Kirsty Williams AM

Devolution - Where Next

In a little under two months the National Assembly for Wales will celebrate ten years since the sixty members - myself included - took their places determined to make their mark on the future of Wales.

Since then there have been coalitions and cross party deals, fallings out and votes of no confidence, and many times when consensual politics has been at its best.

The Assembly was to introduce a new style of politics, open and accountable, bringing Government closer to the people.

So ten years later on the questions that everyone seems to be asking are has the Assembly proved its worth - and where and how do we move on from here?

Well the good news is that the people of Wales seem to warming to the idea of devolution.

The latest BBC poll shows that 52% say they would vote in favour of full law making power with 39% saying they would vote against. For those of us who remember the excruciating wait for the results of the 1997 referendum this is till too close for comfort.

Yet is it any wonder that people are still hesitant. Some of our friends in the media do not always do the institution any favours when they concentrate on the scandal and gossip rather than the serious work that goes on.

The range of existing powers is confusing. We have powers over education for instance, but no control of teachers' terms and conditions. We have responsibility for Social Housing but no say in Housing Benefit rules.

The All Wales Convention which has been set up to ascertain the level of public support for a 'yes' vote tries to clarify things for the average man in the street. As their website explains:

• The existing law making powers are set out in Part 3 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

• The National Assembly for Wales has powers to pass laws called Assembly Measures. Measures can only be passed in defined policy areas called Matters. Matters are listed in Schedule 5 to the Government of Wales Act 2006, under broad policy area descriptions called fields.

• Further Matters can be added to Schedule 5, provided they relate to one of the devolved policy areas that are set out in that schedule

See? I really can't understand what all the confusion is about!! It's simple.

So why do we need greater powers?

Well the easy answer for anyone who like the Welsh Liberal Democrats believes in bringing Government closer to the people at all levels is that we need to be able to make the rules that govern Wales in Wales.

As we come up to celebrate a decade of Welsh devolution, I want to see the next decade one where the people of Wales have further control on how their country is run and funded.

The Richard Commission reported back in 2004 on the powers and electoral arrangements for the Assembly. CIH were amongst those who gave evidence to the Commission and commented, amongst other things, that

• The lack of primary legislative powers for the Assembly has proved problematic for the development of effective housing policies.

• Tying in the Assembly to the UK legislative programme and timetable meant issues identified as early priorities for the Assembly such as HMO licensing had to wait four years to be incorporated into a parliamentary bill.

• And that there was a tendency to tag Welsh issues onto legislation that has been developed primarily for England. This can include measures that fail to take into account differences in scale, culture and language.

All very valid points that applied across the board and not only to Housing

In 2006 The Government of Wales Act introduced a level of greater powers for the Assembly. They were welcomed as an interim measure, but fall far short of giving us the level of control over our own affairs that Scotland enjoys.

Cold feet amongst the Westminster Government meant that they held firmly on to the reins - leaving the Assembly in a situation where it has to go cap in hand to Westminster every time it want to introduce a new piece of legislation.

Hardly surprising that certain MPs are not overly keen on the idea of greater devolution. If the Assembly is to become a full law making body then there will inevitably have to be a rise in the number of members there. Along with this there have been suggestions that this should be accompanied by a drop in the number of Welsh MPs.

Before we can be granted greater powers then a referendum would have to be held. Rather than start a 'yes' campaign at the earliest opportunity - which my Party would certainly have preferred - the All Wales Convention is currently taking evidence form the public and organisations across the country.

They will report back on the likelihood of a yes vote being delivered and the Welsh Government will then decide whether or not to hold a referendum.

A cynic may wonder why they couldn't have just checked the BBC annual polls!

Community Housing Wales in its submission to the Convention states that "housing policy for Wales should be made in Wales."

It goes on to say that

• The current system, though effective in some cases, is time consuming and produces unnecessary delays and confusion which we believe can be costly and inefficient.

• That the process is "cumbersome, complex and failing in making best use of available resources and expertise."

• And that "full law making powers for the Assembly is the settlement we feel that will best serve the interests of the people of Wales."

These are the views not of politicians, but of people at the sharp end, your colleagues, who have to work within the current system.

In fact CHC, along with others of you were very much involved in the recent consultations regarding the Affordable Housing. This would have conferred greater powers for us to make legislation including the power to end the tenants right to buy.

Now I should make it clear that there was no actual proposal to do this, merely to give the Assembly the legal powers to do so if it wished.

However, a political storm was created when the Westminster Government insisted on a veto. The Secretary of State for Wales will have the right to veto any decision to end the Right To Buy.

This sets a very dangerous precedent for the future of Welsh laws and is a measure of just how far we have to go to win the argument on devolution amongst politicians let alone the general public.

So what benefits would there be for you?

The greater clarity that would ensue from having one body of Government would certainly make life easier for the many lobbying organisations and groups who currently find themselves having to direct their views at both Welsh and UK level. This can be time consuming and costly for smaller organisations in particular.

There would be more opportunity to influence policy - the Assembly is a much smaller institution than Westminster and AMS generally speaking more easy accessed.

