Senedd Watch - October 2012

• Environment Minister, John Griffiths (Lab, Newport East), said that the rest of the UK should follow the Welsh Government's lead in charging for single-use carrier bags. Welsh Government statistics showed there were reductions of up to 96% in carrier bag use since the charge was introduced.
• The First Minister reaffirmed Welsh Labour's commitment to free prescriptions, following Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont's suggestion that universal benefits should be scrapped in Scotland.
• Finance Minister, Jane Hutt (Lab, Vale of Glamorgan), unveiled the Welsh Government's draft budget for 2013-14 on October 2^nd. The budget outlines extra capital spending on transport projects, and £30million for hospital and mental health services. £50million was cut from the overall block grant. She warned opposition parties that she has “little room to manoeuvre” with regard negotiations.
• Plaid Cymru Education Spokesman, Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales), launched the party's tuition fee policy review. Although he said that Plaid would ideally scrap tuition fees, he suggested reduced fees (£3,500) should only apply to Welsh-domiciled students who study at Welsh universities. Current Welsh Government policy applies a reduced fee regardless of where a student studies.
• The UK Government scrapped a deal with First Group to run West Coast mainline rail services (including north Wales-London services) after admitting to “unacceptable flaws” in the bidding process.
• The National Assembly (Official Languages) Bill was passed on October 3^rd, which will give English and Welsh official status within the Assembly. Plenary sessions will be translated into both languages. However, committee proceedings will not be subject to this, despite proposed amendments.
• Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, called for a “public stake” in Cardiff Airport following ongoing concerns about the airport's performance. The Welsh Government said the establishment of a task force “demonstrates their commitment” to the airport.
• Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew Davies, attacked a Welsh “culture of dependency” in the run up to his party's conference. He said Welsh Labour offered a “stale hand” calling them a “pantomime government” that's “choking the windpipe of Welsh opportunity.” Welsh Secretary, David Jones MP, said he's “ready to work with Welsh Labour” while the Prime Minister added that Wales “had a strong voice” in the UK Cabinet.
• Senior civil servant, Emyr Roberts, was announced as the first chief executive of the new Welsh environmental body due to come into being in 2013. The new body is a merger of the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and Countryside Council for Wales. It'll be known as Natural Resources Wales (Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru).
• The First Minister warned that high energy costs could deter companies from investing in the UK and Wales. He said that “it's more difficult to get investment here” and “makes it difficult for some of them in the future to justify keeping operations here.”
• A court case at the UK Supreme Court has begun, to discover whether the Local Government Byelaws Bill - passed by the Assembly in July 2012 - was within the Assembly's competence, following complaints from the UK Attorney General. Similar concerns have been raised about the National Assembly (Official Languages) Bill, passed earlier this month.
• Mick Antoniw AM (Lab, Pontypridd), said that the UK Government's decision to scrap the Agricultural Wages Board – which sets agricultural workers wages in EnglandandWales – will “increase rural poverty.” He said the decision could affect 3,000 workers in Wales alone. Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, Antionette Sandbach (Con, North Wales), said the AWB was “outdated and complicated”.
• Llywydd Rosemary Butler (Lab, Newport West), expressed concerns about lack of media coverage of the National Assembly, saying it's created a “democratic deficit”. Prof. Andrew King said that the situation was better than four years previous, and BBC coverage in particular had “significantly improved.”
• The Assembly approved a motion by Jocelyn Davies AM (Plaid, South Wales East), calling for the Welsh Government to seek devolution of rail infrastructure powers, the creation of a not-for-profit rail company and explore potential for electrification of the north Wales mainline. The Welsh Conservatives voted in favour of the amended motion, which included a reference to the “incompetence of the UK Government.”
• The Welsh Government accused the chair of governors of Cardiff Metropolitan University, former South Wales Police Chief Constable, Barbara Wilding, of “making misleading statements” with regard the merging of three universities in south east Wales to create a “super university”. Barbara Wilding said that no proper business case has been prepared. The Welsh Government said she had overlooked a Wales Audit Office report.
• Bethan Jenkins AM was suspended from the Plaid Cymru Assembly group, and apologised “profoundly”, after being arrested for drink-driving, adding she was receiving treatment for depression. Leanne Wood subsequently reshuffled portfolios and committee memberships amongst the party's AMs.
