Switzerland is known for chocolate, cheese, taxation, and banking

In light of the Icelandic issue, Nick Bourne AM recalls a question from a recent meeting of the Assembly Finance Committee that was raised by Labour AM Huw Lewis.

"Astoundingly, though money tends to be drawn down from Whitehall, neither the minister nor his officials did not know in response to questions from Huw Lewis where WAG banked nor how much was held in the accounts - reassuring isn’t it?"

This has unexpectedly prompted Rhodri Morgan to take action, and could it be the reason why he's taken a trip to Switzerland days before an All-Wales economic summit meeting? After all, he doesn't seem to be there for the joyous singing of hymns.

What's that pin number again?

One leak, one drip!

A meeting of a Welsh assembly committee has been abandoned after water leaked through the roof of the building.

AMs were taking evidence from teaching unions on education plans for 14-19-year-olds before giving up.

"Very, very embarrassed" chairman Jeff Cuthbert AM called it a "leak in the Welsh assembly of the wrong sort".

With this much fuss over the noise of one leak or drip, it's fortunate that there's not a war taking place - that would bring the wheels of democracy in Wales to a standstill!

Senedd Circular: Tea and Crumpet with the First Minister

This article appears in The Wardman Wire:

This week, Miss Wagstaff is both delighted and appalled by her seeming to have lost a week. We can blame Parliamentary Recess, Pippa’s time keeping, or the rumour that the Welsh Assembly Government has banned her blog internally.

Either way, although always partial to a bit of mother-son bonding during recess, it has been a sight for sore eyes to see the Head Boy [Rhodri Morgan] back in school this last week and laying out his plans for all to see. Eagerly assisted by the School Prefects [Cabinet] - after nine months in coalition government - ‘One Wales’ Delivery Plan has been announced, listing pledges made by the coalition government and complete with a detailed easy-to-follow timetable for Jo public. The downside is that some have experienced difficulty in making up their minds as to how many commitments have been made.

This aside, while Pippa was away, another historic occasion has occurred [no connection] as the Queen approved the transfer of new powers to the Welsh assembly in a ceremony at Windsor Castle. The order allows the assembly to draw up Welsh laws to help people with additional learning needs. A further nine orders are in the Assembly-Parliament pipeline, on issues ranging from mental health services to fire safety, however, the process still receives a large amount of criticism from the Welsh Conservatives as being too complicated and should be simplified. Meanwhile, Plaid’s trio are chomping at the bit to help the process along, but seem to have fallen at the first fence. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t think long-term in politics, and are left grazing instead of experiencing pastures new.

Senedd Snippets:

• When to cull and when to kill.
• Welsh Assembly Delivers to your doorstep.
• Tea and Crumpet with the First Minister.

When to cull and when to kill

One look at this headline and you’d be forgiven for thinking it referred to the bold attempt at making ‘difficult decisions’ by the One Wales Government over its pilot badger cull [braver than the pilot a free laptop plan for school children]. It was expectedly welcomed by farmers, but faces fierce opposition from conservationists, and many are also expecting heated debates over the issue from within the Assembly, though the government is confident of winning the vote otherwise it would have reserved its judgement.

A former cull has come back to haunt the government this week in the form of the merger of Quangos with the Welsh Assembly Government. The Welsh Development Agency, Wales Tourist Board and Elwa [education] were abolished two years ago. It was estimated that the changes would save the assembly government £10m a year from 2009. Regarded as a "bonfire of the quangos", this action brought responsibility of the quangos under direct ministerial control.

Questions were raised pre-merger, and former executive chair of the largest quango in terms of its turnover [ELWa], has recently spoken out, saying that she was not surprised with the report's findings, "I think at the time you couldn't predict all of the implications and the outcomes, so it doesn't surprise me that some of the predicted cost savings haven't materialised,"

The assembly's Audit Committee have said the savings seemed to be financial cuts rather than efficiency gains, and reports that there are still ongoing issues – an issue that is likely to outlive Morgan’s administration.

Welsh Assembly delivers to your doorstep

The much awaited Delivery Plan of the coalition government has now been announced, and nearly one year into the Assembly’s four year term.

