WAG End of Year Report Card 2013

School's out for summer, so it's report time.
(Pic : BBC)

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Assembly's in recess until September 23^rd. So it's worth taking another look at how I think the Welsh Government and opposition leaders have performed over the past year.

Because of the March and June reshuffles, I've altered this compared to 2012 to grade whole departmental performances (where applicable), as it's unfair to judge ministerial performances off four months of work (or three weeks).

Carwyn Jones (Lab, Bridgend)
First Minister

C+ domestically, B externally

The overall impression is - "Better than last year".

Carwyn continues to talk some sense on the bigger issues, including the fall out from Scotland's independence referendum. His problem's that nobody's listening. It doesn't matter that bloggers care, or articles get posted on Click on Wales. Until Ed Miliband and David Cameron take notice, then talk of grand constitutional conventions is moot.

On the "domestic" side of things, I'd echo what the IWA said about "patchy" performances. "Treading water" is the best description for how Welsh Labour have gone about things for the last 14 years, and this year's no exception.

The decision to buy Cardiff Airport stands out as particularly brave, proving the First Minister can shift when he wants to.

The only thing that's reflected badly on Carwyn personally this year was that ridiculous S4C badger row. I can't think of much else aside from performance - and that's not entirely his fault, even if he's the "face" of it. There's how he handles FMQs, but that's probably how he naturally does it. I don't think it's worth reading too much into the chaos at the end of this term either (for the moment).

Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda)
(Former) Minister for Education

B (A for effort)

Considering it's only been three weeks since his resignation, it's fair to give Leighton the "credit" here. His resignation will be the biggest political story in Wales this year, for good reason.

It's hard to question his determination. In many ways it was refreshing and commendable. Leighton clearly wanted to get to grips with school standards, and – in principle – the new literacy and numeracy framework is a good idea. It's just a question of rubbing teachers - who actually have to work with his ideas - up the wrong way .Though it's traditionally taken very little to annoy them, they might have a point this time around.

He seemed obsessed with mergers. I don't see what the point of much of that is as it doesn't seem to make much difference other than rebrandings and governance changes.

The underlying fact remains that school standards are stagnating. Reforms take time to filter through, though. His halo slipped due to matters outside his brief, but you couldn't knock the effort.

Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower)
Minister for the Economy, Science & Transport

B

I think lessons have been learned from that Green Investment Bank bid, so I'll move on from it now, but I'm always going to believe that AMs never looked into that debacle properly.

Some of the policies developed - life sciences in particular - have the potential to be exciting in the long-term, and a model that could be applied to other parts of the economy. Edwina's taken to this role better than I was expecting, but questions remain about the overall performance of the Welsh economy, as well as high youth unemployment. That's a burden shared equally between Cardiff and London.

Overall, I'd say Edwina's doing a decent job and seems to enjoy it. For Sêr Cymru and its related fund (which is starting to bare fruit), the trade trips, and actions like the SME finance report, I'm going to be kind. I think transport infrastructure needs to be Edwina's priority in the coming 12 months.

Jane Hutt (Lab, Vale of Glamorgan)
Minister for Finance

B-

Another solid performance whilst enduring difficult financial circumstances. Jane's been a competent and fair Finance Minister so far. It's just a question of how long she'll be able to put off the inevitable slashing of funds to local authorities, and what discomfort the Plaid-Lib Dem budget pact might cause later this year (depending on the Anglesey by-election result). My only complaint would be about where the money's going – I don't think enough capital spending is heading towards "hard infrastructure".

Theodore Huckle QC
Counsel General

C

One of the roles of the Counsel General is to ensure legislation falls within the competence of the Assembly. The Welsh Government were proven right on the Byelaws Bill, but it should never have gone that far in the first place.

There were more problems caused recently, with the Electoral Reform Society raising concerns about the clarity of law-making powers. That's nothing to do with him, more the devolution settlement, but as I said at the time, I don't think he's being properly utilised by AMs as a whole - with the notable exception of Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales).

Reshuffled Departments

Health

E

"In a critical condition." The Human Transplantation Act is a major initiative by itself, and I think the handling of the measles outbreak was spot on. Mark Drakeford (Lab, Cardiff West) has also shown promising early signs. The compliments end there.

The McClelland review was faintly damning, but even more damning was the 7-8 years of Welsh Government inaction in response to previous reviews. Some parts of the Welsh NHS, like A&E departments, are buckling under the weight of demand because many of the Welsh Government's key public health messages – like "Choose Well" – aren't getting through, in addition to chronic recruitment problems.

Hospital reforms have come ten years too late, and are showing signs of possibly becoming a major public policy bungle – not because of the proposals themselves, but for how its been handled. If these reforms fail, and enough people question if Labour can be trusted with the Welsh NHS, it'll be a game-changer.

There've been nauseating levels of hypocrisy from some AMs, who seem to support government health policy in the chamber – or say nothing at all - then openly/subtly oppose it outside. If they can't set out their own case, why should any of us listen to them? That goes for opposition AMs too. They're probably doing more damage to themselves, collectively, than they realise.

Local Government

C-

The Local Democracy Act is limp, and the only major change – STV for local elections – was subsequently killed off, though the opposition did get the local authority bigwig salary panel in there. Huge mistakes were made in changes to council tax benefit at the end of 2012 too. The Welsh Government also come across as having a weak leash when it comes to dealing with local authorities themselves, and when it comes to enforcing their own orders.

One thing I will say, is that local government settlements have been generous. That's probably going to change next year. Plus there's the elephant in the room regarding reorganisations of services or local authorities themselves. Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) has shown early signs that she might be the right person to deal with it.

Culture

C

Not much has happened here, to be honest. The Welsh language question should've been put to bed now. However, there's more question marks following the census results. I think there's also been a failure – so far - to properly capitalise on the success of the London Olympics, and an Assembly committee is looking into that AFAIK.

