The Richard Commission:
The Powers of the National Assembly for Wales.
Issues and questions for consultation
SUBMISSION BY THE NATIONAL UNION
OF STUDENTS IN WALES
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Introduction
Efficiency in policy-making, the breadth and depth
of Assembly powers and constraints on Whitehall policy
making due to division of responsibility
The Assembly needs an assurance that its budgeting
process (across sectors) is sustainable and not dependent
on external commitments and constraints (Westminster).
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| The Assembly needs to be forthright in
its capacity of representing the people of Wales. The
range of issues within its jurisdiction should reflect
the breadth and diversity of concerns that the people
of Wales have. The depth (capacity to affect change) should
not be delayed or impeded by Whitehall. A case in point
to exemplify this was the top-up fee negotiations that
turned out to be a short-coming that leaves the Welsh
public disenfranchised.
All Whitehall policy making that would have an impact
on Wales should be subject to thorough consultation
with the Assembly to ensure maximum consideration for
the Welsh perspective, as well as democracy.
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| Electoral Arrangements
The size of the Assembly is adequate, and the relatively
small nature of its size makes Assembly Members comparatively
more accessible than Members of Parliament. This is
very positive from the point of view of our organisation
and has meant that we have been able to work closely
with numerous Assembly Members and Ministers on matters
of great importance to students. Its size also makes
communication between ourselves and the Assembly more
straightforward which contributes to increasing efficiency.
The means of electing the Assembly is a fair and thoroughly
democratic process that adequately represents all significant
interests in Wales. Democracy is at the core of our
principles as an organisation and is therefore of great
significance.
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| The practical ways in which the Assembly's
limited powers impinge on our organisation
The current top-up fee negotiations (whether Wales
can exempt Welsh HEIs from charging top-up fees in the
light of the DFES White Paper) impinge upon our members
in a pivotal and vital way. Powers have not been devolved
in the following areas:
1) Student finance
2) Tax-raising powers.
This means that FE students that comprise of two thirds
of our membership may reconsider university applications,
or indeed continuing into HE at all.
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| The fact that the Assembly does not have
tax-raising powers prevent it from having the option to
source its own funding for public services. This prevents
the Assembly from being able to have the security to take
important decisions of financial implication, and therefore
have to negotiate with Whitehall. This leads to uncertainty
amongst the public and doubts over national self-determination
and therefore questions the whole point of the Welsh Assembly
Government in the first place.
The Assembly's limited secondary legislation powers
can make our work much more difficult in some situations.
Despite having AMs' support where certain issues are
concerned, only minor changes can be made. This has
become apparent in our lobbies of the Assembly regarding
student finance. It also makes the whole process of
pressing for change more bureaucratic and drawn out
because there are two barriers for us as lobbyists to
overcome (i.e. the Assembly as a first port of call
and Westminster further down the line). Although this
separation between the Assembly and the UK government
can bring about positive changes in Wales, specifically
the introduction of the Assembly Learning Grants last
year, it would be hugely positive and advantageous for
NUS Wales if the Assembly were given primary legislation
powers. This would avoid problems caused by issues such
as the slow payment of ALGs to students in Wales, and
the consideration of the grants by the DfWP as income
which consequently affected many students' benefits.
These factors contributed to student hardship and although
they were eventually resolved, the time taken to address
these issues was unacceptable.
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| Granting primary legislation powers would
also be advantageous to Welsh-medium teaching in higher
education, opening up possibilities such as 'golden hellos'
as incentives to Welsh speaking doctors, nurses; teachers
and lecturers. Feedback from our members has highlighted
particular issues in this area due to a serious shortage
of Welsh-medium lecturers and a consequential lack of
Welsh-medium courses. This results in unfairness for students
whose first language is Welsh making it impossible for
them to learn in their mother tongue, and is unsatisfactory
in the current climate where equality of opportunity is
an aim across the board.
Ultimately these powers need to be devolved to Wales
in the interest of our members as soon as possible.
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| The Government of Wales Act and powers
it provides the Assembly
Due to its limited-powers in certain areas the Assembly
could be seen as a layer of bureaucracy to administer
Westminster's decision-making. This is not a fully democratic
process and can leave people feeling frustrated when
important issues that do not fall within the Assembly's
powers cannot be addressed. Ultimately this can adversely
affect everyday life for groups of people in Wales.