Following on from this week’s introductory paragraph, Rhodri Morgan [Labour] and Ieuan Wyn Jones [Plaid Cymru] insisted their coalition government was on track. Returning from Easter recess, they both read out their “It’s a coalition but it’s one administration” government’s list of priorities for the remainder of the term. Another bold step to take this week, and one for the Welsh Conservatives and Welsh Liberal Democrats to get their teeth into, after the Conservative leader of the Opposition in the Assembly’s response of, “Yet more glossy propaganda at our expense…”

Tea and Crumpet with the First Minister

A Welsh Labour local government election broadcast has been made on television. This focussed on Rhodri Morgan reaching out to the public from text messages sent to him by members of the public suggesting what policies the Assembly Government should pursue. The broadcast showed the First Minister [man of the people] meeting with three of the texters to discuss their ideas...

Rhodri's Text Life

The First Minister received 237 text replies from an earlier political broadcast in February. Among the topics covered were tackling graffiti, curbing youth drinking, addressing general youth anti-social behaviour, council tax rates, cleaner streets, more cycle routes and better recycling.

Assuring us that their words have not fallen on deaf ears, Rhodri Morgan goes on to comment, “I heard their views loud and clear and will do my very best to see how we can meet their aspirations.”

This reminded me of an anonymous email I received a month ago about a former initiative within the civil service, whereby the Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Assembly Government would invite selected staff to a ‘Tea and Biscuits Session’ in order to discuss issues of the day e.g. Admin grades invited to discuss what problems they face while conducting their daily duties. Much seen as an internal public relations exercise at best, it’s comforting to know that initiatives are regenerated, and an opportunity not wasted.

On the other hand of the coalition [to be determined whether it’s a left or right hand], Plaid Cymru followed up these broadcasts with their own ‘man of the people’ image for their leader - Ieuan Wyn Jones was seen comfortably handling members of the public as they interrupt his making of a Plaid-rousing speech to those on the other side of the box.

And finally…

With the run up to the local government election and expected ‘Column Special’, the Welsh public will be stunned into silence (surely not!) by the recent statement that, “Councillors are not getting younger” [average age of councillors is still 61 in the 10 local authorities surveyed four years ago. Across Wales it is 40, while 40% of councillors are over 65]; and possibly even less so by Wales having just elected its first Communist councillor since the 1970s.

Something seems to have stirred the Liberal Democrats into accusing Labour of trying to manipulate the electoral system as the party was worried about doing badly in the council elections on May 1. That particular stirrer was Minister Brian Gibbons, provoking a debate on the future of Wales’ 22 unitary authorities by threatening to cut their number if they don’t perform.

Only at election time. Only in Wales!!??

AM Bloggers: A Remedy

Glyn Davies and Peter Black AM have recently aired their views on the Assembly's guidance to Assembly Members blogging.

Glyn Davies lets us know what his close friend Edna thinks of it all - I hope he's paying her phone bill for all these tit-bits he's being offered.

As the most active of current Assembly bloggers, Peter Black speaks from the gallows that Jeffrey Cuthbert has built:

Reading through the note it was difficult not to feel that they were protesting just a little bit too much. In the second paragraph they assert: 'From the outset, we would like to stress that we do not intend to suggest that the use of Blogs by Members be prohibited in any way.' Just four paragraphs later they tell us again: 'Members should not be discouraged from using Blogs – this note is simply trying to make members aware of the potential hazards of using the sites inappropriately.' All-in-all one could not help but get the impression that what they are really saying is that: 'We don't like blogs and we dislike bloggers even more, however we cannot do anything to stop you. If you must persist with this odious activity then watch out, because we are going to get you. 'So much for openness, transparency and the use of new technology.

N.B. Assembly Members that blog could carry on as usual or heed to the advice of the Standards' Committee. There is a third way - playing it safe like this man.

Rural Affairs: Farmers' £40m foot-and-mouth bill

Further proof has been discovered that the Welsh Assembly Government has little influence with that of Gordon Brown's Cabinet.

The foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2007 may have cost Welsh farmers more than £40m, a Welsh assembly committee has found.

The Finance Committee also highlighted an ongoing dispute between the governments in Cardiff and London over who should pay any compensation. A separate assembly report concluded the UK Treasury should compensate Welsh farmers.

