Senedd Watch - October 2013

• The National Assembly passed the Active Travel Bill on October 1^st. The Active Travel Act 2013 will place statutory duties on local authorities to plan, map and improve integrated cycling and pedestrian networks. Chair of the Assembly's Petitions Committee, William Powell AM (Lib Dem, Mid & West Wales), said it highlighted the success of the petitions system, as the law started life as a Sustrans Cymru petition in 2007.
• Chair of the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, Darren Millar AM (Con, Clwyd West), referred a Life Sciences Fund investment to the Wales Audit Office after the chair, Sir Christopher Evans, was revealed to have had an interest in a company which received funding. In a separate matter, a member of the public referred the appointment of former Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones as head of the Menai Science Park to the Wales Audit Office. It was soon confirmed that there was no breach of rules regarding former ministerial appointments.
• Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central), told ITV Wales that consideration should be given to replacing the Welsh Office with a Department of the Nations, saying it would prevent Wales being “marginalised” at UK level. He also suggested the Assembly should have shorter recesses and sit in plenary three times a week.
• In his annual report, NHS Wales chief executive David Sissling said the health service had made a number of improvements despite criticism and pressures, including from the Welsh Government, who BBC Wales believed raised serious concerns about every local health board bar Powys in August 2013.
• Estyn expressed concerns about standards at the South East Wales Centre for Teacher Education and Training, in particular literacy and numeracy training and guidance. Plaid Cymru education spokesperson, Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales), said more support was needed for teachers when they leave university, and Wales needed to learn best practice from England and Scotland.
• Opposition politicians said the Welsh economy was in desperate need for growth after tax figures from HMRC showed Wales generated 3.1% of the UK's tax take despite having a population share of 4.9%. The Welsh Government said the figures were “distorted and incomplete” and Welsh tax-take kept pace with UK growth.
• Estyn's report into mathematics teaching at GCSE level concluded that performances were “disappointing”, with an 11% gap between Wales and England with regard pupils achieving at least a C grade. The Welsh Government said the report highlighted both areas of success and areas where improvements were required.
• Finance Minister Jane Hutt (Lab, Vale of Glamorgan) unveiled the draft budget for 2014-15, which included a significant increase in NHS spending over three years, but significant cuts to local government and further education. A £100million agreement was reached between Labour, Plaid Cymru and Welsh Libs Dems which included funds for supported housing, health technologies and deprived pupils. The minister also announced a £617.5million capital spending package over the next three years.
• In response to the draft budget, Cardiff Council's Cllr. Russell Goodway warned some local authorities “could go bust” as a result of absorbing extra cuts on top of existing spending restraint. The Welsh Local Government Association were also critical, saying the Welsh NHS was “squeezing out” other budgets.
• Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM (Plaid, Carms. E & Dinefwr) issued a statement calling for Carmarthenshire Council to be placed in special measures, after a Plaid Cymru councillor was prevented from drawing attention to Wales Audit Office concerns about unlawful payments during the council's monthly meeting.
• Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood told her party's annual conference that Wales remained at the bottom of too many league tables, promising strong leadership. She outlined policy proposals such as a 20p levy on soft drinks to pay for 1,000 additional doctors, cutting or scrapping business rates for small businesses and creating a not-for-profit energy company to sell directly to Welsh businesses and households.
• Bethan Jenkins AM (Plaid, South Wales West) was granted leave to introduce a backbench Financial Education and Inclusion Bill, which aims to improve financial education in schools and beyond, and increase local authority powers to both deal with payday lending and promote financial inclusion.
• Minister for Housing and Regeneration, Carl Sargeant (Lab, Alyn & Deeside) announced that the Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales (RIFW) would be suspended, and placed under direct Welsh Government control, following an ongoing Wales Audit Office and Serious Fraud Office investigation into land sales in 2012.
• The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee found a Monmouthshire-based drainage board – responsible for ensuring the Gwent Levels don't flood - had potentially put lives at risk through poor management, and also that members took trips abroad without any business case. Natural Resources and Food Minister, Alun Davies (Lab, Blaenau Gwent) said he was considering merging drainage boards into Natural Resources Wales.
• The First Minister criticised Network Rail for not consulting the Welsh Government over their scheduling of major works to the Severn Tunnel, which coincided with the opening ceremony of the Rugby League World Cup and the Womex music festival – both held in Cardiff. Network Rail said the work was “vital”.
• The First Minister defended Hywel Dda LHB's decision to postpone non-urgent surgery in order to increase winter capacity, while trade unions and opposition AMs criticised the decision. Doctors also claimed NHS staff would be deterred from whistle blowing about poor care as the result of new Welsh NHS policy guidelines published in July.
• Business & Enterprise Minister, Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower), announced the creation of a group to deliver a metro system in south east Wales following the publication of an executive report. The scheme, if completed in full, would cost £1.9billion between now and 2030.
• The Welsh Government introduced the Control of Horses Bill, which aims to tackle illegal fly-grazing and abandonment of horses. There was, however, criticism of a decision to bypass the first committee stage from three Assembly committees.
• The National Assembly agreed unanimously that a decision to create a Welsh national cricket team should be left to cricket authorities following a petition to, and report from, the Assembly's Petitions Committee. Both Glamorgan County Cricket Club and Cricket Wales reject the proposal.
• There was confusion over Barnett consequentials resulting from the High Speed 2 (HS2) project in England, with Finance Minister Jane Hutt telling the Assembly's Finance Committee in a letter that £35million was added to the Welsh budget as a result project spending. The UK Government denied this, saying HS2 is a “vital UK project” and outside of the bounds of the Barnett formula, but later backtracked, accepting the Welsh Government's view.
• The Environment & Sustainability Committee criticised Natural Resources and Food Minister, Alun Davies, after accounting errors left £342million of farming subsidies off his department's draft budget sheets. He was also criticised for giving “evasive and contradictory” answers to the committee. The Welsh Government rejected both the criticism itself and its tone, saying it was “simply flawed and inaccurate.”
• Health Minister Mark Drakeford (Lab, Cardiff West) pledged to launch a neglect review into the circumstances surrounding the death of an 82 year old woman in 2012 after two years of on-off treatment at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot Hospital. Relatives said her treatment was “appalling”, and she was left dehydrated.
• The Western Mail reported that in a leaked letter to Labour party colleagues, Blaenau Gwent council leader, Hedley McCarthy, savaged the Welsh Government's handling of local government services - in particular placing local authorities into special measures - and questioned current reviews into, and possible expense of, local government reorganisation.