Welsh policy created in Wales would take account language and cultural issues and be more directed toward meeting the needs of this country which surely must benefit all of us who live and work here.

Yet more powers alone are not enough

There is little point in being able to make our own laws and have greater control of our own destiny if we are prevented from implementing our plans because of lack of money.

The Assembly currently receives a block grant form Westminster which is calculated according to a system known as the Barnett formula, which is based primarily on population figures.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that the Barnett formula needs replacing at the soonest possible opportunity. We believe that it is unfair, unaccountable and unsustainable. It does not allow for effective or responsive governance for Wales and is no longer acceptable for use in a modern, devolved society.

We believe that there is a compelling case for additional funding on the basis of fairness. Economic development should be targeted at poorer areas of the UK. We believe that Wales is a more challenging nation within which to deliver public services, thus needing a greater amount of funding to allow for the effective delivery of these services. This is due to the higher levels of deprivation, lower levels of economic prosperity and a much higher degree of rurality.

More worryingly as a result of the way in which Barnett funding is determined, cuts in Westminster spending, or a redistribution of spending between departments, can see the budget in Wales fall dramatically. This means that the overall budget of the National Assembly is reliant on the spending priorities of a different Parliament.

This has been brought home very clearly in recent weeks with the announcement by Alastair Darling that the Labour Westminster Government plans an extra £5bn in efficiency savings in 2010-11.

This will have knock on effects for the Welsh block grant, which could be cut by anything up to £500 million.

This will have devastating effects for not only front line public services in Wales, but - in the words of the First Minister:

"could result in money being taken out of our public spending programme before the private sector is able to come in and take over the burden from the public sector... choking off the economic recovery before it gets going."

If we are to find a way out of the current abysmal economic situation then there needs to be investment and an increase in targeted pubic spending.

Not on wasteful attention grabbing gimmicks, but on the infrastructure to provide solid foundations upon which to rebuild the economy. Kick starting the construction industry with projects that bring long term benefits, as well as providing jobs and training opportunities.

Yet with cuts of this magnitude we could be forced with making choices between that and keeping up acceptable standards in education, health and social services.

It is unacceptable and unfair and we need to address this as part of the long term aims toward greater devolution.

Yet, as I have already mentioned, before we can move further down the road towards full law making powers there needs to be a vote of confidence from the Welsh public. A referendum has to return a 'yes' vote.

When I took over as Party leader in December Rhodri Morgan congratulated me and commented that I had shown my abilities "as a feisty campaigner back in the referendum campaign in 1997"

I was of course feistily campaigning on behalf of the yes camp, and can still recall the heart stopping tension as we waited for all the results to come in, the dread at first that we had lost the battle, followed by the sheer elation when the Welsh public came through by the narrowest of margins.

This time the Labour - Plaid Government do not it appears want to leave anything to chance. Whilst we would have preferred to get in with the campaign and put the onus on politicians of all Parties to convince the public of their worth we now have to wait until the Convention report back.

Whilst this may seem a somewhat strange approach to democracy the referendum will not it seems go ahead until the Government are convinced that people will say yes.

I suppose it may go some way to alleviate the tension on results day!

We need to get the simple message out although devolution is working at the moment, it can be so much better. Primary law-making powers will give Assembly Members the tools to get on with the job on behalf of the people of Wales. The current system of having to begging Westminster to let us get on with providing the best for the people who elected us is not working as it should be

According to the BBC a little over half the population believe that - but the worrying statistic is the 39% who would vote against.

There needs to be commitment from all political Parties to change the minds of that 39%. The 39% who we've all come across in pubs, in shops, when canvassing in the doorstep who insist that they "don't do politics"

All those people who "never bother to vote because they're all the same" - those who think that politicians are all "only in it for what they can get."

We have to convince people that the Assembly is more than a talking shop. But that is easier said than done whilst there is still so much for which we rely on Westminster.

And let me make it very clear here, nobody is suggesting that we should cut off from Westminster completely (well nobody in my Party anyway!). Just that we can serve the people better from a seat of Government that is closer to them and understands their needs.

We have been appallingly bad at selling ourselves as an institution. We have made a difference - take education as an example.

• Welsh students have been spared top up fees.

• Thanks to the Welsh Liberal Democrats when in coalition Assembly Learning Grants were introduced

• And we abolished the SATS that put too much pressure on our young pupils long before England caught on to the idea.

Yet the good all too often gets caught up in the mediocre or downright silly.

The media don't always help. I certainly wouldn't dispute the fact that public money needs to be carefully monitored and anyone misusing the expense system deserves to be hauled up over it.

However, the number of stories which have hit the headlines recently alleging corruption in some form cannot be expected to inspire confidence in the public.

Yet no credit is given for the transparency of the Assembly systems. We publish all expenses every year, with none of the reluctance of certain Westminster members.

The Assembly publishes complete records of proceedings of every committee - and televises the debates. The Senedd building is open to the public to come and watch Members in action.

Yet still we are failing to make many people understand what it is the Assembly does.

Until we succeed in doing that then the future for devolution is hanging in the balance.