One good thing is that museum attendances are up, but that's matched by general falls in arts participation. There's also the long-standing issue about the media, in particular the future of Welsh newspapers and S4C's independence. For pity's sake, don't launch another inquiry! More from me on that in September (hopefully).

Housing & Regeneration

C

A mixed year. In terms of the good, you can point to the recent renting white paper. You can also point to increased capital spending on housing, and a commitment to a public-private approach to things like regeneration and renovating housing stock. Schemes like New Buy help prop up house prices and create a bubble, so I think the Welsh Government were right to pull the plug. However, the Lib Dems have a right to be miffed.

In terms of the bad, there's the bubbling RIFW scandal – that's still yet to be properly cleared up. I also think many of policies here are stuck in a certain way of thinking and aren't radical enough, bordering on defeatist and undermining the supposed commitment to sustainability.

Communities & Tackling Poverty

C-

Credit needs to be given in the area of community safety, but until criminal justice powers are in the hands of Welsh ministers I'm not going to give Labour too much credit.

Like the economy, there are underlying performance issues. Poverty levels haven't improved, and it looks like the target to eliminate child poverty by 2020 is going to be spectacularly missed, maybe even heading backwards.

Once again it's a burden shared between Wales and the UK, with the main policy levers – like welfare - resting in London's hands. They (Westminster) haven't helped themselves with their decisions over the last few years, notably the "Bedroom Tax", some aspects of Universal Credit, and disability welfare reforms carried over from the previous Labour government.

Food & Natural Resources

C

A mixed bag, verging on disappointing.

Welsh Labour delivered a major manifesto commitment through the creation of Natural Resources Wales, but it's low hanging fruit and unlikely to make too much of a difference, even if it's a logical administrative choice. With significant energy powers missing, this portfolio seems rather weak - farms, fields 'n' trees.

Alun Davies (Lab, Blaenau Gwent) has been doing a very good headless chicken impression – in good and bad ways. I think the Agricultural Sector Bill was the right thing to do overall, but there've been some big chinks in his armour due to his handling of the cold weather back in March/April. I think farmers have a right to be angry about that.

Junior Ministers

Gwenda Thomas (Lab, Neath)
Deputy Minister for Children & Social Services

C+

The Social Services and Well Being Bill is the most wide-ranging and complicated piece of legislation passing through the Assembly since the 2011 referendum. It's also been incredibly troubled at many points. Managing that Bill - as well as various care reviews - through the Assembly counts as an achievement in itself. The whole thing seems to have been incredibly stressful for Gwenda Thomas herself, consultees and the other AMs dealing with it. A safe pair of hands.

Jeff Cuthbert (Lab, Caerphilly)
(Former) Deputy Minister for Skills

C+

I've been pleasantly surprised. Jeff's been more visible over the last 12 months, and has subsequently been promoted. The review of qualifications was fairly comprehensive, if a bit of a missed opportunity, and he's also overseen an expansion and focus on apprenticeships and technical qualifications. Not a bad job, overall, but he's taken a big leap by being moved to Communities & Tackling Poverty, which – as I've said – is a difficult portfolio to manage without any significant powers. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do (creating that cabinet position in the first place).

Opposition Leaders

Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central)

C

Better than last year, it's fair to say. I was getting worried, but I think Andrew's found his feet as leader at long last. You get the impression his party are trying to become a bit more populist than the traditional Welsh Tory stereotype of grumpy farmers and bland, grey accountants.

Having said that, they remain hysterical and ineffectual as a group, despite individual AMs punching above their weight. Labour can afford to ignore them, while Plaid can out-campaign them. They've probably been the most vocal on hospital reorganisations, and NHS in general, but haven't offered anything remotely palatable in terms of their own changes. Fines for missed appointments? Reintroducing prescription charges? Talk about missed open goals.

Leanne Wood (Plaid, South Wales Central)

B

I can't pinpoint anything Leanne Wood's done wrong so far. Plaid are starting to make (slow) progress and got a decent result on Anglesey in May – albeit not the final outcome they would've wanted. I think the new backroom staff deserve credit, as there's the impression of a growing can-do spirit. They seem sharper in terms of policies - and pointing out failures - without being chopsy. They're a lot more practical than they've been in the past.

My only concerns would be confusion surrounding nuclear energy policy – which is causing them problems - and a lack of detail when announcing their own proposals.

Needless to say, Leanne is the de facto opposition leader at the moment. It's been a more than promising first full year for her personally - I think she's matched what I said during the leadership election about a "progressive popular front"  and a "Welsh politician people will want to be seen with" perfectly. But there's clearly still work to be done by Plaid as a whole. My gut instinct tells me the coming year is going to be tough, but manageable.

Kirsty Williams (Lib Dem, Brecon & Radnor)

C

Kirsty's always had a level of visibility and vitality – and to be honest, she's always been a pretty good leader too. However, I think that effect has been neutralised somewhat by Leanne Wood, and there are hints that she might not be enjoying life in the Senedd anymore.

The Welsh Lib Dems have frustrated. One moment they'll make the usual good contribution - I think Eluned Parrott AM (Lib Dem, South Wales Central) has been excellent in particular. The next they'll big up some insignificant concession they get in Westminster. They - or one AM - briefly showed a cruel/calculating side too, but I won't go into that to save those involved embarrassment.

I've been struggling to think of any mark they've made at the Cardiff end of the M4. They were clowned by Carl Sargeant pulling the plug on New Buy, and increasingly look and feel like they're becoming an irrelevance. I don't think things are that bad for the Lib Dems or Kirsty Williams....yet. They need to do some soul searching and ask themselves what their party's actually for.