Cardiff Green Investment Bank Bid - Enough's enough

A dunce's cap is casting a broad shadow over Wales
and the Welsh economy.
(Pic : Modified from Webbaviation.co.uk)

Ultimately, politicians and civil servants are ordinary people just going about their business. Although I'm probably being naïve , they usually have our interests at heart. It's an incredibly tough job, and from time to time, they should be afforded a bit of slack. Not everything is a catastrophe or a disgrace.

I can't think of many, if any, AMs I dislike. They seem like a nice bunch, generally hard-working and approachable. On the whole, I'm proud to have them represent us and the fledgling Welsh democracy. Obvious exceptions aside, I don't buy into the hyperbole that political parties that don't share my views are "the enemy." It's only politics after all.

The nicey-nicey stops there though. We all make mistakes. Politicians and civil servants are human, they should be allowed to make mistakes too. However, there's a fine line between a mistake and ineptitude.

This is probably the point the wheels come off this blog, but certain things need to be said. Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to throw my toys out of the pram to enable an "exit".

Although it's obvious that I'm aiming this at Welsh Labour, it applies equally to any party that has ambitions of being in government here, and could probably be expanded to include parties who have been in power.

Instead of thinking of this as a partisan piece, consider it the concerns of an ordinary, increasingly angry, Welsh voter.

Cardiff's Green Investment Bank Bid

Cardiff bid to be the location of the Westminster Government's "Green Investment Bank" (GIB), along with other cities across the UK. It'll be an arms-length financial institution, initially capitalised with £3billion. It's hoped the GIB will go some way to help the UK Government attract the sort of investment needed to help meet its environmental targets.

Cardiff's bid - our capital, with ambitions of being a "major European city", led by a council leader who has a fetish for the word "international" - fell at the first hurdle.

Cardiff exited at the same stage as Bicester, Stoke, Torbay and Durham.

There were inevitable cries from Business Minister Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower) that this was "disappointing news", describing Cardiff's bid as "robust." Last week, however, the UK Department for Business & Skills released the bid documents. You can read Cardiff's via A Change of Personnel, who's been pretty damning of it, as has BBC Wales' Vaughan Roderick on Twitter and others.

As far as I'm concerned, the bid is a must-read for anyone with even the slightest interest in Welsh politics. Actually take a look. See how the Welsh Government and civil service handled this for yourselves.

I couldn't quite believe what I was reading. Wow.

Some people may criticise Vince Cable's decision to publish the bids, but he's done Wales a great service here. It's a bit like getting told a bad exam mark in front of the class – if you feel humiliated, then at least there's motivation to do better the next time.

Remember, this is a bid for a bank, capitalised with £3billion. It's not a "Sprechen Sie Sprockets" FDI, branch factory pitch. It was supposed to be a bid for an institution that could become a major player in finance over the next few decades.

Much of the initial negative reaction to the bid focused on grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm not a hypocrite. I hold my hands up and say the grammar here leaves much to be desired sometimes. Grammar isn't important though. It's much, much worse than that.

Besides, I don't get money to do this. I'm not going to get a public sector pension out of this, and I don't have a portfolio with hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money at stake. Perhaps that's for the best, because if I had overseen something as amateurish as this bid, a P45 would be the honourable way out.

• There's all the usual cliched guff about Cardiff (Europe's youngest capital etc.) that could've been cut and paste from any Cardiff Council press release of the last ten years.
• Significant chunks of the bid read like a student Geography project. You're bombarded with numbers that haven't been put into any proper context. It's not an easy read - not because it's on an intellectual plane above the lay person - but because its so poorly presented. Just compare it with Bristol's bid. As one of my old primary school teachers would say – "slapdash!"
• It heavily trumpets the Cardiff CBD/enterprise zone, but proposed locating the GIB (temporarily) in 3 Capital Waterside (it's actually 3 Assembly Square), which as far as I know, is outside the enterprise zone.
• 3 Assembly Square is a partially occupied 66,000sqft building. Later, the report acknowledges that only up to 75 jobs would be created – or 880sqft a worker. There's open plan offices and then there's that.
• There's a cringe-worthy graphic of Cardiff's "national and international" flight connections – which includes exotic destinations like Jersey and Aberdeen. There are only passing mentions of links to London and Europe. Bank. Capitalised with £3billion. Just a reminder.
• Some of the bid reads as though the Welsh Government expected Welsh businesses to exclusively benefit from the GIB, citing "up to £50billion of energy projects in Wales over the next 10 years".
• There's unnecessarily detailed profiles of Welsh infrastructure companies, environmental companies as well as Welsh university environmental research projects.
• There are a few examples of "imago bureaucratica" - process and implementation matrices reminiscent of your typically impenetrable Welsh local authority report.
• There's a call for the bid criteria to be expanded/changed. That's rather pretentious, isn't it? However well-intentioned it was.
• The bid cites Cardiff's low wages compared to other UK cities as a "cost effectiveness consideration", describing it as "compelling". Thanks for helping us in the race to the bottom. Thanks for, seemingly, taking pride in Cardiff's comparatively low wages. Though to be fair, other bids did the same thing. Unsurprisingly, the successful bidders were from two of the UK's most expensive cities with highly remunerated workforces– Edinburgh and London. There's a reason for that. Peanuts and monkeys.
• Only a few of the testimonials had anything to do with the GIB. Most seem to be related to recruiting and retaining people. You would expect to be able to do that. It's not exactly the best message to be sending out.
• Adrian Clark is quoted twice in the testimonials - and yes he's the same person in each case as far as I can tell.

At least the cover is good – Cardiff Bay on a sunny day, with that Magic Roundabout-style ride in front of the Pierhead Building. Yeah, I think that just about sums it up.

We're fortunate, in a back-handed way, that Cardiff was never really a front-runner for this. It was always either going to go to Edinburgh or remain entirely in London. That decision makes sense on many levels.

However, if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

The Bigger Picture - Why this is bad

We don't get to see many bids the Welsh Government put forward for things like this, but it does make you wonder about the quality of the civil service and how these processes are managed. Was the prospect of a major financial institution basing itself in Cardiff not important enough for the Welsh Government & civil service to take seriously?

You remind yourself of all the "disappointing news" down the years. You wonder if this is the level we're at. You wonder how often that Wales' low wages have been described as "compelling." You wonder if this is the standard of case made for things like the electrification of the Valley Lines or energy projects.

I remind myself of all the times I've had to stick up for the "WAG" - online and offline - and wish I hadn't bothered.

I just feel let down and more than a little embarrassed.

We have so many economic problems here. We have so many issues that haven't been addressed properly for the best part of a century. For "our" Welsh Government and civil service to do something as half-arsed as this is soul-crushingly depressing.

This is a monumental cock up – not for what it was, but for what it represents.

It's a symptom of a wider illness and malaise in Cathays Park. It not only reflects badly on the Welsh Government, but the entire machinery by which Wales aims to attract investment. It should be a watershed and a real kick up the backside, but why do I suspect that we'll be back here again at some point in the near future.

They can fall back to the position of "whoopsy daisy" - moaning about fate, coalition cuts and such. However, the very minimum we should expect from our public servants is that they have a bit of pride in their work. That goes for ministers as much as the mandarins.

All of us should be demanding better, but we accept mediocrity because, for some reason, it's what we feel we deserve in Wales. We're so used to it now, we don't bat our eyelids when something like this happens, we shrug and then continue to wonder why everything is terrible.

It's partially our fault as members of the public. We let people get away with pulling stunts like this because they stick "Welsh" before their name, or their job title, or because they wear the right colour rosette. We're far too nice sometimes. You're not supposed to support our governments as you would the national rugby team

We've built a wall in our minds and we willingly live on the wrong side of it - as though it's something to be proud of. We're gluttons for punishment and self-flagellation. We constantly argue over the same points again and again and again, fighting invisible enemies and strawmen. It's like noticing a hangnail when your body is riddled with tumours.