The foot-and-mouth outbreak was discovered in Surrey in August, but there were no cases in Wales. However, the outbreak had an impact on the rural economy across the whole of the UK.
Restrictions were placed on the movement and trade of animals following the August outbreak and a second one in September.

Farmers in Wales did not automatically receive compensation because no animals were slaughtered due to the disease, but the Welsh assembly's finance committee said "the effect on the Welsh farming industry was immediate and severe".
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The restrictions meant animals could not be sent to the abattoir which lead to a loss of income and the additional cost of feed.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) Wales put the cost "in excess of £40m".

The Finance Committee, which is made up of AMs from all parties, pointed to evidence the outbreak came from a research facility at Pirbright that was licensed by the UK government.
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The assembly government has already agreed extra funding for aid schemes including one to promote red meat.

But the AMs noted that just over half of the £7m allocated to the schemes had actually been spent.

The Finance Committee recommended the assembly government undertake a "full and detailed assessment of the costs of the outbreak" and that ministers make "significant additional funding available". The AMs were concerned the level of support being offered to Welsh farmers seemed to be far less than their counterparts in Scotland.

Dai Davies, President of NFU Wales, said they were asking for similar compensation for farmers as in Scotland:

Farmers in Wales have received just under £2m from the Welsh assembly. Farmers in Scotland will be receiving £27m. The sheep industry in Wales is a far bigger industry than it is in Scotland. We face the same problems. Hill farmers are facing a winter having lost half their income, why should we be treated any differently?

Finance Committee Report

Following on from a meeting that took place on 27th November in the Senedd with the Minister for Finance, Andrew Davies AM, where the Finance Committee scrutinised the Minister in the light of the evidence it has received in relation to the draft Welsh Assembly Government budget - The committee's report has been published today.

The Minister presented his budget to the Committee at their earlier meeting on 8th November. Since then the Committee has taken evidence from Local Government, the NHS and other Assembly Committees.

The published report has been covered by the Western Mail and BBC Wales. The BBC summarises the detail as:

The finance committee's report said a lack of funds could affect the assembly government's ability to deliver One Wales coalition deal promises. It also has "grave concerns" the £15bn a year draft budget could hit core council services and urged a rethink. The committee, which is made up of a cross-party group of assembly members, has expressed fears that there may be a shortfall in funding for new capital projects. These include the building of new roads, schools or hospitals. Core council services could also be affected by the budget settlement, the report concluded.

The AMs fear that promises made in the One Wales agreement which led to the creation of the Labour Plaid Cymru coalition, could be threatened by the shortfall. They say it is also unclear how hundreds of millions of pounds in efficiency savings are to be met. The AMs also complain that the presentation of the budget created confusion, and have grave concerns that the local government settlement is inadequate to safeguard core services.

Alun Ffred Jones AM (one of two Plaid Cymru members on the committee) has already been on record to defend the costing of the One Wales' commitments, and rubbish the report.

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Any work carried out by the Finance Committee has to be seen as fundamental in the way the Assembly carries out efficient and effective scrutiny. I find it difficult to believe that a member of this committee couldn't attend a key meeting due to a prior engagement and then has the nerve to criticize the work of the committee on publication of the report, when concerns should have been made much earlier. I have to agree with Peter Black AM:

In the circumstances I do not see how Plaid Cymru can wash their hands of the report's conclusions and nor should they. Effective scrutiny requires government backbenchers to put partisan considerations to one side so as to question the actions of the executive. That is a lesson that some Plaid Cymru members need to learn.

Alun Cairns AM has also talked prior to starting work on the scrutiny of this budget of "failure of scrutiny in past Assembly Committees and the need for all this to change with the current set up"

Following on from an earlier post, we shall now see how the Minister and the government backers from the backbenches respond to these criticisms when the draft budget is debated in plenary on 11th December 2007.

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Update: Western Mail, 4 December

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Alun Davies AM:

It’s a very curious position to adopt, to make these criticisms today when the report is published. He’s had the same opportunities I have had to raise issues, discuss it, and question witnesses.

Mr Jones did not attend the final meeting of the committee prior to publication on Wednesdayn, although Plaid AM Mohammad Asghar was present. A revised draft was circulated at lunchtime the next day and final version circulated on Friday afternoon.

