Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM / AC
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General Information about the Welsh Assembly
- Background to the Assembly
- A new style of Government for Wales
- How the Assembly is elected
- The first meeting of the National Assembly for Wales
- Powers and responsibilities of the Assembly
- What does this mean in practice?
- How the Assembly works
- The Presiding Officer
- The First Minister and Assembly Ministers
- The role of Committees
- Broadcasting Assembly proceedings
Background to the Assembly
In July 1997, the Government published a White Paper, A Voice for Wales, which outlined proposals for devolution in Wales. These proposals were endorsed in the referendum of 18 September 1997.
Parliament passed the Government of Wales Act 1998, which established the National Assembly for Wales, and the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, which enabled the transfer of the devolved powers and responsibilities from the Secretary of State for Wales to the Assembly to take place on July 1st 1999.
Subsequently many acts of Parliament have given new powers to the Assembly.
A new style of Government for Wales
The Assembly decides on its priorities and allocates the funds made available to it from the Treasury.
Within its powers, the Assembly develops and implements policies which reflect the particular needs of the people of Wales. Decisions about these issues are made by politicians who are accountable, through the ballot box, to voters in Wales.
Wales remains part of the UK and the Secretary of State for Wales and Members of Parliament (MPs) from Welsh constituencies continue to have seats in Westminster. Laws passed by Parliament in Westminster still apply to Wales.
How the Assembly is elected
The elections for the first Assembly were held on 6 May 1999. Elections are held every four years, and the last elections were held on 1st May 2003.
The Assembly has 60 elected members and each voter has two votes. The first vote is used to elect a local or constituency Assembly Member in the same way as MPs are elected to the House of Commons. Forty Assembly Members are elected on this ‘first past the post’ basis, one from each constituency in Wales.
The second vote is used to elect 20 additional members, on a regional basis, to ensure that the overall number of seats for each political party reflects the share of the vote they receive. This is known as the Additional Member System, a form of proportional representation. There are five electoral regions, based on the European Parliamentary Constituencies created in 1994, and each region returns four members to the Assembly.
The first meeting of the National Assembly for Wales
The historic first plenary meeting of the Assembly took place on Wednesday 12 May 1999, when Members elected the first Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officer and First Secretary (later known as the First Minister) of the Assembly.
Powers and responsibilities of the Assembly
The Assembly has considerable power to develop and implement policy within a range of areas:
- agriculture;
- ancient monuments and historic buildings;
- culture;
- economic development;
- education and training;
- the environment;
- health and health services;
- highways;
- housing;
- industry;
- local government
- social services;
- sport and leisure;
- tourism;
- town and country planning;
- transport and roads; and
- the Welsh language.
What does this mean in practice?
Examples of the important decisions the Assembly can make include:
- developing education, training and lifelong learning in Wales;
- developing and funding NHS services in Wales;
- administering European funds including the Objective One programme;
- administering funding for local authorities in Wales;
- developing housing policy, including tackling homelessness;
- sponsoring bodies that protect our environment and conserve wildlife and natural habitats;
- developing an integrated transport framework for Wales;
- promoting agricultural schemes and rural development;
- developing schemes to promote the culture and heritage of Wales;
- establishing schemes for sustainable development and equality of opportunity; and
- developing information and communication technology in Wales.
How the Assembly works
The essential structures and procedures for the Assembly are laid down in the Government of Wales Act 1998. The more detailed processes are set out in the Assembly Standing Orders.
The Presiding Officer
The Assembly is chaired by the Presiding Officer, who is the equivalent of the Speaker of the House of Commons and who is elected by the whole Assembly. Once elected, the Presiding Officer serves the Assembly impartially. There is also a Deputy Presiding Officer who is elected in the same way.
The Presiding Officer is responsible for:
- the working of the Assembly and for ensuring that the proper procedures are observed;
- services for members, such as the library and briefing service, which support Members in their work; and
- services to the public, such as the information service and the visitors’ programme, which aim to raise the public’s awareness and understanding of the Assembly.
The First Minister and Assembly Ministers
The 60 Assembly Members delegate their executive powers (the making and implementing of decisions and laws) to the First Minister, who is elected by the whole Assembly and therefore usually represents the largest political party.
The First Minister in turn delegates responsibility for delivering the executive functions to Assembly Ministers who form the Cabinet. The Cabinet makes many of the Assembly’s day to day decisions, and its Ministers are responsible for individual subject areas such as health and education. The Cabinet is accountable to the rest of the Assembly, which scrutinises all its decisions and actions.
The role of Committees
Subject Committees
Members from all parties can voice their opinions on how the Assembly operates through Subject Committees, such as Education and Lifelong Learning, Culture, Environment, and Economic Development. These Subject Committees develop policies and examine what the Assembly does. Members are elected to serve on these committees. The committee membership reflects the balance of political groups within the Assembly.
Regional Committees
Regional Committees represent the needs and interests of their localities, and convey issues of local concern to the full Assembly and to the Subject Committees. There are four Regional Committees, which are made up of members from the relevant constituency and electoral region. Most committee meetings take place in public and a number are broadcast, both on digital television (S4C2, BBC Parliament) and on the internet – www.webcasting.wales.gov.uk.
Plenary Meetings
Plenary meetings of the Assembly take place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in public and are broadcast. The Presiding Officer circulates a notice of business for each plenary session in advance and business is dealt with in the order in which it appears in the notice of business.
For each week the Assembly meets in plenary session, at least 30 minutes are allocated to oral questions to the First Minister. Each Minister also responds to oral questions at least once every four weeks, while any other member can propose a motion or topic for a short debate before the end of a plenary session.
With the Presiding Officer’s prior approval, any member can propose that the Assembly should immediately consider a matter of urgent public importance at any plenary session.
Time is also allocated within the annual plenary cycle for certain categories of Assembly business such as:
- allocation of the Assembly budget;
- subordinate legislation - regulations which implement Acts of Parliament (or primary legislation);
- motions proposed on behalf of political groups not represented in the Assembly Cabinet; and
- reports submitted by subject and regional committees.
Broadcasting Assembly proceedings
In partnership with the BBC, HTV and S4C, the Assembly has established The National Assembly for Wales Broadcasting Company to broadcast the Assembly's public proceedings. All plenary Sessions are broadcast live on the digital television channel S4C 2. You can also watch live and archived meetings on your PC via the internet - visit www.webcasting.wales.gov.uk to find out more.