We're absolutely mad, aren't we? Absolutely stark raving bonkers.

How long, as a nation, are we going to continue to put up with this bullshit?

If you make a genuine mistake, hold your hands up and I'm sure we'll be forgiving. Learn from it.

If you feel you're in over your head in your role, ask for that extra bit of help you need. Don't hide behind your pride, you're dealing with our livelihoods here. Do the extra study, put in the hours - that's all we ask.

Don't use politics as an excuse not to do anything. It doesn't matter if it's one of those "baby-eating Tories", or "separatists", offering to help you out. If it even hints at possibly having a beneficial impact – swallow your pride and reach out.

You might be a Labour government, but as soon as your backside hits a cabinet chair, you're there to work for Wales - not the party, and not Ed Miliband. Stop fretting over what the unions or NEC will think. Think for yourselves. Own yourselves and own your job. Don't consider yourself the subordinate to anybody in London. We have problems now, and we can't wait until 2016 for the two Eds to hold your hand - if they even get that far.

If you don't put in the effort, hide or hunker down, shirk your responsibilities or pass the buck – whether it's down the M4, to a colleague, or hiding behind one of these ridiculous Welsh bureaucratic implementation frameworks – then cheerio! You are the problem and one day, you will be found out.

Two words - Fianna Fáil. We'll get fed up with it at some point. You'll get the liberal democracy equivalent of a lynching. No amount of "delivery statistics", freebies, third sector backers or psudo-nationalist posturing will save you. It doesn't matter how well-intentioned you are, or whether your heart is in the right place, you'll deserve it.

You'll deserve it for taking our votes for granted and using your position to entrench mediocrity.

You'll deserve it for all those people out there who are earning less that they otherwise would - or have been denied the opportunity of a well-paying job - because you make the case that low wages are "compelling."

You'll deserve it because you were playing politics - scoring points for, and against, other politicians and parties – who, in all probability, don't cry themselves to sleep wondering whether their decisions are going down well in Wales or not.

One of the reasons we have devolution is so we can turn around problems here by ourselves. What we need is a bit of elbow grease and some willpower. A bit of effort and work ethic. An unrelenting commitment to see Wales prosper. I don't doubt that Welsh ministers an civil servants have it, but any semblance of attainment or success is invisible.

It's easier to keep telling us why you can't do something - because you don't have X power or you don't have X budget. Perhaps you should focus on what you can do. No idea should be written off if it could make Wales a better place. Trying and failing is better than not trying at all.

Get the little things right by all means, but the big things matter too. All I'm seeing is fudge, after bungle, after excuse, after apathy. You've made a lot of good noises recently, but it always seems to be a case of one step forward, two steps back. This isn't because of any vast conspiracy, or the constitution or circumstances outside of your control. Welsh Labour - pull your socks up.

You can turn it around. You have the opportunity and chance to do so.

Do it. The Hoff is warming up in front of the wall, and although there's only a tiny, geeky rabble in front if it baring sledgehammers at the moment, more will come.

I'm not talking about those whose argument extends to inflatable pink pigs, Welsh language paranoia or desecrating the Chartists memory.

I'm talking about people up and down the country who back devolution and see Welsh ministers and Welsh civil servants doing perceivably sweet-FA to improve our lot - passing off reports like this as "robust" when it would shame a first-year undergraduate. Lose our goodwill towards you, continue to hide behind excuses or pride or politics, and you're finished - regardless of the colour of your rosette.

It might take decades, in all likelihood it won't even involve independence, but one day, one glorious day, a change is gonna come. Oh yes it will.

Perhaps, deep down, that's the main reason I support independence. Not because of patriotism or self-determination, but because it's the ultimate change from the status quo - and you always have to start with the status quo when trying to address serious problems.

You'll have no where to hide. There'll be no Westminster bwci bo to blame. You won't be able to point fingers at anyone and everyone will be pointing fingers at you. You'll be exposed, chewed up, ripped up and dissected in a way that you never will have before. It'll be probable, though not impossible, that you'll never, ever be able to get away with anything like this ever again. That goes for all parties.

I can't wait.

Ideally, within days of that bid becoming public, there should've been a steady stream of people walking out of Cathays Park and the Welsh Government's Treforest bunker, carrying boxes with their lucky desk gonk on top. Do not pass go, do not moan to your union reps, do not collect your severance pay - down the job centre with you.

AWEMA was strike one. This is strike two. Another one – and with some inevitability there'll be another dropped bollock between now and May 2016 - and Carwyn will have to make some serious changes, to both his cabinet and the civil service.

But does he have the guts to do so? Are any of us putting enough pressure on the powers that be to change?

As you might have gathered from the tone of this "rant", a message needs to be sent to the civil service and Welsh ministers that this standard of work is unacceptable.

Carwyn, you're probably never going to read this, but please:

Rip the whole stinking lot up and start again.

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Social Services Bill consultation

Social services in Wales are due to undergo a major shake-up.
(Pic: Click on Wales)

Deputy Minister for Children & Social Services, Gwenda Thomas (Lab, Neath), launched the Welsh Government's consultation on a Social Services Bill last week. It's arguably the first "meaty" piece of legislation to be proposed as part of their legislative programme.

The consultation is open until June 1^st and all the information is here.

The Bill is expected to be laid in front of the Assembly in October this year, scheduled to become law in the first half of 2013. Once that happens the new Code of Practice and Regulations (outlined below) will be drawn up by the Welsh Government.

What's proposed?

• A new duty to enhance "wellbeing of people in need" i.e. Assess social care needs and arrange social care services for individuals.
• People "in need" will be given a legal definition and will include : children in care, adults reliant on social services, disabled children or a person (adult or child) in need of safeguarding.
• A new "code of practice" will be provided to local authorities regarding provision of services to people in need.
• A simplification of social service arrangements, as well as a legal definition of "social care services".
• Local authorities will be required to "provide information" to improve access to services and work with other agencies to deliver services, including the NHS.
• A statutory right to an "assessment of need" for individuals who require social care.
• Place a legal duty on local authorities to accept the needs assessment of a patient from another local authority within Wales, as well as arrange for the transfer of information, and cooperate with the NHS and other "delivery partners" to help smooth over a transfer of a service user between authorities.
• There'll be a legal duty placed on local authorities, and service providers, to prepare a "care and support plan" for a person assessed to be in need. Welsh Ministers will have the power to set regulations for this process.
• The creation of a "single eligibility threshold" for social services.
• Existing carer's legislation will be drawn together to create a single piece of law that enshrines carer's rights and the duties of local authorities in supporting them.
• Existing legislation on Direct Payments for social care will be drawn together. Welsh Ministers will be able to decide the clients and circumstances under which Direct Payments can be used, as well as regulations for them.
• The Public Service Obundsman for Wales will have their powers expanded to cover complaints against care homes, domiciliary care agencies and independent palliative care services.
• There'll be a general duty on Welsh Ministers to : encourage improvement in social care and social services, publish a review and statement of national outcomes in social services, specify performance standards , issue guidance on standards and prepare a Code of Practice for social care providers.
• Local authorities and care providers will be required to report publicly on their performance and appoint a Director of Social Services.
• Partnership and pooling of resources between local authorities will be strengthened. Welsh Ministers will be able to make regulations on local authority partnerships.
• A National Independent Safeguarding Board will be established, with executive powers and a national remit. Six Local Safeguarding Children Boards will also be established, alongside existing Adult Protection Boards.
• A new legal framework will be established for adult protection in Wales, including new legal definitions of "at risk" and "at harm" adults. There'll be a duty to investigate, intervene, share information, co-operate and report on allegations of abuse or harm.
• Social care workers will require professional regulation, with existing Care Council for Wales powers extended to cover care workers. Welsh Ministers will have the power to make regulations to reserve power to certain care staff, as well as regulations to decide what services are subject to inspection by social care regulators.
• Social care service providers will be required to register with the social care regulator. A new social care services public register will be set up. Welsh Ministers will also be able to require registered social care service providers to publish reports at specific times.
• "Minimum standards" will be removed from the Care Services Act 2000, to "move beyond a focus on a minimum standard of service delivery."
• A National Adoption Service will be established, formed from all local authorities, to provide certain adoption services.
• Welsh Ministers will be able to make regulations regarding continuing care for disabled children up to the age of 21.