AM Bloggers: Blogging - It's the future

An update to an earlier post and what was recorded at committee.

Blogs Aelodau’r Cynulliad / Use of Blog Sites by Members

[41] Jeff Cuthbert: There is a paper from the Commissioner for Standards on this, and we have a private briefing provided by Keith. I have given two television interviews on this today; it seems to have excited the media.

[42] Kirsty Williams: We have not been as popular since we dealt with the Freemasons. [Laughter.]

[43] Jeff Cuthbert: I know. Allegations have been made by certain bloggers that we are doing this because we do not have enough to do. I can assure them that that is not the case. It is important, because the last three complaints to the committee relating to Assembly Members have been in relation to their blog sites, so we would be negligent if we did not draw the conclusion from that that there is a downside to blogs that Members ought to reflect on. We do not want a series of complaints relating to blogs coming to the committee that may be avoidable. I will use this as an opportunity to stress that under no circumstances are we talking about restricting freedom of expression, trying to dissuade the use of new technology or anything of the sort. However, if there are downsides to using blogs that Members ought to be aware of, it is our job to draw those to their attention, and they will then make their own decisions. Members should be made aware of any important considerations. It is recommended that that should probably be done through the issuing of a note.

[44] As I said, we have the commissioner’s paper and Keith’s paper, so I will ask both for any further comments.

[45] Mr Penn: You have covered the point. It is not part of my role to suggest that blogs are not an appropriate way to communicate with the community and constituents. However, there is a track record, as we had in the early days—as Kirsty will remember—on the use of Assembly resources. That was the cause of many complaints and we were certainly proactive then in encouraging Members to understand the rules without restricting their right to use Assembly resources. We simply made them aware of the rules. Interestingly, I have been meeting with new Assembly Members over the past two days and they have all referred to the issue of blogs—they are aware that it is a potential problem and have asked for my guidance. I am not going to give them guidance except to say that they should be cautious, because it is an area of activity that can produce complaints. Therefore, many Members are looking for a bit of guidance, although some will resist it. As you said in your introduction, it would be worth considering issuing a note to help Members to be aware of the issue. That is probably the right course.

[46] Mr Bush: The only thing I wish to add is that my note has drawn attention to the fact that it is not only what people write on their own blogs, but the facility that they give to third parties to say things, that can get them into trouble. Interestingly, there was such a case before the courts in the past month or so, where Sheffield Wednesday Football Club supporters’ club is being sued by the directors of the club, because people posted allegations about financial impropriety on the supporters’ club website. So, the courts are becoming increasingly conscious of this issue.

[47] Obviously, this committee will specifically be concerned with breaches of the code of conduct that may be committed by Members giving a platform to abusive, defamatory or illegal conduct or statements generally. An element of that must be to make it clear that people cannot simply say, ‘I did not put it on my blog; I simply allowed someone else to do that’, and for that to mean that they have a defence.

[48] Brynle Williams: I am going to show my ignorance here, ladies and gentlemen. The bottom line is that you are not subject to any parliamentary privilege on a blog—is that right? If any Member posts anything on a blog, he or she has lost all parliamentary privilege, simply by having that blog.

[49] Mr Bush: Absolutely. Parliamentary or Assembly privilege only attaches to publications that are made under the authority of the Assembly. So, an individual Member’s blog is not covered by that privilege.

[50] Brynle Williams: I am sorry for putting it in such simple terms, Chair, but it has to be clear in my mind. I now know exactly where I want to go and what it is.

[51] Mr Bush: I should add for completeness that a person has a defence, of course, if he or she takes reasonable care to avoid something defamatory being said. So, if it is impossible for you to tell that something has been said—if it is an obscure reference to something that you do not or could not understand—the law will not impose liability on you in that situation. However, as we all know, many comments that are posted onto blogs are clearly defamatory and anyone who permits that to be done does so at his or her own risk.

52] Brynle Williams: So, no politician should have a blog site; it is as simple as that, but we do not live in a simple world.