• The First Minister said that should Scotland vote for independence in 2014, the current constitutional arrangement between Wales and the rest of the UK would be “unsustainable”. An agreement on the transfer of power to hold a referendum was signed by the UK and Scottish governments on October 15th. Ieuan Wyn Jones AM (Plaid, Ynys Mon) called for a new Government of Wales Act to include Scottish-style “reserved powers.”
• Education Minister, Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda), ordered all secondary schools to report their asbestos levels within 7 days, following the complete closure of Cwmcarn High School in Caerphilly County.
• Local Government & Communities Minister, Carl Sargeant (Lab, Alyn & Deeside), agreed a local authority settlement with an overall 1.5% increase in funding, and protection for education and social service spending. He did warn that local authority collaboration wasn't moving fast enough.
• Unemployment in Wales fell by 7,000 in the three months to August 2012, with a 50,000 fall across the UK as a whole. The Welsh Government said its £75million Jobs Growth Fund was helping to reduce youth unemployment, while Plaid Cymru said they needed to do more to expand and create apprenticeships.
• The First Minister marked the 20^th anniversary of the founding of the European Single Market, saying that 150,000 Welsh jobs were dependent on it, and that 450 firms from EU member states were based in Wales, employing 50,000 people.
• The Assembly passed a cross-party motion calling for energy production in the Severn Estuary to be maximised. The First Minister said that Wales “should have a say” in any possible Severn Barrage scheme, and added his support for Wales having more control over renewable energy projects.
• Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham), has unveiled the Welsh Government's ten year strategy on mental health, which aims to reduce the stigma attached to mental health and introduce more cross-departmental working on the issue.
• The Welsh Government have been criticised for their response to a Wales Audit Office report, which was heavily critical of how the Welsh Government and civil service handled grant funding to defunct charity, AWEMA. Urgent questions were tabled in the Assembly, and Finance Minister, Jane Hutt said the Welsh Government were following “due process” and awaiting the outcome of a Public Affairs Committee investigation.
• Keith Davies AM (Lab, Llanelli) was discharged from hospital on October 23rd, after suffering a brain injury in September.
• The Welsh and UK Governments reached a deal that could see the ability to borrow money for capital projects devolved - on condition that income raising responsibilities came with it. Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrat AMs welcomed the deal. Plaid Cymru finance spokesperson, Ieuan Wyn Jones, said he “would have been ashamed to have signed up to such a bland statement,” saying that Barnett formula reform wasn't mentioned.
• AMs rejected a proposed Member's Bill by Darren Millar AM (Con, Clwyd West) to introduce a 5p levy on chewing gum to pay for its clean-up. Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, said it was “trivial” and a symbol of the National Assembly's “lack of teeth”. Environment Minister, John Griffiths (Lab, Newport East), said that the issue was “a significant cost to local councils” but opposed the Bill.
• A Member's Bill by Peter Black AM (Lib Dem, South Wales West) – the Regulated Mobile Home Sites Bill – was accepted.
• BBC Wales figures show that the number of hospital beds in Wales have fallen by 1,000 in the last three years. The Welsh Government said there were no official targets for bed occupancy, and believed quality of health care needed to be judged on wider indicators than bed numbers.
• Education Minister, Leighton Andrews, is undertaking a review of the school history curriculum. A review group will report back in July 2013. The Minister said he wanted pupils to “understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales.”
• Delays to bilingual papers in next months Police and Crime Commissioner elections have been described as a “waste of money” and “an insult to Wales”. Up to 2 million ballot papers have had to be destroyed for being in English-only – at a cost of £350,000.
• The Welsh and UK Government's have welcomed the news that the project to build the Wylfa B nuclear power station on Anglesey – Horizon - has been bought by Japanese company Hitachi.
• Talks between the Welsh Government and British Medical Association on a 1.5% increase in GP contracts have broken down after the BMA rejected the offer, saying it would result in more “box ticking” and asking for “stability.”

Projects announced in October 2012 include : A £19million boost to the “Flying Start” scheme, a £25million improvement to the Conwy Tunnel, proposals for a 2,500-home “Garden City” near Margam, a £13m regeneration investment in Neath town centre, an additional £10million towards the development of a new further education campus in Cardiff, a £250million plan to create a “western Heathrow hub” at Cardiff Airport.