What are the purported benefits of the new law?

• It gives a legal definition to "adults in need", so services would be integrated for both children and adults, changing it to "people in need".
• It should be clearer for people to understand what services are available should they need them.
• Individuals should be able to make clearer, informed choices about their social care needs.
• Assessment of need should lead to a clearer understanding amongst patients and care professionals and lead to reduced administrative burden on local authorities - including fewer complaints.
• When a person receiving social care/social services moves from one part of Wales to another, the transfer should be a lot easier and smoother. It should lead to administrative cost savings.
• Inconsistencies in care and support plans should be removed, more easily tailored to an individuals requirements and there'll be a much more simplified legal framework.
• A single eligibility threshold should provide greater transparency, uniformity and coherence across Wales when considering a persons eligibility for services.
• Changes to Direct Payment legislation will give individuals "more control over the design of their care packages."
• Those making complaints against independent palliative cares services would have access to advocacy services.
• Widening duties on Welsh Ministers and local authorities should lead to better targeted policy development, and a better targeting of resources at both local and national level.
• A new Code of Practice should have a positive impact on all social care users.
• Clearly appointed Director's of Social Services would lead to "more accountable" local services.
• There should be "great savings" in encouraging local authority partnerships.
• Day-to-day decisions on safeguarding will be independent and taken away from Welsh Ministers.
• Regulation of care workers should lead to increased professionalism, improved outcomes, improved standards and better training and resources.
• A public register will allow users to have up to date information on care services.
• The National Adoption Service will enhance efficiency, quality and equity. It will allow an early referral system to eradicate waiting lists for potential adopters.

Are there any other issues?

• Additional costs will fall on local authorities, but the impact is expected to be eased due to the integration of child and adult social services, which is hoped will provide cost savings.
• "Widening access" to social services will have an initial cost set up.
• The Carers Strategies (Wales) Measure 2010 will need to be amended, and new carer's rights will have additional costs – possibly outweighed by the social and financial gains of carer's being properly supported.
• A widening of the Public Services Obundsman's duties will have a cost impact.
• Changes to "transitional services" of disabled children until the age of 21 could have "unintended adverse affects" on any benefits they may receive - which are non-devolved.
• The Bill will have an impact on businesses, in particular those involved in social care. It would also have a significant impact on the public sector, especially local authorities. There will be some impact on the "Third Sector", but they are expected to broadly welcome the Bill.

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Sêr Cymru – A new science strategy for Wales

Earlier this week, the Chief Scientific Adviser Prof. John Harries, First Minister Carwyn Jones and Business Minister Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower) unveiled a new strategy for science in Wales that supersedes the previous "Science Policy for Wales" from 2006.

At the heart of the new strategy - available here - is the creation of the £50million Sêr Cymru (Stars Wales) scheme that aims to:

• Attract "star" academics to Wales to carry out research projects
• Create pan-university and pan-discipline "National Research Networks"
• Concentration on three "Grand Challenge" disciplines : life sciences, low-carbon technologies and advanced materials science & manufacturing.
• A "high profile Welsh Graduate School" in every discipline with "applications open to all nationalities".
• An annual prize event for science and distinguished lecture series.

The new strategy's findings also show, more negatively:

• 49% of Welsh university science research projects are rated 4-star or 3-star (the two highest ratings), slightly behind Scotland (51%) and England (56%). Though citation rates (Welsh research/academics being cited) are above the UK average.
• Wales's percentage share of UK-wide Research Council funding was 3.3%, compared to Scotland's 14.8%.
• Welsh businesses spend only 1.5% of the UK total on research and development (£244m).
• Standards in science and maths at age 15 are "not as good as they should be" and "require attention", but standards in science are generally at the OECD average.

There's lots of interesting stuff to ponder and, as I've mentioned in previous blogs, innovation and science are going to be crucial to facing up to the challenges of the future.  Secton 5 of the strategy does say that the talent pool in STEM subjects needs to increase, as well as the uptake of STEM subjects at and beyond GCSE level. I've posted before on possible practical steps that could be taken to broaden science's appeal.

In a separate, but related development, a new £100million Welsh Life Sciences Fund public-private scheme to support life sciences in Wales has been unveiled at the BioWales 2012 conference in Cardiff this week.

If there's one thing I would be critical about, it's that despite the name "Sêr Cymru", there doesn't seem to be that much emphasis on home-grown talent. For every ready-made expert brought in from elsewhere, there should be one from Wales, mentored, to make sure that there's a sustainable flow of talent down the line. After all, Wales is still a long way from being able to compete with universities like MIT or Oxbridge for talented post-graduates.

It goes without saying that I welcome this 100%. I'd even go as far as to say this is the most positive announcement from the Welsh Government so far this Assembly term. I'm pleased. Credit where it's due.

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M4 Newport consultation and rail upgrades in Gwent

The Welsh Government have, at last, formally launched their consultation into possible solutions to the "bottleneck" at the Brynglas Tunnels in Newport. The consultation website is here and comments are due by 6^th June.

I'm on record opposing a new M4 bypass around Newport, as is Syniadau. It would be complete overkill and likely to become a costly white elephant, especially if it were tolled to help pay for the £1bn+ construction costs. That would be a double-toll on entry to Wales if the Severn Bridge tolls weren't removed at the same time.

The Welsh Government, following on from the previous Welsh Government, have short to medium-term plans to improve the duel-carriageway that runs to the south of the Glan Llyn development site and Llanwern Steelworks. It's a relatively inexpensive way to partially solve the problem. If local traffic were encouraged to use this - combined with the selective closing of slip-roads on the M4 through Newport - it could help reduce congestion and provide more resilience to the Brynglas Tunnels. It would probably mean that this road would need to be upgraded, perhaps with a few grade-seperated junctions, to ensure it's a "proper option" for drivers.

BBC Wales, The Western Mail and South Wales Argus have reported that one option on the table is the widening of the Brynglas Tunnels themselves at the cost of some £550m. That's probably a good "middle option" between the "sledgehammer and nut" M4 bypass and the "bang for buck" Llanwern improvement.

As I'm not an engineer, I can't give informed comment on a project like that, but I would assume it would cause massive disruption and probably lead to the demolition of the houses above the tunnels. So, we would likely need an upgraded Llanwern improvement anyway during this period for diverted traffic. I goes without saying there's more than enough potential for a significant cost overrun.

It makes me wonder if it's a genuine Welsh Government option, one for the construction company or just an opportunity to pick a fight with Westminster over borrowing powers.

Credit where it's due, I made a point about Labour echo-cho-ho-o-ing previously announced announcements a few weeks ago, including this, so it's nice to have something on the table at last.