Projects announced in October include : A scheme to guarantee a post-16 education or training place for all young people in Wales out of work by 2015, confirmation of £44million rail improvements in north east Wales that includes redoubling of track between Wrexham and Chester, two new business rate relief schemes to run until 2015 and 2016, a £268million package over several years towards housing for vulnerable people, details of a commemoration of the First World War in 2014 and a new delivery plan for neurological conditions.

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New law to rein in abandoned horses

A lovely horse, and some not so lovely horses.
The Welsh Government are cracking down on illegal fly-grazing via a new law

There've been instances across Wales of horses being left to fly graze on public land or farmland illegally, and for some time, the Welsh Government have wanted to clamp down on abandoned horses.

Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan are, in fact, picked out as "hot spots" for fly-grazing.

In 2011, more than 250 stray horses and ponies rampaged around Laleston and Coity, some managing to get onto the M4. In 2012, stray horses in the Bryntirion area of Bridgend took over playing fields and invaded both the local secondary school and people's gardens. Byron Davies AM (Con, South Wales West) has also raised concerns about ~200 abandoned horses in the Gower.

Horses can be temperamental, so can be dangerous to anyone who isn't used to handling them. It's usually the fire service and police who deal with the horses themselves, but local authorities have complained that the powers they currently have are "inadequate to enable them to tackle the issue."

In response, last week Natural Resources and Food Minister Alun Davies (Lab, Blaenau Gwent) introduced the Control of Horses Bill to the National Assembly.

A bit of controversy

Once again, the Welsh Government have sped up legislation, this time bypassing the first committee stage, which usually includes evidence from interested outside parties and experts. The Bill's fairly short and easy to understand so I don't think they're trying to pull a fast one, but you've got to wonder if the Welsh Government are starting to bypass legislative stages out of habit.

Ironically, Welsh Conservative leader - and farmer - Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central), might've provided the impetus by suggesting in previous debates that a fly-grazing law "could be required this winter" if it's harsh enough to put animals at risk. He believed the Welsh Government should "reach out to opposition parties to try to instigate a speedy passage of the Bill".

So they did, and the minister says he received concrete cross-party for it. That's the clear party political view, but - putting aside unrelated criticism of Alun Davies over the last 48 hours for a moment - it's not the view shared by the Assembly's committees.

Respective chairs of the Environment & Sustainability and Finance Committees - Dafydd Elis Thomas AM (Plaid, Dwyfor Meirionnydd) and Jocelyn Davies AM (Plaid, South Wales East) - criticised the decision at some length during the first debate on Tuesday.

Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales) - speaking on behalf of the Constitutional & Legislative Affairs Committee - said they didn't have a chance to scrutinise the legislation beforehand and that the committee "didn't like working this way."

A William Graham AM (Con, South Wales East) amendment to the debate motion "regretting" the decision to bypass the first committee stage failed to pass by just two votes.

What the law intends to do

The law covers "all equine animals".
(Pic : zoochat.com)

Bill here (pdf), explanatory memorandum here (pdf).

The Bill :

• Gives local authorities the power to seize, impound and dispose of horses which are either :
• On highways or in public places without lawful authority
• On land without the consent of the landowner/occupier ("landowner" includes local authorities themselves)
• Places statutory duties on local authorities to:

• Give written notice at the point of seizure and to the police within 24 hours.
• Take reasonable steps to find the horse(s) owner and inform them in writing within 7 days of seizure.
• Keep a public register of all horse seizures.

• Will mean horse owners are liable for the costs of any seizure of horses under this law, and the local authority won't be obliged to return a horse until payment has been received in full.
• Will mean if the horse owner, or someone on their behalf, hasn't been found/come forward with 7 days, local authorities have the power to arrange for the "disposal" of the horse, including euthanasia.
• Outlines that if money made from disposal falls short of the costs of seizure then the owner will be liable to make up the difference, but also if the disposal exceeds costs of seizure then the local authority will be required to pay the owner the difference.
• Places a duty on Welsh Ministers to draft regulations for an appeals process.
• Repeals/supersedes clauses relating to wild horses in previous local government legislation.

"Horse" for the purpose of the Bill is defined as a horse, donkey, pony, mule, hinny (whatever one of those is) and "any other equine animals". Zebras of Wales - not just the Treorchy kind - have been put on notice then, while somewhere there's a zoologist crying.

I know I'm talking theoretically here, but you can imagine what the public reaction might be if a zebra escaped from a travelling circus, zoo or sanctuary, wasn't recovered in time, and was (somehow) set to be put down under this law.

The Assembly's Finance Committee have asked for updated estimates of how many horses the Welsh Government would expect to be destroyed should the Bill become law. It's also said in the explanatory memorandum that the law will be reviewed two years, or sooner, after it becomes law.

What the law means

The explanatory memorandum says the Bill has been welcomed by animal welfare organisations and equine societies such as RSPCA, Redwings and Blue Cross,  who've seen sharp increases in the number of horses seeking re-homing or being abandoned.

The overriding goal of the law is clear cut, and it's obvious the Welsh Government are getting tough with fly-grazers.

Horse owners would have a week to reclaim their horse(s) if seized by a local authority. If not, the horse will either end up re-homed or in a knacker's yard, with the owner facing a hefty bill for their trouble.

