An example is the recent Government White
Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health
Professionals in the 21st Century. The paper applies to regulation
in all parts of the UK but was written by the Chief Medical Officer
for England and it is widely accepted that the way the suggestions
for future regulation could be applied in Wales, Northern Ireland
and Scotland were very much an afterthought. There needs to be
closer working between departments with partially devolved/shared
remits on order to ensure that the voices of the Welsh public
are heard. Closer working between departments would also help
ensure that policy development, developed in Whitehall, applicable
to whole UK is fit for purpose in the 3 devolved administrations.
4. Intergovernmental relations: How are bodies
such as the British Irish Council working? What about representation
at the EU level?
We feel that this is outside the remit of Public
Affairs Cymru.
5. What is the future of the current Secretaries
of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? Are the current
arrangements for the Wales and Scotland offices within the DCA
appropriate?
At present, the Secretary of State for Wales
is also Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. This impacts
adversely on both roles and should be discontinued. The Secretary
of State for Wales has an important role within the Cabinet. However,
Wales' interests cannot be championed together with the interests
of another country of the UK.
It is also vital that a formal mechanism of
reporting to the Assembly and scrutiny by an Assembly committee
is put in place with regards to the activities that the Secretary
of State for Wales undertakes. If in the future there is a different
political party in power in Westminster to the Assembly then a
formal and binding system of interaction between the Assembly
and the Secretary of State will be even more important.
6. Devolution and the Courts: have there been
legal disputes in the context of devolved/reserved issues and
policy divergence?
The new constitutional settlement for Wales
has several implications for the current legal system. For example,
at present, if a law is repealed in Westminster it could still
be valid in Wales but there would be no record. It is therefore
essential that adequate funding is allocated to ensure monitoring
and recording of Assembly powers (through transfers of function
orders or Orders in Council) and the information should be freely
available online. There needs to be clarity in all areas of devolution
and certainty that the Assembly is not allowed "to pull itself
up by its own boot straps" which could lead to legal conflict
between Governments in Cardiff and London.
7. What are the other outstanding issues around
reserved and devolved issues? How could these be best resolved?
Is the UK's model of asymmetric devolution sustainable?
Any form of asymmetrical devolution depends
on the flexibility of the overarching legislature and government
to accommodate autonomy. Whilst a form of devolution for at least
some English regions is desirable, more clarity in terms of Welsh
Assembly powers and any eventual English regional assembly is
needed. Under the new constitutional arrangements, Wales receives
primary legislative powers on specific matters without any reference
to a timetable or rationale. Both civil society and the Welsh
political class require clear knowledge of the powers the Assembly
has. Assembly legislators and officials will require time to test
the primary legislative powers the Assembly has so far been transferred.
The current arrangement of Orders in Council and transfer of function
orders is not sustainable, especially outside a time framework.
There is an ethical issue relating to different powers being devolved
to different geographical parts of the UK.
8. What are the broader consequences of devolution
for the future of the UK's constitution?
Differences in policies are inevitable and are
not necessarily negative. However, there are two issues of fundamental
importance:
(a) the provision of different services seems
to be dependent not so much on policy, rather on the financial
resources available. Wales is being adversely affected by the
Barnett Formula, which needs to be replaced with a form of funding
that would guarantee equality.
(b) there are situations where English citizens
in Wales have not the same rights as Welsh citizens in Wales.
Such policies are discriminatory and would be illegal if applied
to EU citizens. This anomaly needs to be resolved.
It follows that a constitutional charter with
fundamental rights would ensure the equality of all citizens of
the UK regardless of their "region" residence.
Russell Lawson
Chair
April 2007
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