On public transport options in the area - and in my opinion that's just as important - SEWTA published documents last year on possible upgrades to rail services in Gwent including (for definite):

• A new two-platform station at Caerleon adjacent to St Cadoc's Hospital
• Upgrade to Abergavenny station– including new car parking off the A465, DDA footbridge, bus turning circle and possible bay platform for additional services in the future
• Upgrade to Cwmbran station – including new car park on Somerset Road, DDA footbridge and ticket machines
• Minor improvements to Pontypool & New Inn station with possibility of future park and ride site
• An extra two-hourly service

And also proposed/rejected at present/future improvements:

• New stations at Llantarnam and Sebastopol on Marches Line
• New station at Llanwern on South Wales Mainline with linked bus service and park and ride site.
• Upgrade to Severn Tunnel Junction station, with new station building, large park and ride site and possible future direct access from M48
• Improved Chepstow station with DDA footbridge, new ticket office and toilets

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Use it or lose it : Welsh Language Strategy 2012-2017

Last week, Education Minister Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda) unveiled the Welsh Government’s 56-page (sigh), five-year plan (sigh) for the Welsh language covering promotion, education and daily use.

In his foreword Leighton acknowledges exciting developments in the last few years, including the launch of Welsh-language "online newspaper" Golwg360, the formal establishment of a virtual Welsh-language higher education institution (Coleg Cenedlaethol Cymru) and the rise of “e-Cymraeg” – through social network sites like Twitter and the use of e-books and e-periodicals.

In legislative terms we've had the previous Assembly's Welsh Language Measure 2011. In February, the Assembly Commission laid the short-but-sweet National Assembly of Wales (Official Languages) Bill in front of the Senedd which - if passed - will make English and Welsh official languages in the Assembly and ensure “publication and simultaneous translation” in both languages.

So what comes next?

The Vision

The Welsh Government wants to “see the Welsh language thriving in Wales”. Easier said than done of course. What should be cause for some optimism is the growth in the number of Welsh speakers in the south, in particular Cardiff. However, this is balanced by a decline in the number of Welsh speakers in the heartland. It seems as though Welsh is - judging by statistics - being “diluted”. Rising in one area, falling in another.

So in future we could have a situation whereby there's an average 20-odd% Welsh-speaking minority in every local authority (though still higher in Y Bro) but no real “heartland”.

“Acquiring the language” and “using the language” are the two core elements to the new strategy.

Acquiring the language

“Acquiring” primarily focuses on Welsh-medium education, with a special focus on post-14 opportunities and improving Welsh-medium planning based on parental demand.

There's also a focus on families, and the role using Welsh within families and the home, passing Welsh down the generations, reinforced by Welsh-medium education. Use it in school, use it at home. Pretty straightforward. It's said that this will help create a “community of speakers”, combined with the influence of social media and the mainstream media.

The Welsh Language Board's TWF project – where parents are encouraged to speak Welsh to their children is cited as an ongoing example of encouraging “language acquisition”.

Using the language

The second strategic area is children and young people. The numbers of Welsh-speaking people aged 3-14 has risen from 15% in 1971, to 37% in 2001. I wouldn't be surprised if it rises again in the 2011 census. There's a special focus on teenagers, and discussing the need for a “wider range of social opportunities (to use Welsh) outside school”, but acknowledging that getting teenagers to use a minority language is “a complex matter”. Seeing as Leighton Andrews is something of a technophile, new technologies are there of course, with teenagers being encouraged to use Welsh online and engage in creative activities that use Welsh.

The third strategic area is the community. The strategy acknowledges that for minority languages to survive, there needs to be an area where it is the “predominant language”. With migratory pressures affecting Y Bro, and the Welsh Government by all accounts welcoming these changes, this is going to be a tough one to deliver. The language won't survive in Y Bro without the retention of Welsh-speaking people in their 20s and 30s who will, in turn, hopefully raise Welsh-speaking children. An “online community” of Welsh speakers - of which there's already a pretty strong one - is probably going to be the future I'm afraid to say. The report hints at that.

Strategic area four – the workplace. “As individuals, we spend a considerable amount of our time at work.” Herp a derp. On a more serious side, the report does say that increasing opportunities to speak Welsh at work poses a “considerable challenge”. I don't think I need to revisit in detail the “Thomas Cook incident" in Bangor a few years ago. There's a desire to “mainstream” the use of Welsh at work, and hints that the Welsh Language Commissioner (Meri Huws) will play a key role in this.

The fifth an final strategic area in increasing the use of Welsh are Welsh language services. The report says there's clear evidence that there's a “lack of supply of services in Welsh” and a low uptake from non-fluent Welsh speakers due to “lack of confidence”. I can empathise with that. In future the Welsh Government will attach conditions to grants awarded to fund relevant services (and it's important to stress that before the chimps tea party gets overexcited) to provide Welsh-language services – in particular public sector bodies.

Language infrastructure

An umbrella strategic area covering both acquisition and use of Welsh is Welsh-language “infrastructure” that should “reflect the official status of Welsh”. This encompasses : TV, radio, books etc. There's once again a focus on digital content, including the suggestion that major private sector companies provide interfaces in Welsh (quite a few already do in fairness). There's no hint at devolution of Welsh-language broadcasting, however, interestingly, there's the possibility of a standardised online Welsh language dictionary in the medium term. But doesn't that already exist?

The role of the Welsh Language Commissioner is outlined in some detail, including responsibilities over aforementioned standardisation, language research, building links with other countries with minority languages, “language planning” and “promoting the value of Welsh”.

Conclusion

I hope I haven't come across as pretentious. A Cymry-di-Cymraeg commenting on the future of the Welsh language might come across as rather patronising and if so I apologise.

There are those out there who have nothing but bile for a language and culture they simply don't “get”. I consider Welsh - even in my limited capacity of being able to use it - an important part of my identity and an inheritance to be handed down. Leighton Andrews should be applauded for this comprehensive assessment, but many of the strategic aims are going to be very difficult to deliver without the ongoing continued goodwill of the majority of Welsh people and a Welsh-speaking heartland.

If there's one single thing I would like to see, it would be the relaunch/expansion/continuation of the Welsh Language Board's "Iaith Gwaith" scheme, with a new, universally-recognised symbol that would indicate that a shop, service or person is able and willing to use Welsh.

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Cardiff Enterprise Zone : Question marks before it begins?

The Plan

Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government have lofty ambitions for the centre of Cardiff. The creation of a “national business district” was heralded by Cardiff Council's Lib Dem leader Rodney Berman as a “red letter day for the city”. It's a fantastic and exciting vision of Cardiff's future, perhaps more so than my own the other day.

The site is slap bang in the middle of Cardiff city centre, adjacent to Cardiff Central station on what is now called “Central Square”. It also includes the site south of the station – Callaghan Square – which is already home to some of Cardiff's most significant employers such as Eversheds, British Gas and ING Direct.

The plan, as envisaged, includes:

• A £10m, 19-bay bus station, with 90,000sqft of offices above and 14,000sqft of retail at ground level.
• Compete reconfiguring of traffic flow in and around Wood Street and Westgate Street.
• A “corridor” between Cardiff Central and the Millennium Stadium.
• Up to 4million sqft of grade-A office development.
• Landscaped public space, including a prominent water feature called the “Taff Wall”.
• A £50m convention centre somewhere to the north of Cardiff Central station (~1,500 capacity).
• A new road layout, and 500,000sqft of office development to the south of, Callaghan Square.
• An embryonic bus rapid transit system linking Cathays Park, the city centre and Callaghan Square to Cardiff Bay via the CBD (could be expanded in future).

Presumably, there'll be several spin-off developments and there are plans - both longstanding and recent - for new hotels in the area.

The Execution

Last March, the then Economy & Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid, Ynys Mon), announced £21million of funding towards the Callaghan Square side of the development. In addition, current Business Minister Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower) announced that the site is to be an enterprise zone targeting the financial & professional services sector.

The first phase of the development – the new bus station some 100m from the entrance to Cardiff Central on what is now Marland House and a car park – is due to be completed some time in 2014. Two major office developments totalling 230,000sqft – earmarked for legal firm Hugh James and insurers Legal and General – are also part of this first phase.

It's been estimated that a total of £160million could be invested in the scheme over the course of the development.