7 days might seem harsh – previous limits were 14 days - and it was raised by Joyce Watson AM (Lab, Mid & West Wales) in the Environment & Sustainability Committee, while Julie Morgan AM (Lab, Cardiff North) had concerns about the potential impact on gypsies and travellers.

You've also got to wonder if disposal is the best solution, when compulsory microchipping of horses - in the same manner as dogs - might be better in the long-term.

Alun Davies told the committee he would expect "any responsible horse owners to check their horses on a daily basis". Negligent horse owners might have also seen the old limit as 14 days of free food for their horse(s) at the expense of someone else's land.

Some existing laws – like the Animals Act 1971 and Animal Welfare Act 2006 – place duties on owners to ensure the welfare of animals they own, and gives landowners the power to detain livestock that stray onto their land. Legislation specific to some old counties of Wales also granted local authorities the power to seize stray animals, however those provisions don't cover the whole of Wales, while the Control of Horses Bill will.

A similar, but significantly more extensive, law was passed in the Republic of Ireland in 1996. I think it perfectly highlights the difference between the sovereign powers an independent nation has and devolution.

The current cost of fly-grazing to the police, RSPCA, councils, equine societies and fire service is said to be a cumulative £1.2million a year.

The average cost – citing examples in Bridgend and Vale of Glamorgan – of a horse seizure is around £500 per horse, while other local authorities like Swansea say the costs are between £1,000 and £1,500 per horse.

The costs of the proposed law are mixed. Some local authorities operating under the local laws mentioned above will already carry out some of the functions outlined in this proposed Bill, so it won't cost them anything. For the rest, it might cost around £600 per horse.

To put things in perspective, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan and Swansea impounded 154 horses in 2012 alone – which is much higher than I had expected, working out at almost three horses a week.

At national level, a contract for secure accommodation for seized horses would cost around £450,000 to set up, and £300,000 per year afterwards. It'll cost the Welsh Government £11,000 to issue the appropriate statutory guidance.

I'd also propose another, less politically correct, solution to the problem:

         

I don't understand why people are squeamish about eating horse meat. It's eaten across Asia and mainland Europe – especially France, Italy, and northern Europe - we have loads of them, it's better for the environment as horses fart less methane than cows and they're all free range. It's also completely legal, just unfashionable.

It might encourage those thinking of abandoning their horses to sell them instead. You have to wonder if there would be a market for Welsh boucheries chevalines.

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Draft budget sends chill across local government

As you know, Finance Minister Jane Hutt (Lab, Vale of Glamorgan) unveiled the draft Welsh budget for 2014-15 to the National Assembly on Tuesday. All the relevant figures and details can be found here, but it's worth giving the overall picture compared to the supplementary budget for 2013-14 (total expenditure, including annually managed expenditure) based off the budget tables (pdf).

Department	Draft Budget 2014-15	Change from 2013-14 Supplementary Budget plans (total spending)
Health & Social Services	£6,545million	+£136million
Local Government	£4,613million	-£95.9million
Education & Skills	£1,987million	-£46.6million
Economy, Science & Transport	£977.2million	+£37.1million
Housing & Regeneration	£464.6million	+£92.4million
Natural Resources & Food	£418.6million	+£23.2million
Central Administration	£349.7million	-£731k
Communities & Tackling Poverty	£212.7million	+£375k
Culture & Sport	£139.9million	-£1.1million

The Good News

The clear winner is the Welsh NHS, with other areas
- like transport - receiving extra capital spending boosts.
(Pic : BBC Wales)

It's easier to make out the red numbers in the budget than the black, but there are clear winners, particularly in terms of capital spending (one-off investments). Revenue budgets (operating budgets) across all areas except health don't make as nice reading.

There's an extra £225million in revenue and capital funding for delivery of NHS services, and the total cumulative extra funding is said to be around £570million over the next three years.

Local libraries received a £3.7million capital boost. There's also a £35million capital boost for programmes to mitigate climate change and tackle fuel poverty, an extra £7.5million towards flood defences, while post-16 learner support received a £30.9million capital funding boost too.

An extra £13million of capital funding has been made available for sustainable travel schemes - perhaps in response to the Active Travel Act - alongside an extra £30.7million for road and rail schemes and £8.2million for trunk roads. However, there've been cuts of around £19million to transport revenue budgets.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Welsh Government announced a £100million agreement with Plaid Cymru and Welsh Liberal Democrats, the specifics of which include :

• The Pupil Deprivation Grant has been increased by £35million (to £918 per pupil).
• The creation of a £50million Intermediate Care Fund to increase the number of patients being treated in the community instead of hospitals.
• £5.5million has been pledged to mitigate against cuts to the Supporting People Programme (supported housing for vulnerable adults), the budget being cut by a lesser £2.2million to £134.4million for 2014-15.
• An additional £9.5million for robotic cancer treatment (Da Vinci) and telemedicine in north and south west Wales.

Jane Hutt also announced £617.5million in general capital spending priorities over the next three years on Wednesday, including :

• £62million towards the proposed South Wales Metro.
• A combined £97million towards A465 duelling, Brynglas tunnels improvements and A55 improvements.
• £170million towards shared equity schemes and other housing projects.
• An extra £82million for Finance Wales.
• £38million towards Phase 2 of the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital, Cardiff.
• £90million towards Arbed energy efficiency and flood defences.

The Bad News

Everyone knows local councils took a big hit, but we shouldn't
 overlook the scale of cuts made to post-16 education.
(Pic : ITV Wales)

The widely-expected deep cuts to local government have arrived, and will make grim reading for local authority finance departments, making it even harder to explain away tax-friendly pension schemes and  taxpayer-funded legal bills.

Local government support funding has been cut by £127.9million alone, with total cuts to local government services said to hit the £460million mark over the next three years – an average of £20.9million per council, though many will fare worse than that, few better.