[53] Kirsty Williams: I think that the committee should agree to the commissioner issuing a note to Members, to make them aware of their responsibilities and the potential pitfalls in this area. It is not to restrict anyone; it is simply to make Members aware of their responsibilities and how blogs may or may not bring them into conflict with the code.

[54] Mr Penn: I think that good organisations use complaints as a source of learning. The message to give is that we have received a number of complaints and we have learnt some lessons from that, which we are passing on to Members for their use and consideration.

[55] Jeff Cuthbert: Absolutely. I think that we should ask Richard and Keith, perhaps together, to prepare a suitable note, based in particular on the powerful statement that Keith has included in his private briefing, which we can then perhaps e-mail. I do not know of any other problems that are coming up, but blogs are being used every day, so the sooner that this is done the better. Perhaps you could prepare something—I do not think that we need to wait until our next meeting—and circulate it to the four Members. We will then take feedback on this. We could perhaps meet should there be any minor tweaking to be done, if you are content. I see that you are; thank you.

All done and dusted with nothing to worry about, and carried out with a minute to spare.

Fundamental flaws found in drawing up a new law

Fundamental flaws have been identified with one of the Welsh Assembly Government's first attempts at drawing up a new law as reported by the BBC.

Under the 2006 Government of Wales Act, Wales-only legislation can be created in certain devolved areas. But a scrutiny committee has found a number of problems with proposals for legislation to improve travel to schools and further education. These include a basic lack of powers over key issues, such as seat belts. The Enterprise and Learning Committee's scrutiny report found the new law, known as an assembly measure, would be powerless with regard to vehicle standards, seating arrangements or seatbelts. The committee also found inadequacies over codes of conduct.

In order to plug the gap the Assembly Government will present more detailed proposals in the new year. But if it fails to request enough powers to plug the gap, the committee has said it may consider bringing forward its own request for extra powers from Westminster. It wants the Assembly Government to give further consideration to the code of conduct, including to the issue of who will be covered by it. The committee also wants the assembly government to give further consideration to the possibility of staggering the opening and closing times of schools.

In recent months I've been notified of the first recruitment of legal trainees for solicitor's Training Contracts, having been advertised by the Welsh Assembly Government on its website. With an emphasis on providing opportunities for trainees, the real need lies in a demand for more experienced staff. As I've been led to understand, the Legal Services Department of the Assembly Government is vast in numbers and should be equipped to tackle any legal proposal before a problem arises at committee level. If it feels that they haven't got the manpower or expertise, they've the backing of the UK Government Legal Service (GLS) with their expert knowledge in drafting legislation for Westminster. At this stage of devolution there's no time to be too proud in asking for assistance.

On 22 October 2007 the Welsh Assembly Government made an announcement that Professor Thomas Glyn Watkin had been appointed as the First Welsh Legislative Counsel. Professor Watkin is an eminent man and as I understand, made sacrifices to become Counsel. The Welsh Assembly Government are very fortunate to have him in their employment, and on talking to someone in the Legal Services Department, I've been informed that he was actually appointed in April 2007 and has a token number of staff to call upon.

This just doesn't bode well for the future and will inevitably slow up procedure if it continues.

Alun Cairns AM is in the chair and means business

Alun Cairns AM and Chair of the Assembly's Finance Committee has spoken frankly on his blog about scrutiny of the 'One Wales' budget.

He talks about the failure of scrutiny in past Assembly Committees and the need for all this to change with the current set up. He also mentions his previous 'scraps' with Minister Andrew Davies, and the how the committee will effectively tackle scrutiny of the budget over the coming weeks.

He goes on to say:

The big challenge for me is to see how the priorities in ‘One Wales’ are to be reflected in government’s budget. This is the time to scrutinise the affordability or the extent of commitments. Commitments have also been made on the money saved from the bonfire if the Quangos and I suspect some members will want to look for evidence that the figures are being achieved.

Being serious, I take the role as chairman of the committee seriously and will act independently and in a balanced way; however, we need to couple this with the general lack of scrutiny in the past and anyone (ministers in particular) giving evidence should be able to answer the basic premise of funding priority
following One Wales.

Alun has spoken about his commitment to the function of the committee and his role. As a 'Scottish' terrier known for biting the nether regions of past Labour Government Ministers in the Assembly, we could be in for an interesting month or so.