Cardiff Central is due to get a new platform and redeveloped entrance to the south of the station in the next couple of years.

It also underlines the importance of electrifying the south Wales mainline to Swansea, not only for links to London but to encourage commuting into Cardiff city centre from towns and cities like Bridgend and Newport by public transport. We still don't have a proper timetable for that as yet.

The Problems

We still don't know, exactly, what features Welsh enterprise zones will have – I'm confident Edwina Hart will sort this one out soon, and the enterprise zones across Wales - including a few new ones announced in the last few weeks - are due to be up and running some time this year. When the UK government announced its own enterprise zones last August, at least there were a bullet point list of features : business rate discounts of up to 100%, sharing of business rate income to boost economic development of local authorities, simplified planning processes and fast broadband.

I assume something similar is going to happen in Welsh enterprise zonesm with the additional targeting of sectors, but it would be nice to get some sort of idea of the specifics - and the sooner the better.

Cardiff Central Business District is disjointed, piecemeal and scattered – The railway acts as a huge physical - and psychologically impenetrable - barrier between the north and south of Central Square. Development isn't exclusive to the Central Square area either. JR Smart are currently developing a mixed-use scheme called Capital Quarter – which falls just outside the proposed enterprise zone AFAIK. So what are all these developers, including local ones like JR Smart, supposed to think when Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government decide to go it alone and put schemes they're developing at a competitive disadvantage?

You also have the ongoing failure of the Capital Waterside office development, next to the Senedd and Millennium Centre, to reach the next stage of development. An application has been submitted for an extension of planning permission there by another five years.

Admiral's new HQ is also, effectively, going to be outside the enterprise zone. Could that development stall now? Unlikely, as work is imminent, but a close call.

Porth Teigr – a creative industries cluster at Roath Dock - is coming along rather well but it all forebodes an oversupply of development land in Cardiff Bay.

Lastly there's “Havannah Quay” - a huge redevelopment on the east bank of the Taff that's stalled.

Possible CBD tenants are reported to be jittery – It's been reported in the South Wales Echo that Legal and General, one of the main tenants earmarked for the Central Square development, are close to pulling out. I think these reports should be taken with a pinch of salt for the time being but it's not exactly auspicious.

Cardiff is still some way from being a "global" or "European" city of note – Putting my pessimist hat on for the moment, this whole development could be a case of tail wagging the dog. As I've noted, this could - and I believe it will be - an absolutely magnificent development that can propel Cardiff up the various league tables.

It could also be hard to let real estate, last-minute public sector occupiers or vacant, undeliverable sites and schemes. There's long-standing problems with the airport, Cardiff's universities are slipping down global and UK rankings, and while the public transport situation in Cardiff is decent (if not spectacular), there are issues there too. Arriva's rolling stock is like something out of Albania for example.

Have I done a Welsh Tory-style Cold War comparison there?

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Senedd Watch - February 2012

• A ban on cigarette vending machines came into force in Wales on February 1^st. A similar ban began in England in October, and Northern Ireland is to introduce a ban in March 2012.
• The handling of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Wales was criticised in a new report from Cardiff Business School on behalf of Cardiff Business Partnership. Wales has fallen from being the second-best UK nation or region (excluding London) at attracting FDI in 2003 to second-bottom in 2010. The Welsh Government responded by saying that the First Minister is planning new trade missions to the US and India.
• Two new enterprise zones have been announced for Wales at Milford Haven and Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd. The St Athan aerospace enterprise zone has been expanded to include Cardiff Airport and it's environs.
• The First Minister met with BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten to set out concerns relating to cuts in funding for BBC Wales and S4C. Carwyn Jones said that "it would be a cruel irony if the immediate response to the Assembly gaining law-making powers is to see a reduction in the amount of coverage devoted to Wales."
• The Assembly Commission has introduced a bill which will see English and Welsh have full equal and official status in the Senedd if passed.
• 50 senior medical staff at Bronglais hospital in Aberystwyth signed a letter of "no confidence" in Hywel Dda NHS Board. They expressed concern about the future of local services in the area as the health board undertakes a review of hospital services. Health Minister Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) intervened, saying she expected health board officials to work constructively with clinicians and health professionals.
• The Welsh Government has launched a new "shock" campaign to cut down on parents smoking in their cars in the presence of children. If parents don't heed the new warnings then new legislation may be introduced to ban it.
• Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas (Lab, Neath) launched a new Family Justice Network following a joint review by the Welsh and UK governments. Independent expert advice from social worker by bodies like CAFCASS Cymru will be retained, and it's hoped the new board will "provide greater leadership and co-ordination within the system."
• Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales) withdrew from the Plaid Cymru leadership race on Feb 6th, throwing his support behind Elin Jones AM (Plaid, Ceredigion).
• The Welsh Government defended its decision to open a new office in London, claiming its current space at the Welsh Office was "inadequate". It's estimated the new office will cost £270,000 per year to run.
• A new report by the Welsh Government and Big Lottery Fund into the running of AWEMA was published. It highlighted several issues including mismanagement of finances and poor leadership structures. Finance Minister Jane Hutt (Lab, Vale of Glamorgan) suspended all Welsh Government funding with immediate effect. AWEMA's chief executive, Naz Malik, and finance director Saquib Zia were sacked on February 17^th.
• The First Minister announced a new "Welsh Institute of Public Policy" to come up with ideas to improve public services in Wales. He said that the new body would be arms-length from the Welsh Government and wouldn't encroach on the work of existing bodies such as the Bevan Foundation and the Institute of Welsh Affairs.
• Welsh Language Board chair Meirion Prys Jones said that the Welsh language is still "in crisis" and "cannot survive without cash injection". The Welsh Language Board is due to be abolished shortly, and powers transferred to the Welsh Language Commissioner. It comes near the 50^th anniversary of Saunders Lewis' Tyngyd yr Iaith radio lecture. Other figures suggest a net reduction in the number of fluent Welsh speakers in Wales by 3,000 people per year.
• The chair of governors of Cardiff Metropolitan University said that legal action could be taken to prevent the institution merging with University of Wales, Newport and Glamorgan University. Education Minister, Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda), argues that through merger the new university would be the second largest metropolitan university in the UK and be "able to provide a wide range of student experiences and will contribute to the economy of south east Wales".
• Unemployment in Wales fell by 3,000 in the three months to December 2011 – bucking the UK trend of a 48,000 rise. Unemployment is still higher in Wales compared to the UK average, standing at 9% compared to 8.4%.
• Welsh Labour held their spring conference in Cardiff in preparation for local government elections in May. The First Minister appealed to Plaid Cymru voters who don't support independence, and warned Labour not to become complacent. Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain criticised Independent councillors, describing them as "closet Tories".
• Banding for primary schools is to be delayed until 2014 Education Minister Leighton Andrews announced. He added that the delay was to enable the introduction of new literacy and numeracy tests, saying there wasn't enough "sufficiently robust data" to calculate primary school bands.
• The First Minister attended a Joint Ministerial Committee in London where he raised the issue of renewable energy in Wales, calling for the devolution of powers for renewable energy projects up to 100MW.
• The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee published a report into the Welsh economy. The report says that scrapping the WDA in 2006 has lost Wales inward investment opportunities by "reducing Wales's visibility in the global market place". It also criticised the decision of Business Minister Edwina Hart (Lab, Gower) to not appear before the committee.
• The Assembly's Children and Young People Committee reported that children's dental services need to be approved and that parents need more help to understand the importance of good oral health. Committee chair Christine Chapman AM (Lab, Cynon Valley) said that "dental decay is still the most common childhood disease, and the dental health of children is amongst the poorest in the UK".
• The First Minister, on a visit to Brussels, has said that the EU was of benefit to Wales and that he wants the Welsh Government to be an "active and constructive partner" in the EU. Conservative leader Andrew Davies (Con, South Wales Central) said that the First Minister should "concentrate on creating dynamic trading relationships" with the EU.
• A row has broken out between Plaid Cymru and Labour over the future of Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. Plaid Cymru accused Labour of putting patients lives at risk by "downgrading" the hospital. The Welsh Government refuted this, accusing Plaid of "scaremongering". The First Minister adding that there were "no plans to close or downgrade Bronglais hospital". Several hundred people travelled from Ceredigion to Cardiff on February 29^th to protest outside the Senedd.