The WLGA are - unsurprisingly - not pleased, describing the cuts as potentially "casting local public services as the poor relation of the Welsh public sector" and criticising the increased spending on the NHS. Cardiff Council's Cllr. Russell Goodway goes as far as to say some local authorities "could go bust", suggesting that two unnamed local authorities are in serious financial trouble.

The Western Mail report that the WLGA's Chief Executive told the Assembly's Communities, Local Government and Equalities Committee earlier today that local authorities should be able to absorb the cuts over the next few years, but if austerity drags on for much longer, then councils may struggle to provide services, warning that Russell Goodway's harbinger of doom statements were "fair comments."

It should be pointed out that while there are big spending boosts to health, that's offset by a £168.2million cut to targeted NHS services. Substance misuse and children's social services have had their revenue budgets frozen. Mental health policies and legislation have seen a £3.7million cut, while adult social services have seen a £36.1million cut.

A total of £77.6million of cuts have been made across education, in particular post-16 (-£49.1million) and universities (-£20million) offset mainly by the Pupil Deprivation Grant. There's another £7.2million of cuts to skilled workforce schemes too, in addition to £27.2million of cuts to programmes to boost education participation and reduce inequalities.

A total of £3.26million of cuts have been make to supported housing, including homelessness, offset somewhat by the Intermediate Care Fund and the smaller than planned cuts to the Supporting People Programme.

Arts Council for Wales funding and sport activities funds have been cut by £2.2million and £1.2million respectively. Science and innovation have taken a £1.7million hit (offset by a 200%+ increase in capital funding for science in the 2013-14 budget) while Rural Development Plan programmes have seen a £18.1million cut to revenue budgets.

Despite being in the midst of welfare reforms from Westminster, the Communities & Tackling Poverty budget has effectively been frozen, seeing £3.6million in revenue cuts and a £4million extra capital funds. That's unlikely to achieve anything significant.

The Assembly and Welsh Government face up to their own own cuts, with £13.7million in savings made to general running costs.

Winner - NHS. Loser - Everything else.

Plaid and the Lib Dems managed to get valuable and practical things
from their negotiations, but it's small beans in the wider budget context.
(Pic : ITV Wales)

There are loads of different methods for working out how good/bad the figures are, but my sub-heading seems to be the general consensus reached by everyone who glanced over said figures.

This is likely to be the last big splurge on the NHS until the block grant starts to rise again (unlikely this side of 2020). Although I'm sure Welsh Labour love splashing the cash on health, and the Welsh NHS will continue to deliver complex services, it's in danger of becoming a poorly-managed fiscal black hole. Something has to change or I think even the Welsh Government will start to lose patience with LHBs. I covered one minor measure earlier this week.

The local government cuts were no surprise, but I was shocked at the depth of the cuts to education. It looks as though a sizable chunk of post-16 and university funds have been sacrificed for the Pupil Deprivation Grant. I remain sceptical as to whether that actually works because of how it's being spent, not the principle of the fund itself. Schools certainly win, FE colleges and universities lose.

It seems the economy department has been hit too, but via a lot of smaller revenue cuts offset by capital funding boosts. You've also got to question what the point of the Communities and Tackling Poverty department is without policing in its portfolio, as it seems to be Social Services+1.

In political terms, the good news for the Welsh Government is that, obviously, passing the budget will be a formality without any long, drawn-out process as last year or the year before. Plaid and the Lib Dems will abstain on the formal budget motion whenever it's presented to the Assembly over the next few weeks.

As to whether the two parties got a good deal, I'd say it's reasonable, but far from brilliant when you take all of the numbers into consideration. Many things, like the Intermediate Care Fund, you would've expected the Welsh Government to have considered anyway. You suspect Leanne Wood and Kirsty Williams simply gave them a nudge.

On the other hand, although you would expect it, the Welsh Conservatives are left twiddling their thumbs. While their Westminster colleagues dilly dally over fiscal devolution, you would think that the Welsh branch would be pushing for tax powers ASAP to create a narrative for themselves.

Their response so far has been limp and predictable, with Shadow Finance Minister, Paul Davies (Con, Preseli Pembs.), saying that Plaid and the Lib Dems had propped up a "tired and lazy Labour government" and that only the Welsh Conservatives would protect the NHS blah, blah, blah etc.

One of their major bone of contentions – cuts to the Welsh NHS – has been blown out of the water this year, while the other opposition parties have managed to get tens of millions of pounds in agreements (some pretty significant, like the deprivation grant and expansion of apprenticeships) out of Welsh Labour over three budgets now.

The clear benefits of a lefty consensus, you could say.

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NHS Finance Bill - A much needed flexible friend?

On the same day the draft budget for 2014-15 is announced, will the National Health
Service Finance Bill stop local health boards running to the Bank of Mark?
(Pic : Wales Online)

One running theme in Welsh politics is the funding of Local Health Boards (LHBs) and their management of said funds. They got a boost today, and I'll come back to that later this week.

The First Minister said in FMQs last week that the public are satisfied with the NHS. As shown in the recent BBC Wales poll, they certainly are with regard services (doctors & nurses etc.) and expectations. The area where there was clear dissatisfaction (Q4 in the poll) relates to how the Welsh NHS is being run and managed by health boards. Utimately, the buck is supposed to stop with the Welsh Government, but I digress....

At present, LHBs are legally obliged to have a balanced budget at the end of every financial year. As we know, they struggle with that, occasionally (and rather embarrassingly) being bailed out by the Welsh Government due to a mix of cost overruns and external pressures.

In response, Health Minister Mark Drakeford (Lab, Cardiff West) has introduced the NHS Finance Bill in order to change to how LHB budgets are managed. The first debate to approve the general principles of the law is being held in the Senedd as I post this.

