Our musings on Welsh Political life

In response to recommendations from the fourth Assembly’s Petitions Committee report published in February 2016, the Assembly has now agreed a motion to amend the arrangements for Public Petitions.

The new rules will mean that:

1. The petitioner must be resident in Wales, or in the case of organisations – have a base in Wales
2. The threshold of support for submitting a petition will be increased from 10 to 50

For further information on the Assembly’s petitions process and other forms of engagement contact us

A staggering 28 Welsh Acts received royal assent during the fourth Assembly (May 2011-May 2016), the majority of which were put forward by the Welsh Government. The number of legislative proposals contained in the five year programme was ambitious and covered a significant number of devolved policy areas including education, housing, local government, environment and planning, animal welfare,  domestic abuse, health and social care. In June 2016, First Minister Carwyn Jones announced that the Welsh Government would adopt a different approach, making annual statements on proposals for primary legislation. In his statement he outlined the areas of public policy in which legislation would be brought forward in the first year of this fifth Assembly. Six Bills are to be brought forward in the first year of the fifth Assembly (from May 2016). The current list of published Bills is as follows:

• The Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Bill – introduced 28 November 2016
• Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal Wales) Bill – introduced in 12 December 2016
• Trade Union (Wales) Bill – introduced 16 January 2017
• Public Health (Wales) Bill – introduced 07 November 2016
• Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Bill – introduced 12 September 2016

For further information, analysis and advice contact us at Datganoli

The Assembly’s Standards of Conduct Committee is undertaking an inquiry into lobbying. Current arrangements for lobbying at the Assembly have been in place since 2013, with a commitment for regular review. The issue was last considered by the Assembly in 2013, where it was recommended that the approach to lobbying in Wales and in other parts of the UK be considered and assessed for functionality and transparency by the future Standards Committee.

The Committee issued a public consultation in December 2016 asking respondents whether there was a need for change in the regulation of lobbying and to identify potential unregulated areas which might pose a threat to the reputation and accountability of governance in Wales. The written evidence of Public Affairs Cymru – a membership organisation for public affairs professionals in Wales – stated that over half of the PAC members who responded to their online survey indicated that they had been asked to reconsider standpoints or not to say certain things with which the Welsh Government was not in agreement.

The consultation ended on the 31^st of January and responses were considered by the committee on the 14^th of February. Members agreed that the Committee would conduct further sessions, inviting witnesses to provide oral evidence. Details of evidence sessions are yet to be announced.