Projects announced in February include : a £4million regeneration scheme for town centres in north east Wales, a £14m improvement to the rail services to Abergavenny including a new station at Caerleon (due ~2016), a £2.2million scheme for creative industries to exploit digital cultural heritage, a £5million scheme to allow local authorities to loan money to bring empty housing back into use and a £12million scheme to improve sustainability in providing services in West Wales & The Valleys.

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Plaid Leadership : Visions for Welsh Nationalism

The ballot papers have now gone out, and Plaid members from Bangor to Beacon Hill will be casting votes for a new leader. As this is the last comment from me on the leadership election until the winner is announced, I think it's worth reflecting on Ieuan Wyn Jones's tenure. I wrote an assessment last September, so I don't want to repeat myself too much.

For all his faults – the managerialism, the blandness, the waffling - he was a likable, effective, consensus-building leader who helped deliver a valuable and long overdue constitutional advancement. His record as economy minister might be open for debate, but I believe he was the best transport minister we've had since devolution. History is probably going to be far kinder to him than many expect. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Ieuan.

The whole leadership race has been a wonderful exercise. Plaid have hopefully set the trend and this could be the format adopted by all Welsh parties in the future. I commend Plaid and the candidates for how they've gone about this. By Welsh standards it's been a captivating and interesting contest from the start.

As to what do I think will happen, a lot has been said about second preferences, and I suspect that will be the deciding factor in favour of Elin Jones. I might as well come out and say it now - a few of you probably guessed anyway - if I had a vote, Leanne Wood would be my first preference. I quite like, in some respects even admire, Dafydd Elis-Thomas and all he's done for the Assembly. However I feel it's time for a new generation to step up.

This section is about how I see Welsh nationalism in general developing under each candidate.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas

Independence isn't high on Dafydd's list of priorities, that much is clear. He's part of a generation to which self-government in itself was a really significant development. I don't think anyone should criticise him too harshly if he's "soft" on independence. I suspect the rush towards that has only been boosted by the success of the SNP, who've managed to be open about independence without turning voters off. Dafydd is quite right to point out that Scotland isn't Wales - we have a different dynamic - but being ambiguous at the start has probably hurt his chances more than he realises. I actually think it would've been better if he had just come out and said he supported federalism or devo-max in the short term, or simply that Wales should match whatever constitutional settlement Scotland "gets" if they remain part of the UK.

There's always been an element (or an impression of an element) within Plaid who have never believed in independence in a UN-member, own military, own foreign policy sense - just "Home Rule". Now that we have "Home Rule" to an extent, Dafydd - if elected - will probably be the last Plaid leader to not support independence from the outset. In some respects his "post-nationalist"/"interdependence of nations" views are quite progressive, but he hasn't articulated what that means, or how Wales - as part of the UK - would be able to influence proceedings.

Dafydd believes in further devolution, as he puts it, the "UK needs to be reconfigured to meet the needs of the 21^st century". Dafydd also believes that Wales will be independent in his lifetime and "relishes the chance" of leading debate on the issue. However, he doesn't offer any clues as to what powers should be devolved or even taken away. Dafydd's clearly pro-Europe, but it's unclear if he wants Wales to be a full member state - requiring independence - or remaining a "region" with little influence at the big tables.

Where could Welsh nationalism go under Dafydd Elis-Thomas?

Guardians of devolution – Expect a slower pace to calls for constitutional change. Expect more reflection on the "devolution journey". Plaid would be positioning themselves as the "elders", making sure devolution works effectively in the interests of the Welsh people. All talk of independence will be on the backburner. Also, expect an awful lot of "friendly criticism" of Labour, probably culminating in a formal coalition at some point. Plaid would probably position themselves as a national movement akin to a political Gorsedd of Bards. Plaid would slowly become small-n nationalists, in an unofficial electoral pact with Labour as a progressive union – Labour's head to Plaid's heart - acting as a bulwark against the Tories at every turn.

Elin Jones

Elin Jones is clear that independence should be the primary aim for Plaid. In the campaign she's taken an even stronger line saying that two Assembly election wins would be a mandate for an independence referendum. So far, she's the only person who's set a tentative date – 2036 – the 500^th anniversary of the first Laws in Wales Act and has subsequently said it could be as early as 2020.

Considering Elin will be pushing 70 years old by the latter date, and that many nationalists who steadfastly supported independence will - I hope I'm not being crass here - be worm food or a pile of ash, I would hope for a date a decade or so sooner. I should be well into middle age by then. I'm alright Jack. However I don't think it's right to set a date. It could happen in 5 years, it could happen in 100 years. What's important is that there's a case and a vision made.

It's good therefore that Elin says that there needs to be an "articulate route map to independence" with a "compelling vision". Plaid have attempted something like this before with Adam Price's Wales Can website. How this could be done will be a key issue. Will there be some grand "national conversation"?

Would members from other political parties be able to contribute their ideas for an independent Wales as a thought experiment? I'd be just as interested to hear what Labour, Greens, Lib Dems or the Tories would want an independent Wales to look like. If they use the cop out that "it'll never happen" then clearly they lack imagination.

Being a former Rural Affairs Minister, Elin realises the importance of the EU and has made it clear that she would like Wales to be a full EU member state. That old "independence in Europe" thing.

Elin says that Plaid should press for further devolution - noting fiscal autonomy - but she could be prejudicing the outcome of the Silk Commission by saying that.

Where could Welsh nationalism go under Elin Jones?

Plaid Cymru Version 1.5 – Upgraded, improved, patched. With Elin's economics background I would expect a far more effective - in intellectual terms - opposition to Labour. Plaid would be treading very familiar ground : protecting the Welsh language, attacking Labour in the west and north, not really making any progress anywhere else. Elin would get good press, she'll be seen to be doing things - and she'll expect ordinary members of Plaid to do the same. Plaid will probably make a good go of recovering what they lost in 2011, but will find it difficult to break that 20% of the vote mark. Independence might be spoken of more openly, but without any spark.

Leanne Wood

Leanne generally treads a lot of the same ground as Elin Jones. Leanne says that independence should be Plaid's "unapologetic" primary long-term aim, and that independence needs to be "made clearer" to the electorate. She also says, that in the short-term, Plaid should continue to campaign for further devolution. Also like Elin, Leanne has unconditional support for the EU, but as a "union of peoples, not markets". Is there a hint of left-euroscepticism there?

Leanne Wood, along with Bethan Jenkins, are Wales' most high-profile republicans. As a republican myself this would be a huge development in UK politics. Should Leanne win, she would be the first leader of a political party on "mainland" Britain since Michael Foot (not exactly auspicious) to be an avowed republican AFAIK. How she would handle that tag could make or break her.

She would almost certainly get positive press in the leftie broadsheets on a whole range of issues (think Caroline Lucas). However, Leanne will have to remember, in a Jubilee year, that the Queen herself is quite popular. Even in Wales. Even indeed amongst a minority of Plaid members, supporters and voters. Christ, even I like Betty Windsor, however much I despise the institution.

Where could Welsh nationalism go under Leanne Wood?

