Senedd Watch - August 2016

• At the 2016 National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny, the First Minister unveiled a drive to produce 1 million Welsh-speakers by 2050. Minister for Lifelong Learning & Welsh Language, Alun Davies (Lab, Blaenau Gwent), added it was “a deliberately ambitious target” whilst acknowledging the “challenges ahead”.
  
• UKIP's National Executive Committee voted to expel Nathan Gill AM (Ind, North Wales) from the party unless he gave up his “double-jobbing” as both Assembly Member and MEP. On August 2^nd, a majority of UKIP Assembly group members agreed he should resign from one of the roles. On August 8^th, the party's NEC opted to ballot Welsh members on the AM's future.
• On August 17^th, Nathan Gill announced he would leave the UKIP Assembly group and sit as an Independent AM. However, he would remain a party member, UKIP MEP and leader of UKIP's Welsh branch. Assembly group leader, Neil Hamilton AM (UKIP, Mid & West Wales), called for him to resign from the Assembly completely.
• North Wales Police investigated fraud allegations after it was revealed Nathan Gill may have used EU Parliament expenses for party political purposes. He said the allegations were “entirely bogus”.
• Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams (Lib Dem, Brecon & Radnor), announced a review into the future of the virtual Welsh language college Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. Outline suggestions include expansion to cover post-16 courses, which Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg described as an “exciting and important development”.
• The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) defended its handling of Syrian refugees as only five local authorities had accepted a total of 78 refugees by March 2016. The WLGA said 100 more refugees had been resettled by the time the Home Office report was published.
• Sexual health experts called for condoms and pre-exposure drugs to be distributed for free to at-risk groups – particularly gay men - after the number of HIV diagnoses reached a 15-year high. Between 2012 and 2014 cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea, herpes and chlamydia also rose.
• The First Minister established an advisory group of European experts and businesspeople to offer the Welsh Government insight into the “real world impact” of Brexit. Plaid Cyrmu will also be involved via liaison committees agreed in May 2016. The Welsh Government had been criticised by leading academic, Prof. Richard Wyn Jones, for their “business-as-usual” response to Brexit and expectations that EU funding would be protected.
• UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, pledged to back EU funded projects signed before the forthcoming Autumn statement and to replace them after Brexit, which is expected to cost £4.5billion. The First Minister said the guarantee didn't go far enough as it only covers “about half” of EU funding to Wales.
• Leader of the Opposition, Leanne Wood (Plaid, Rhondda), believed the Welsh Government should have extended borrowing powers to deal with the economic impact of Brexit. The UK Government said spending would rise by 2020-21, while the Welsh Government said extended borrowing powers would be discussed as part of a new fiscal framework.
• Jeremy Miles AM (Lab, Neath) warned that disillusionment with politics before and after the Brexit vote could threaten the future of the National Assembly. Mark Reckless AM (UKIP, South Wales East) said there may no longer be a “consensus” on devolution that existed before the EU referendum. Conservative leader, Andrew Davies AM (Con, South Wales Central), went further by suggesting a hypothetical referendum to abolish the Assembly wouldn't be won unless Brexit is embraced by the “political establishment”.
• Nick Jones was appointed Wales' first Traffic Commissioner, starting work on October 1^st 2016. Economy & Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates (Lab, Clwyd South) said, “Having a full time Commissioner based in Wales....means increased and more effective engagement with those who provide and maintain our transport networks.” The Commissioner will be responsible for regulating and licensing buses, coaches and goods vehicles.
• The overall A-Level pass rate for 2016 remained stable in Wales at 97.3%, but there was a 0.4% fall in the number of top A* and A-grades awarded (22.7%). Welsh students outperformed England in A-Level mathematics, but both overall and top grade pass rates remained behind by 0.8% and 3.2% respectively.
• Labour were accused of secretly halving the subsidy to employers under the Jobs Growth Wales scheme without a formal announcement or scrutiny. Jonathan Edwards MP (Plaid, Carms. E & Dinefwr) said it showed Labour's “ineptitude”, while Conservative economy spokesperson, Russell George AM (Con, Montgomeryshire) said, “it's appalling a decision of this size can be implemented without having the courtesy to inform the public”. The Welsh Government said the cut was due to improved employment figures.
• The Both Parents Matter charity criticised the Welsh Government for spending 77 times as much money on women's groups when compared to groups dealing with men's issues. An equivalent of £3.16 was spent for every woman in Wales, compared to 4p for every man. The Welsh Government said the figures had been “taken out of context”.
• A former public standards watchdog suggested former Economy Minister, Edwina Hart, may have had a conflict of interest when the Welsh Government provided £3.4million in financial support to a Swansea-based steel coating company, as the company will have employed constituents. A Wales Audit Office report claimed the company still owed £2.6million to the Welsh Government before going into administration in 2014.
• Household recycling rates hit 60% in 2015-16, with local authority performance ranging from 65% in Pembrokeshire to 49% in Blaenau Gwent. The Welsh Government target for the year was a national rate of 58%. Environment & Rural Affairs Secretary, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) said, “The fact these figures not only achieve the target but....exceed it is highly encouraging.”
• 2016 GCSE results were unchanged from 2015 with the A*-C pass rate remaining at 66.6%. A* and A-grade passes rose by 0.2%. Welsh students matched England as a whole and outperformed many individual English regions. Teaching unions warned that due to qualifications changes, results between the Home Nations were increasingly difficult to compare.

Projects announced in August include: A £1.2million project to improve job prospects for ethnic minorities and migrants; preliminary technical investigations into a third Menai crossing, with work possibly starting in 2021, and a consultation on the future of recreational bird shooting on publicly-owned land.