The meat of the Bill itself (pdf) is only 2 pages long :

• LHBs will now have a three-year accounting period instead of the current single year period.
• It maintains statutory requirements for LHBs to "balance their books", just over a three-year period instead of at the end of each financial year.
• It repeals section 176 of the NHS (Wales) Act 2006 which prevents LHBs from exceeding their allocated funds in a financial year.

Why is the law necessary?

Three Assembly committees – Finance, Health & Social Services and Public Accounts – all agreed that the Welsh Government should look at legislative measures to improve financial planning and flexibility in the Welsh NHS.

Managing their budgets on a year-by-year basis reduces the amount of financial flexibility LHBs have, as they can't overspend by even the slightest amount without breaching their statutory duties as laid down by the NHS (Wales) Act 2006.

By managing their budgets over a rolling three-year period, it'll allow LHBs to overspend (within reason) without breaching those statutory duties. That's money that can be spent on services, or spent to enable LHBs to break even over a longer period of time - to use the WAGese term "Invest to Save". Though they would have to make up for any overspend in one year with savings in a following year.

The extra flexibility should minimise the risk of significant further LHB "bail outs" by the Welsh Government.

Benefits, Costs & Risks

The in-depth details of the background and key outcomes/proposals of the proposed law are outlined in the explanatory memorandum (pdf).

The obvious benefit is greater flexibility on a year-to-year basis, allowing LHBs to incur larger one-off costs to develop services. That's seen as preferable, by both the Wales Audit Office and LHBs, to the current "short-term thinking" where there's a rush to meet budget deadlines at the end of each and every financial year. This could improve things like workforce planning and enable NHS services to be planned over more realistic and practical timescales.

It's worth pointing out that despite the new flexibility in managing their budgets, it won't change the money available to LHBs. They'll still be obliged to balance the books, just over every three years instead of every year.

There's a risk that should LHBs breach their budget limits under the new arrangements (if the law's passed), then the Welsh Government could breach their own budget limits – set down by HM Treasury – in order to bail LHBs out.

Any breach of the Welsh Government's budget would need to be approved by a National Assembly vote, lead to an application for emergency funds from the UK Consolidated Fund and would need to be explained to HM Treasury - with costs likely to be reclaimed the following year. It would be a PR disaster for the Welsh Government and would likely have serious repercussions, both politically and personally.

So there's still likely to be pressure from Cardiff Bay on LHBs to keep overspends within reason (we're talking single-figure £millions), and that's perfectly sensible. As a result, LHB 3-year financial plans will have to be scrutinised and approved by Welsh Government officials.

In terms of the costs of the new law, it's estimated the Wales Audit Office would require an additional £119,000 per year, while it would cost the Welsh Government just £2,500 to issue new guidance to LHBs.

Because the Bill is so rudimentary, it's being fast-tracked through the Assembly - not as emergency legislation but because there's so little to debate - set to become law in April 2014.

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Newport's M4 coronary bypass

The public are now being consulted on options for
an M4 Newport bypass. Again.
(Pic : ITV Wales)

A public consultation on the proposed M4 relief road around Newport was launched by the Welsh Government in the last fortnight.

Woah!....Hang on a minute....I'm getting a strange....feeling....of déjà vu.

Because of the M4's vital importance to the whole of south east Wales, the consultation appears to be open to everyone (not just Newport, Cardiff, Torfaen & Monmouthshire residents), and responses are due by 16^th December 2013. You can find out more information, and the consultation documents, at this website.

A brief history

You all know why there's continued calls for a Newport bypass : accidents and congestion around the Brynglas tunnels and low speed limits due to the curvy nature of the M4 through Newport. Problems said to "clog the arteries of the south east Wales economy etc."

Initial plans for an M4 relief road were scrapped in 2009 due to concerns about costs. Some modifications and upgrades were made to roads around Newport instead, including a duel carriageway to the south of Llanwern steelworks which opened recently.

Then, the Welsh Government went back to the drawing board, and between 2011 and 2012 launched another consultation. This time, the emerging plan was for the current M4 to be widened, including the Brynglas tunnels themselves. However, Friends of the Earth Cymru described the process as "shambolic". Some aspects - in particular some data used to support the project - potentially left the Welsh Government open to a legal challenge. Those plans were quietly sidelined.

With borrowing powers on the table, and with Westminster keen to prove they're friends of Wales, we've finally come full circle to option one – an M4 Newport bypass. Costs don't seem to be concerning anyone this time, even though the question of how they're actually going to pay for it is, as yet, unanswered.

Will there be a toll? Will the toll gates move from the Severn bridges to the new M4 (more on that from Plaid Monmouth)? When will we know if the Welsh Government will even get borrowing powers?

Current cost estimates, AFAIK, are still around the £1billion range, with the South Wales Chamber of Commerce estimating a new M4 would boost the Welsh economy by £2.1billion.

The Options

The (latest) three options for the M4 Newport bypass
(taken from M4Newport website, click to enlarge)

The draft plans present three options (illustrated above) :

• Black Route (the preferred option) – Leaves the M4 at Castleton, dips south of Duffryn and the Docks Way landfill site, crosses directly through Newport Docks/River Usk, south of Llanwern and Glan Llyn, rejoining the M4 at Magor.
• Red Route – Leaves the M4 at Castleton, passes closest to Duffryn, north of the Docks Way landfill site, crosses Newport Docks/River Usk further north than the black route, then follows the same route to Magor.
• Purple Route – As the red route, but crosses the River Usk further north and is a bit further away from Duffryn.

All three go through the Gwent Levels site(s) of special scientific interest.

There would also be several complimentary measures included alongside the bypass :

• Improvements to traffic management on the current M4 (which would presumably become the M48 once any bypass is completed).
• A new link road between the M48 and B4245 in Rogiet to serve a future Severn Tunnel Junction park & ride.
• Unspecified improvements to cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

What if the bypass isn't built?