A popular progressive front – I don't think Leanne alone would lead to Plaid picking up lots of seats in the Valleys. Plaid simply aren't in that position. She would, however, be able to slash majorities – and that's absolutely crucial. If Labour have one more "bad" term post 2016, then those seats will be ripe for picking come 2020/21 - quite possibly with Adam Price in the Assembly, and opening the door to the likes of Ron Davies, rising stars like Heledd Fychan and the return of experienced former AMs like Helen Mary Jones and Nerys Evans. That's a government in waiting. It would be a big mistake to expect Leanne Wood to do this all by herself. It's going to be incredibly hard work.

A Leanne-led Plaid will presumably be attacking Labour from the left, but that could make Labour appear reasonable to the small-c conservative electorate. Plaid will be out there on the streets, getting noticed and getting involved. There'll be colour brought to debate in Wales, but will it always be articulate? Will all the sums add up? Will it be all heart over head? I could easily see membership gradually increase over the years, but not spectacularly. Leanne will be that rare breed – a Welsh politician people will want to be seen with – but whether those people would represent the average Welsh person would determine how this plays out for Plaid. If it's just the crusties, student lefties and trade unionists then prepare for disappointment in May 2016.

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Plaid Leadership : Where do they want to take Plaid?

In this section, I'm looking in closer detail at what each of the candidates propose for Plaid itself : its policies, relationship with other parties and internal structures.

In the next couple of weeks I'll take a final look at the candidates views on independence and the possible directions Welsh nationalism could take under each potential leader.

Simon Thomas has withdrawn as you already know, so that leaves three other candidates.

Dafydd Elis Thomas (Campaign Website)

Dafydd believes that Plaid should aim to be a "party in government". He's called for something reminiscent of the "progressive alliance" mooted at Westminster in 2010 – a coalition with Labour and possibly the Liberal Democrats for the sake of "effective democracy". He takes a holistic approach to the nature of devolution in Wales, and believes it's his duty - and Plaid's - to ensure the Welsh Government delivers its pledges. If Dafydd becomes leader there'll be a One Wales II that much is clear. However, he does appear to rule out working with the Conservatives, unless Labour were no longer the largest party.

A key plank of Dafydd's campaign is sustainable development and a "green economy". He says he would like to "enforce sustainable development across Wales". He also believes that Wales can be a "world leader in sustainability and environmental issues". Dafydd understands the importance economic drivers are in environmentalism and would like to invest in green jobs as part of a wider green stimulus. He focuses on improving "green skills in the construction sector" as one way to kick start that process. Whether you consider his support for nuclear power a contradiction to these green ideals is for you to decide. I know what I think of it. Nuclear power? No thanks.

Thorium-fuelled nuclear power is a different story but the technology is probably decades away. Thorium is relatively abundant compared to the amount needed to fuel a reactor and guess which part of Europe has some of the largest reserves? Until then it has to be renewables all the way.

From his answers in the BBC Q&A ,  it looks like Dafydd has brushed off many of the findings of the Moving Forward report and certainly doesn't support a name change for example.

Elin Jones (Campaign Website)

Elin believes that Plaid has "more important things to do than revel in Westminster politics on a Welsh stage". She wants the party to to "reach out and listen" more and has broadly welcomed the Moving Forward report – including the proposed name change. Elin believes there's a "place in Plaid for everyone" but she would "expect discipline" from both new members and old members alike. I'm not sure what that means exactly. Elin is ambitious for where Plaid should go, saying that Plaid "cannot allow Wales to become a one-party state" and that the next Plaid leader "should aim to be First Minister".

Does that mean Elin isn't ruling out a possible coalition with the Conservatives to achieve that? She doesn't seem too enamoured with Andrew Davies, but goes on to say that it's Plaid membership that would decide any coalition, not the leader.

Elin goes into some detail on public services. She laments that "the NHS of Aneurin Bevan has ceased to exist" and goes on to say that Wales shouldn't follow the reforms of the English NHS. Elin also rules out profit motive in health services – but what if they were "nicer" forms of profit, like cooperatives or social enterprises? On education Elin believes that children should be "challenged by the education system to reach their fullest potential" – echoing the recent Estyn report that suggests that more able students in primary schools are let down.

As an economist, Elin touches on fiscal policy saying she supports "the distribution of wealth via progressive taxation" and that "income taxes based on ability to pay is the fairest form of taxation". She also underlines the need to tackle child poverty in Wales – as Labour have often laudably (but in my opinion misguidedly) targeted. Elin also makes the point that "economic policy needs to be tailored to Wales's needs not the City of London".

Elin would like to see a "second industrial revolution" based on natural resources exploited for Wales' benefit – echoing other candidate's calls for a "green economy" or a "devolution of control over natural resources". She believes Wales needs to "unleash talent" in small businesses – a nod towards that old chestnut of "less red tape"?.

On the future of the Welsh language, Elin says it isn't secure and that Plaid should continue to support its growth. Also, more interestingly, Elin says she would like Wales to become a "multi-lingual society beyond bilingualism". Does that mean a third language taught in primary schools becoming official Plaid policy? Judging by recent reports, Wales hasn't quite got the bilingualism bit nailed down just yet.

As an additional note, her maneuverings re. Simon Thomas/Jac-do show a somewhat Machiavellian side to Elin. There might be a bit of steel under those brightly-coloured cardigans after all. For some reason I quite like that.

Leanne Wood (Campaign Website)

Leanne has gone into some detail on where Plaid as a party could improve itself, perhaps more so than other candidates. She notes that Plaid need to sort out "policy inconsistencies", though she doesn't cite any particular examples. Somewhat surprisingly, Leanne hasn't mentioned public services in her campaign yet (AFAIK). I don't think any of us need to think twice about what her stance would be there though.

Leanne has a clear vision for the role Plaid could play, saying that the party should strive "to end war, inequality and discrimination" and that the economy should "distribute wealth fairly". The bedrock of Leanne's views and vision for the economy are in the "Greenprint for the Valleys" document and I intend to look in greater detail at that at a later date.

Leanne has also recently published a detailed document on possible green energy proposals, which you can read courtesy of Syniadau. She has consistency in supporting a green, decentralised economy based on cooperatives and mutualism – echoing The Collective Entrepreneur. In a nod to traditional capitalism she also believes that small businesses "needs to be supported to foster enterprise". Leanne has clearly put in a lot of hard graft in compiling these policy documents and setting out a clear policy direction for Plaid, but some of it does read as a bit wishy-washy at times (yes I'm a fine one to talk).

She plays to the gallery by saying Plaid need to break new ground in Labour heartlands by showing Labour voters that Plaid shares their concerns. That's probably the main reason she's built up such a momentum behind her. Of the three candidates I don't doubt that Leanne would be the most likely to be able to do this. However it's not a guarantee. An increase in vote share not matched by an increase in seats wouldn't do her any good.

Leanne wipes the idea of a coalition with the Conservatives out right away. A Leanne-led Plaid wouldn't work with anyone who would "obstruct the path to independence". Strong stuff, but is it pragmatic? I'm unconvinced.

For Plaid's structures, Leanne suggests several changes. The ones that stick out are proposals that local party meetings should be revamped - with open Q&As. On membership she would like members to be "clear what role they can play to further the aims of our independence project" with an interconnected "active tier" of members. I think that's an absolutely outstanding idea and I hope whoever wins the leadership takes that on board. She believes there needs to be "better communication between the grassroots, elected officials and the leadership".

As a Welsh learner herself, she approaches the Welsh language in a positive manner, saying that although Plaid needs to move away from "being seen as a Welsh language only party", Plaid should be unapologetic about its support for Welsh and treat it as an equalities issue.

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AWEMA - someone in Cardiff needs to own up

More on this at Jac OThe North, Inside Out, National Left, The Western Mail, Betsan Powys, Gareth Hughes and Wales Home.

It's been a point made elsewhere but Martin Shipton and his team at The Western Mail (as well as BBC Wales and the South Wales Evening Post) need to be congratulated for this excellent piece of investigative journalism. It's shows the true value a solid national press has for Wales and the vital role it plays in holding TPTB to account.

