A Stronger Voice for Wales in a Changing Britain

You don’t have to be a constitutional expert to have your say on constitutional issues.

The National Assembly for Wales’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has been looking at how Wales works with other Parliaments and Governments: the relationship between them, how well they work together and share ideas. By understanding current and past relationships, the Committee want to be able to recommend the best model of working for the future.

But what sort of relationship does the people of Wales want our institution to have with other parliaments and governments?

Huw Irranca-Davies AM, Chair of the Committee will deliver a talk at this year’s National Eisteddfod focusing on what he will argue are the most profound constitutional challenges the people of Wales have faced for many generations, both as a nation – Wales – and as a family of nations within the United Kingdom. How Wales rises to those challenges will be the defining test of our generation.

The National Eisteddfod is of course a celebration of traditional Welsh culture and arts and language, but it is also a place where the identity of Wales and its people is constantly imagined and re-imagined. It is also where the politics and constitution of Wales – and Wales within the United Kingdom – have been hotly discussed and debated down the decades, on the Maes and off.

A UK which is negotiating its way out of membership of the EU. An England which is perhaps confused about its identity – or its multiple identities – and is experimenting with different forms of devolution in London and now in its grand metropolitan cities & regions. A Scotland which voted in one referendum to stay as part of the UK, with a government which toyed with the idea of a second referendum, yet has gone cool on the idea – at least for now. And the institutions of Northern Ireland in suspended animation with the threat of Direct Rule hanging over them. A Wales with a Scotland-style Reserved Powers Model finally, but with some expert commentators – and indeed the Welsh Government itself – arguing that the Wales Act in combination with the EU (Withdrawal) Bill risks rolling devolution backwards.

In this turbulent, fast-changing environment, it is absolutely right to ask the fundamental question of how we ensure Wales has a strong voice right now, and a stronger voice in the future. In the midst of all the cacophony and clamour, the strongest possible voice for Wales in this union of nations is an absolute imperative.

Join us at this year’s Eisteddfod

Monday 7 August

Societies Pavilion 2

11.30 – 12.30

The Chair of the National Assembly for Wales’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, Huw Irranca-Davies AM, will talk about its ‘Stronger Voice for Wales’ inquiry.

This will be followed by an opportunity to meet Members of the Committee to talk about these issues which will become particularly important as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Co-investment and mobilising a productive and skilled workforce in Wales

April 2015 saw the Welsh Government begin to implement its framework for co-investment in skills. This framework changes the way in which training, skills and apprenticeships are funded in Wales.

The new approach to investing in skills means that the total cost of training, in cash terms, is shared between two or more people. For businesses or individuals who employ apprentices or offer work-based training, the change means that they must increase their financial contributions to meet the cost of skills training in their workforce.

William Graham AM, Chair of the Enterprise and Business Committee

Expecting to be fully implemented by 2017, the Enterprise and Business Committee wanted to find out how this would impact Welsh businesses and training providers. Would the new framework help meet the Welsh Government’s aim of “ensuring that Wales develops a competitive edge in mobilising a productive and skilled workforce”?

The Committee held business breakfasts, in both North and South Wales to explore these issues further. The first meeting took place in Brains Brewery, Cardiff with a variety of representatives from the academic, business and training sectors.

Gwawr Thomas, Creative Skillset Cymru talks about taking part in the event and explains the importance of co-investment in skills within the creative industries:

Participants discussed the need to consider the different levels of financial support available to a variety of businesses who may be operating on different scales. Increased investment from employers may mean that those businesses then select candidates who have experience – which could see them neglect young candidates which would see the policy work against the Welsh Government’s aim.

Dylan’s, Menai Bridge – Anglesey

The second breakfast meeting took place in Dylan’s Restaurant, Anglesey with local training providers and business representatives. Iwan Thomas, the Regional Skills and Employment Lead for the North Wales Economic Ambition Board was one of the invited guests.

One of the key messages he wanted to get across was for the Welsh Government to consider a regional approach to co-investment, and how they should be taking the change forward:

Having held both business breakfasts, the Enterprise and Business Committee sent a letter of recommendations to the Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James AM to consider in relation to the policy change. You can read the letter of recommendations here: http://bit.ly/1fzxrp1

Understanding and Engaging with the Assembly

Last month the National Assembly for Wales’s Outreach Team visited ten groups across Wales to provide Understanding and Engaging workshops and hosted three events in support of Assembly Business.

This month we met with 566 people to discuss the role of the Assembly and inform them of:

• Who their representatives are
• How decisions made at the Assembly affect the people of Wales
• How the Assembly hold the Welsh Government to account
• How they can get involved in decisions made by the Assembly

The Benllech 50+ Group were a particularly lively bunch. While discussing the legislative process of the National Assembly for Wales we opened up the discussion and asked the group what changes they’d like to see. Chief among their priorities was a focus on tourism and transport, issues they said are very important to them in Anglesey.

Chair of the Group, Mrs Dilys Standish said after the session:

“We’ve just had a presentation from the Outreach Team [who are based] at Colwyn Bay. It was very interesting to know how the Welsh Assembly works and all the different ways we can, as a community, get involved with the Assembly.

A wonderful afternoon has been had by all and it was very informative.”

A group from Women Making a Difference also came to us at the Senedd for a presentation this month. We had a very interactive session discussing how the group would prioritise spending if they were given control of the budget. This group were also very surprised to learn about the Assembly’s petitioning system and how simple the process was to understand.

Other groups we’ve visited groups this month range from Chwarae Teg in Cardiff to YMCA in Swansea and up to the West Flintshire Communities First cluster.

If your group would be interested in receiving an Understanding and Engaging workshop, or are simply interested in our work, please contact us via OutreachTeam@assembly.wales or phone us on 0300 200 6574.

This month we’ve also been busy supporting Assembly business by hosting the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee’s poverty roundtable event at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff and their site visits to projects and organisations all across Wales, and the Enterprise and Business Committee’s Tourism report launch in Aberglasney and their Assisting Younger People into work roundtable in Swansea. You can view the pictures from these events on the Assembly’s Flickr page.

Remember to keep up with our activities by following us on Twitter @SeneddOutreach or keep an eye on the ‘Assembly in your area’ section on the Assembly website.

The Assembly in your Area – Consultation event with Aelwyd yr Ynys, 15 November 2011

On Tuesday evening 15 November 2011, the Assembly’s Outreach Manager in north Wales visited Aelwyd yr Ynys, Ynys Môn with questionnaires for the Children and Young People Committee Inquiry into Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009. The Committee want to know what effect the Measure has had on young people 14 to 19 years of age. The group received a presentation on the work of the Assembly and learnt how the National Assembly for Wales Committees scrutinise the Welsh Government. Assembly Members on the Committee will take a look at the evidence they receive and decide which parts of the law are working well and which parts are working not so well.