This is described as a "do minimum" scenario. If the bypass is rejected, the Welsh Government believe it would result in; unspecified negative effects on the economy of south east Wales, longer journey times thus reducing the travel to work area, higher levels of noise and air pollution near to the existing M4 and a greater risk of accidents (mostly due to rear-end shunts in stop-start traffic).

It's worth pointing out that keeping things the way they are would have a negligible impact on current levels of greenhouse gas emissions, nor would it have any additional impact on either the wider Newport environment (except right next to the M4) or the Gwent Levels.

Why aren't alternatives included in the consultation?

If you have artery problems, a visit to the heart surgeon is to be avoided,
not put to the top of the list. You try the lifestyle changes first.
(Pic : livestrong.org)

I still maintain that a completely new M4 bypass is excessive (more for costs than the principle of a new road), so I'm inclined to oppose this. If I had to choose, I would've stuck with the "coronary stent option"  - the 2011-2012 plans to widen the existing M4 - or at very least remodel the M4 through Newport to discourage local traffic from using it (closing slip roads etc).

As Freshwater PR's Steve Howell pointed out in the Western Mail on Monday, you have the South Wales Metro and SEWTA's plans for the Gwent area, both of which have hardly got a look in within this consultation.

The report says 43% of journeys on the M4 around Newport are for less than 20 miles. If a public transport system was developed in and around Cardiff, Newport and Bristol that could beat the car in terms of journey times, then logically, enough traffic could be taken off the M4 during peak times to avoid needing an M4 bypass in the first place.

And you might be able to do that for a lot less than £1billion.

When you have a blocked coronary artery – as the Newport M4 is sometimes described as - you don't immediately rush to go under the knife for a operation that carries severe risks, you usually make an attempt at lifestyle changes first.

Even if you do go under the knife, if you don't change your lifestyle alongside it, a bypass doesn't last very long. Yes, lifestyle changes would be difficult but you would have to face up to it at some point.

Think of lorries and cars as lard pies; think of buses, trains, walking and bikes as salad.

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The Story of Wales in the Welsh Curriculum

A special task & finish group recently reported back (pdf) to Education Minister Huw Lewis (Lab, Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney) on how, and precisely what, history is taught in the National Curriculum – in particular Welsh history.

The National Curriculum and Cwricwlwm Cymreig

The National Curriculum, established in 1988, sets out the specifics of what schoolchildren should learn, what subjects are compulsory in Welsh schools by age group and the sorts of outcomes you would expect based on pupil performance in each subject.

Even before devolution came into being there was a need for specific "opt outs" for Wales; not just obvious things like the Welsh language, but less obvious things like local history and geography. This developed over the years to become the "Cwricwlwm Cymreig" (CC) - an initiative to include a "Welsh element" in National Curriculum subjects so pupils understand the "political, social and cultural aspects of Wales as part of the world as a whole."

Obviously this is easier to do in certain subjects (like English literature, history, social sciences and geography) and much harder in others (like sciences and IT).

The Cwricwlwm Cymreig initiative is supposed to put a "Welsh
element" at the heart of subjects, but there's a mixed approach to it.
(Pic : Cadw)

This history inquiry is a small part of a wider review of the National Curriculum which is due to be completed by September 2014.

The task and finish group believed the CC shouldn't be delivered through history alone, because it would be damaging to the very concept of the CC by focusing on "the past" instead of enabling future Welsh citizens to understand their place in the world in the present. They recommend that the CC be delivered across all subjects "where relevant and meaningful."

There were concerns that delivering the CC primarily through history could lead to the subject becoming "parochial", or being interpreted as "nationalist propaganda". They were also concerned that schools were taking different approaches to the CC; some give a "Welsh dimension to every subject" while others either restrict it to the arts and history alone, or bolt it on as an afterthought.

Primary schools believe that "themes" are a better way to deliver it, but this has often focused too much on Wales and the local area and not enough on Welsh links to the rest of the world. Meanwhile, it's suggested some secondary schools are reducing history lessons or combining them into a single "humanities" subject block.

The panel considered a change of name from "Cwricwlwm Cymreig" to "Wales & The World" because many people don't know the difference between Cymreig (relating to Welsh culture & nationhood) and Cymraeg (Welsh language). As we all know, a vocal minority get a bit jumpy about such things. However, they concluded that a name change "would not resolve the issue".

History in the curriculum

Prior to the creation of the National Curriculum, it's said teachers had greater freedom in the historical topics they taught, including adding "a strong element of local history in their schemes of work". But it also allowed them to completely ignore it too, leading to England-dominated "British history" being taught instead.

The "Age of the Princes" is one key part of Welsh history
said to be missing from the programme of study.
(Pic : British Library)

They suggest lessons could be learnt from Scotland (a syllabus for Scottish Standard [GCSE] History is available here pdf p14), where Scottish history is at the heart of the curriculum, but placed in a wider context with international influences recognised. The panel don't believe there needs to be a whole scale change, just Wales placed more centrally.

One of the main problems pointed out by the panel though, were a lack of resources (Welsh language resources, textbooks etc.). However, the popularity of BBC Wales' The Story of Wales and the book The New History of Wales prove there's demand for "Welsh history."
The group believes two key periods in Welsh history aren't included on the programme of study:

• The period 400AD-1000AD - the era of the Christian saints and when Wales consisted of independent principalities (underpins Welsh nationhood).
• The Methodist Revival/Nonconformism of the 18^th Century (underpins 20th Century Welsh politics).

I'd add the 1960s and 70s too; including Welsh language activism, the peak and decline of trade unionism as a political force, second-wave feminism etc. (underpins modern Welsh society).

The panel believes a new programme of study should be developed from the existing one, retaining important parts of British, European and World history, whilst allowing key aspects of local and Welsh history to make their way in. You could contrast Welsh language activism with civil rights movements in Northern Ireland and the United States, for example.