The latest report from the Welsh Government and Big Lottery Fund was published last week into the goings-on at All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (AWEMA). We've had things called "scandals" in the past (Nick Bourne's Ipod, The Lib Dem 2, second homes in Penarth and Rosie Butler's table), but I'd agree with Daran Hill that this is "perhaps the biggest scandal around the use of public money since devolution began". However, we have to put this in perspective. It's still small fry compared to some of Westminster's shenanigans.

You probably already know about what happened but here's a summary of the allegations from the latest report:

• AWEMA didn't submit any accounts to Companies House or the Charity Commission for the year 2010-11 and no management accounts exist having "not been produced for some time".
• There's an "absence of key policies and procedures within AWEMA", for example an expenses policy, conflict of interests register or register of hospitality's given/taken – this was taken advantage of (mobile phone bills paid, greetings cards, parking charges) although the sums were small and backed with receipts.
• Creditor information was not available - said to be vital to give assurance of solvency.
• Naz Malik (the CEO) hadn't been subject to a performance appraisal since 2006.
• ABOMA (the board of management) held no regular meetings or were done so on an "ad hoc" basis with big gaps between them – sometimes as long as 11 months.
• Naz Malik's decisions were only given retrospective approval by ABOMA.
• Expenditure from AWEMA's funds included £2,100 on gym membership, £800 on rugby and cricket tickets and one of Naz Malik's parking tickets worth £110. None of these were disclosed to HMRC and it's unclear if these were funded from public money.
• Naz Malik relied on the Financial Director for details of financial processes, when as CEO he should have "a key duty in overseeing these processes".
• The AWEMA payroll system was "seriously inadequate". The three directors salaries were "high in comparison to other members of AWEMA" though action has now been taken by ABOMA.
• Naz Malik's daughter reported to him as a director, a "clear conflict of interest" and her salary increased from £20,498 in 2008 to £50,052 in 2012 with Naz Malik present at meetings of ABOMA (when approving salary increases) both as CEO and an ABOMA member.

The most damning statement of all is that there can be "no assurances" that there were "appropriate arrangements in place to safeguard and make proper use of Welsh Government (£105k), Wales European Funding Office (£5m) or Big Lottery Funds (£523k) entrusted to AWEMA". That's a potential (and I have to stress potential) misuse of some £6million in public funds.

But it gets worse.

As you probably know, the Welsh Government were warned about AWEMA in a 2004 report (found by a Lib Dem researcher – more on that at Gareth Hughes's blog) that suggested all public funding was stopped there and then.

So it's taken the Welsh Government 8 years to act, after they commissioned their own report into AWEMA, after the resignation of their acting chairman in 2007 and after that report rung whacking great big alarm bells that AWEMA had issues.

We needn't dwell on the fact that the Malik family are prominent Labour members and supporters. I don't buy that this was a conspiracy - just a toxic mix of negligence, arrogance and old fashioned cronyism. In fairness Labour were quick to suspend them and appear content to stall things for now while distancing themselves from the Malik's and AWEMA. No doubt they'll want to "move on to the important issues that matter to the people of Wales blah blah blah"  - and they'd have a point.

However this going to be hard for them to shake off for the following reason.

Somebody, somewhere, signed off public money to AWEMA back in 2004 (probably with the best of intentions) while ignoring independent advice wilfully or accidentally. Presumably a social justice, European affairs or equalities minister, a deputy minister or a senior civil servant.

Only the anoraks who follow Welsh politics closely are really interested in this and we're comfortably out-numbered by those who aren't. However I think we'll all be more forgiving if that person (or persons) owned up instead of hunkering down hoping this will blow over. If it turns out public money they signed off has been abused in any significant way, a dent in their pride by taking ownership of their mistake should be the least of their concerns.

At the very least that person(s) has to come out with an apology, explain the reasons why they ignored the original report and cooperate with any new investigations. The sooner the better. We don't know what any possible criminal investigation could reveal though I suspect the worst of it is already public knowledge.

I'm not going to speculate on who that could be.

Of course that's small comfort to those losing their jobs or having their schemes/funding/programme under threat by AWEMA's demise. I hope that all those who had nothing to do with this can move on to better things.

I also hope someone in Cardiff Bay or Cathays Park is having their conscience tugged before someone else tugs it for them.

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Welsh Government makes a splash on school toilets

Lack of supervision, a laissez-faire attitude to defecation and bullying.
I'll be posting on the  AWEMA report another time.
(Pic : Time.com)

I like to pride myself on looking at issues in Welsh politics that might get overlooked. Sometimes that means looking under a rock and not finding anything particularly interesting. Back in January I noticed that the Welsh Government issued new guidelines for school toilets. As a challenge to myself I decided to actually try to blog on it and make it as interesting as possible.

It's easy to criticise present and previous Welsh Government's for focusing on minor "quality of life" concerns just so they can say they've done something. However in this case there's a serious side. Back in 2005 an outbreak of E-coli in south Wales schools affected 150 people, lead to 31 hospitalisations and the death of 5-year old Mason Jones from Caerphilly. There've also been smaller outbreaks since; Wrexham in 2009, Bangor and Swansea in November 2011.

In the Pennington Inquiry which followed the 2005 outbreak, it was recommended that the Welsh Government look at toilet facilities in schools. As a result Education Minister Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda) and Health Minister Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) carried out a joint venture between their departments. They surveyed 1,800 pupils and 71% described their school toilets as "horrible" or "quite bad". Only 3% described them as "nice".

The pan-UK campaign Bog Standard was set up in 2003 to raise awareness of school toilets and provide information to schools, architects, parents and pupils on what they can do to improve them. They published "Lifting the lid on the nation's school toilets", which was taken up by the Children's Commissioner for Wales, and formed part of the foundation for the new guidelines.

Poor school toilets can spread diseases, lead to health problems in later life if pupils are reluctant to use them (ie. chronic constipation, "small bladder syndrome") and as an "adult-free zone" can be breeding grounds for bullying and sometimes lack the basic essentials for privacy.

The new guidelines recommend several examples of "good practice":

• Schools will require a written toilet policy with the participation of pupils and governors.
• Toilets should be free to use at all hours a school is open.
• Staggered checks of toilets by staff as a deterrent to bad behaviour.
• Toilets should be warm enough in the winter.
• No location of drinking water in toilet areas.
• Proper supervision of hand washing amongst younger children.
• Proper provision and disposal of sanitary products in girl's toilets for those aged 8 or over.
• Toilets should be cleaned at the end of every school day, with cloths, mops etc. not used anywhere else in a school.
• Toilets should be inspected, adequately budgeted and inspections properly recorded.

All well and good, a lot of common sense there, but you also have crackers like:

• Disabled toilet cubicles should be big enough to manoeuvre a wheelchair (simply revolutionary).
• Toilet paper dispensers should be mounted where they are easily accessible ( as opposed to hanging from the roof like a piñata?) .
• All toilets should have seats and should be strong enough to cope with a high volume of users (I realise childhood obesity is a concern but....).
• Malodours should be prevented within toilet areas (kids love the smell of fresh turd in the morning......smells like.....victory).
• CCTV should be considered at the entrance/exit when "all other options have failed" regarding supervision (....yeeeeeah....good luck with that one).

As far as I know, the Welsh Government are the first in the UK to publish "good practice" guidelines like this. Very well intentioned, very relevant with regard good hygiene practice. I'm not criticising it.

However, like their approach to sex education, I wish the Welsh Government would learn that sometimes 45 pages of guidance can be whittled down to under 10 pages. Separate the guidance that goes out to relevant people/authorities (shorter, less bureaucratic) from the documents and studies justifying it (longer, more legalese).

Everyone's happier.

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