The history of England is said to be the "official history of Britain" as a nation-state. The panel believe this attitude still prevails - though without completely sidelining Welsh history in the curriculum - and pupils learn more about the history of England than the history of Wales. Welsh history is usually only included from a perspective of how it affects England (or if we want to be more accurate, the Norman aristocracy).

"History is written by the victors", and it seems Welsh schoolchildren
and Welsh society still has to live with that centuries on.
(Pic : BBC Wales)

We saw an example of that only last week via – where else – but Wales Online (c/o Blog Menai).
Oystermouth Castle in the Mumbles:

"It was twice burnt down by Welsh rebels but later became a kind of "Camelot" for the Lords of Gower who used it as a site for meetings and festivals."

That's like describing the Falkland Islanders as "rebels" in 1982, or Channel Islanders as "rebels" against the Germans between 1940-1945.

It would be completely wrong to portray the Welsh during this period as noble freedom-fighters - the actual history is like something out of Game of Thrones (more on that from A Medievalist Errant) - but the "official history" does us a disservice too. The Welsh in Wales - until the Laws in Wales Acts when we became "English" and easily ignored - are often portrayed as pirates, bandits and a general nuisance.

The panel believe Welsh history should be at the heart of history courses at any level in Wales, saying – rather poetically – that "a map of their (Welsh children's) past should be as familiar to them as the way home from school."

Nice going, Newport.

When was Wales?

Let's hope that in the chase for more Welsh history on the school curriculum
we don't lose sight of the bigger stories Wales played a role in.
(Pic : mametzwood.com)

One of history's great strengths as a subject – and why it's in the curriculum in the first place – is that it compliments subjects like English (or Welsh) and the social sciences by teaching pupils about interpretation and comprehension of events, evidence and bias.

So how history is taught, and its themes, shouldn't be determined by politicians. I was tickled by claims that changes in Wales could be interpreted as "nationalist propaganda" when nobody bats an eyelid at what's happening in the English curriculum, where there's been a regression to rote-learning facts about Britain's "glorious past".

There's quite a lot of Welsh and local history taught and I have first-hand experience of it. We were taught the Norman conquest, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd & Owain Glyndwr's rebellions, the origin of the Tudors, the Welsh role in the English Civil War and the Industrial Revolution.

Though I never took the subject beyond 14, in my opinion perhaps too much time was spent on that and not enough on world history (with obvious exceptions like the world wars).

It's right to expect a healthy amount of Welsh history in the curriculum. You can still teach broad stroke subjects like the Second World War without neglecting our "Blitzs" in Swansea and Cardiff, or the role the Bridgend Arsenal and Bevin Boys played, for example.

Having said that, it would be a crying shame if the subject becomes parochial just to tick a box. It has to have meaning and context, and it has to be done sensitively enough so wider issues and events aren't glossed over.

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It's trough at the top for little piggies

This little piggy went to the High Court,
This little piggy got too much compo,
This little piggy awarded themselves a massive pay rise,
This little piggy had a tax-friendly pension pot,
And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee didn't see anyfink, guv.
(Pic : michaelkonkik.com)

I'm coming to this late, but as reported by Y Cneifiwr, Carmarthenshire Planning, Inside Out, National Left and others last week, auditors have uncovered foul-ups in the annual accounts of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Caerphilly councils.
Carmarthenshire Council frolics in own filth

Two payments relating to Carmarthenshire Council's (CCC) Chief Executive Mark James were – in the auditor's unqualified opinion (an auditing term generally meaning "without reservation") – unlawful :

• £23,217 of indemnity funding used by CCC in libel action (against Carmarthenshire Planning's Jacqui Thompson).
• £16,353 paid directly to Mark James in lieu of employer pension contributions to the Dyfed Pension Scheme.

The first one probably breached Welsh Government regulations outlawing the use of public funds by local authorities to undertake (rather than defend) libel actions.

Local Authorities (Indemnities for Members and Officers) (Wales) Order 2006 :

6 (3) No indemnity may be provided under this Order in relation to the making by a member or officer indemnified of any claim in relation to an alleged defamation of that member or officer but may be provided in relation to the defence by that member or officer of any allegation of defamation made against that member or officer.

Jacqui Thompson was lumbered with CCC's costs, not only of their defence but their counter-claims too. As she said herself last week, it's probably best not to comment on the ramifications of the auditor's findings for the time being.

The second payment would've been made anyway. Pension contributions can be paid directly to the employee (or rather, the employee's private pension) instead of an occupational pension fund, but that's sometimes ofset by salary cuts (known as a salary sacrifice).

CCC highlight "changes to the tax system" that make occupational pension schemes unattractive to high-earners (Mark James currently earns ~£209,000 in salary + other contributions).

If it's been deemed unlawful then it might relate to how the payment was made (i.e. not following standard accounting/governance procedures) rather than the payment itself. Carmarthenshire residents now have a very useful list of the councillors who approved these changes in 2011. I'm sure the names will be familiar.

It's worth touching on the mystery of the just over £20,000 advance Mark James received for his role as returning officer in the 2012 local elections too.

CCC don't know precisely when it was paid, which is odd, as returning officer payments are usually (but not always) made after an election when the precise number of candidates is known (as that's what the payment's based on). Those sums of money, you would've thought, would've been rigorously tracked too - receipts and things like that.

It appears Carmarthenshire are the only local authority in Wales having trouble providing this information, as highlighted by this thread on Aberdare Online.

The advance wasn't picked out by the auditor. However, considering the timing (towards the end of the tax year) of both the advance and changes to the pension rules, there's the possibility the two could be linked, who knows?

Pembrokeshire pork : Littlest tax haven beyond Wales

In Pembrokeshire, BBC Wales report the Wales Audit Office refused to sign off their audit of Pembrokeshire's annual accounts because of a similar pensions arrangement for their Chief Executive, Bryn Parry-Jones (salary + other contributions ~£194,000), and other senior officers. There's a more detailed account on this from Independent Cllr. Jacob Williams.

Pembrokeshire Council have since, as reported by Y Cneifiwr, signed off the annual accounts themselves following a narrow vote in favour by councillors, carried by the ruling Independent Plus Group and opposed by Cllr. Williams himself, other non-affiliated Independents, Conservatives, Labour and Plaid Cymru.

Both Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire councils point to similar schemes run by housing associations and universities, but they're not public sector organisations run by public servants from public funds.

Entering into arrangements like this during a time of austerity, trying to do it in secret, and expecting it to go unnoticed is both arrogant and idiotic. It also appears Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire are the only local authorities doing it in Wales. Even Caerphilly weren't that dumb, and they're up to their necks in it as I'll return to later.

These are prominent people at the top of the Welsh public sector, earning significantly more than the First Minister (who's currently entitled to around ~£135,000, not including expenses and pensions), opting-out of the same pension scheme their employees pay into - many of whom have seen their own pay, working conditions and jobs under threat. By doing so, they're avoiding tax obligations too.

I wonder what ordinary council employees, the public and trade unions think about that?

The Wales Audit Office are carrying out their own separate investigation following complaints, but CCC dispute the findings, claiming they had an "OK" from the Wales Audit Office and independent legal advisers for the first two payments, and seem disappointed the auditors have "changed their mind."

You've also got to question why independent legal/financial advice was sought to cut the head honcho  tax bills. As others have pointed out, independent advice doesn't come cheap. If it's about retaining experienced, top-performing staff, these cock-ups show the current recipients are hardly a ringing endorsement for that line of thinking at the moment, are they?

The local AM, Rhodri Glyn Thomas (Plaid, Carms. E & Dinefwr), described it as "exceptionally damaging for the reputation of Carmarthenshire", and here's an edited transcript of what was said in the Senedd last week:

Rhodri Glyn Thomas – Minister....You will know that I have raised the issue of the use of public funding for indemnifying officers.....the report....refers to two issues of unlawful expenditure by the council—one being the issue of indemnity to the chief executive in a libel case. I know you have not had an opportunity to read the report, but will you investigate this matter, because they are very serious allegations?

Local Government Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) - The allegations you mention are serious, if that is the case. I met the Auditor General for Wales on Monday of this week, and that issue was not raised with me. Obviously, it would not be appropriate for me to comment if it is an ongoing audit.

Rhodri Glyn Thomas - The report has been published by the auditor appointed by the Wales Audit Office, but the next step will be for it to be considered fully by the Wales Audit Office....I hope that you will read it and I hope that you will raise this matter with the auditor at some point.

Lesley Griffiths - I will certainly read it, and I will raise it with the auditor general in due course.

Plaid in Caerphilly distracted by frying sausages

Rule #1 of political point scoring : If you're going to criticise another
party/politician, be 100% sure you can't be criticised for the same thing.
NB : Ensure your reasoning is better than "I didn't see nuffink."
(Pic : psychologicalscience.org)

Next, it's time to move to Caerphilly, and what a whopper we have there!

In addition to an ongoing (and largely unrelated) fraud investigation by Avon & Somerset Police, auditors ruled that £218,000 of compensation payments made to two senior Caerphilly council staff in return for withdrawal of car allowances were also unlawful. What were they driving? Bugattis!?

As much as Independents in particular, and Labour, are involved to varying degrees in all three authorities, Plaid Cymru are complicit in the Caerphilly car allowances as they ran the council in coalition between 2008-2012.

The notion that a former council cabinet member in charge of finance would have "no knowledge" of £218,000 is - to be frank - taking the piss, regardless of whether that's wilful ignorance or not being informed properly.

The £218,000 is (presumably) in addition to £1.1million in senior officer salary rises after May 2012, when - I'll helpfully point out - Caerphilly became a Labour-controlled administration, and the pay hikes were passed by Caerphilly Council's elected boneheads earlier this year. They saw you coming!

These issues are not political as they could've happened anywhere because of how local authorities are governed. Those with ultimate responsibility for what goes on in our local authorities are officers and the senior councillors who approve their decisions - regardless of party. All you have to do is follow the money and deal with the facts at hand.Appeals to hypocrisy, even if it's logically fallacious and lazy, is one of the most popular political defences there is. Pity those who give opponents the opportunity to use it against them, descending into a bunfight and race to the gutter over whom is worse than whom. It's not going to get the money back.
The collective common sense of a bacon roll

Councillors generally just spinelessly rubber-stamp whatever's put in front of them (though they should damned well pay attention to what is put in front of them) because "officers know what they're doing."

You rarely (if ever) hear of councillors from ruling parties/coalitions telling officers "no" - which should happen in a healthy democracy. I'd go as far as say that cabinet positions in Welsh local government are a sham, and even if we had no councillors at all I doubt it would make any difference to how local authorities are run on a day-to-day basis.

The irony here that the chief executives in question might not have done anything wrong personally, but could be implicated by the actions of those around them. The more cynical amongst us could also call those around them "fall guys", "human shields" or use the term "plausible deniability".

They're not running personal fiefdoms. They'll be found out the moment the arrogance that results from "little mistakes" not being investigated properly, bad advice, lack of transparency, or favourable verdicts by auditors or elsewhere, morphs into big mistakes where they've painted themselves into a corner through laziness, stupidity, self-serving nefariousness or a toxic combination of all those things.

Ignorance is gross incompetence, because officers and senior councillors should be following basic accounting procedures and keeping a grip on what goes on under their noses.

Doing it knowingly or willingly (i.e. keeping information from councillors, attending meetings and not declaring interests when they should be declared) is misconduct in public office, possibly fraud. The sums of money involved are good grounds for immediate dismissal, or at the very least suspension (as proposed by Labour's leader in Pembrokeshire), and you would expect heads to roll.

In Wales? Yeah right, and pigs might fly.

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