This frustration is apparent amongst our membership
because the in-roads we make as a result of our campaigning
work can only reach so far in areas where major changes
are desperately needed, e.g. student finance in this
time of extreme student debt. Hopefully the current
negotiations concerning the devolvement of powers over
HE funding will be successful and lead to this situation
being alleviated.
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| The connection between the scope of
the Assembly's powers, its structure and working arrangements
If the Assembly were to acquire greater law making
powers it is not inevitable that it would need to be
reconstituted on the Parliamentary model, but if primary
legislation powers are devolved and contradict the Governance
of Wales Act then a Parliamentary model would be a necessity.
If this were to occur, the needs (i.e. the devolved
powers) should dictate the structure rather than the
other way around to ensure the new system was specifically
suited to Wales.
However transparency and accessibility should be maintained
at a high standard. From our organisation's point of
view this standard should actually be raised to avoid
situations of uncertainty, e.g. the lack of information
received to date concerning the negotiations underway
between the Assembly and the UK Government on devolving
student finance. The confrontational way in which the
Parliamentary model works is inevitable. We are looking
for the control of public funding for public services
in Wales to be taken on by the Welsh Assembly Government,
thus leading to a greater level of political debate.
Confrontation to an extent would come hand in hand with
this more intense debating. Increased transparency and
accessibility would obviously be positive gains but
may lead to a need for increased staffing and space.
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| The Relationship between the Assembly
in Cardiff and the Parliament in Westminster
There are strengths and weaknesses to be considered
when looking at this relationship. Maintaining the Welsh
Office led to negotiations between Peter Hain and Charles
Clarke in the interest of Welsh HE, and the extra layer
of discussion could be seen as a way of increasing thoroughness
of debate. The flip side to this is the huge amount
of bureaucracy and delayed decision-making on issues
that are of great importance, e.g. top-up fees and devolving
powers over HE funding to Wales. Lack of communication
between Westminster and Cardiff can also sometimes create
confusion. This was especially apparent following the
introduction of the Assembly Learning Grant, and the
Department for Work and Pensions' consideration of the
grant as income.
It is therefore essential that communication is kept
at a maximum to prevent these sort of situations from
arising in the future. Passing primary legislation powers
to Cardiff would eradicate this issue, and increased
efficiency and communication could be easily achieved
within the relatively small confines of the Assembly.
This increased simplicity would speed up decision-making
processes, decrease bureaucracy and bring about positive
and badly needed reforms more quickly.
The acquisition of primary law making powers by the
Assembly could mean that Welsh MPs are seen as another
level of bureaucracy. Realistically, the status quo
should be maintained with Wales having a greater UK
contribution in Westminster.
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| The Role of the UK Government and the
Secretary of State for Wales
There should be no reduction in the role of the Secretary
of State for Wales. His role within the UK Cabinet is
of great importance and this should continue in order
to ensure that Wales' interests are sufficiently represented
within Westminster. The fact that he has a place within
the Cabinet gives Wales a powerful voice and ensures
Welsh concerns are efficiently communicated.
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| Relations between the Assembly and Whitehall
If there were a clearer separation between England
and Wales in policy development and implementation,
NUS UK's work would be affected to some extent Wales
as a region would have to concentrate increasingly on
campaigns that would be relevant only to Wales as opposed
to issues that relate to both Wales and England.
Clearer separation could also decrease confusion by
simplifying processes of bureaucracy and communication
thereby increasing efficiency and cutting down on delays.
Natural self-determination is another factor that should
be taken into account. A third of Welsh children are
born into poverty. The vision of 50% HE participation
will not be met while equality of opportunity is denied
from the cradle. Wales should consider its own policies
based upon Welsh knowledge of the country's history,
culture and geography.
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| The financial context
Evaluation of the costs and benefits of moving to a
different form of devolution in Wales should be based
upon need by bearing in mind the current socio-economic
condition of the population of Wales and the hardship
levels of its students. The benefit of having less bureaucracy
and direct primary legislation powers for the Assembly
to make the changes that are needed could be huge although
the true extent of this benefit could only be judged
later on. For example, primary legislation powers over
HE in Wales would allow the Assembly to implement more
of the 54 Rees Report recommendations, but the will
to do so has to be there in the first place.
The main benefit and value that should be considered
as part of this evaluation is self-determination in
a UK context. This encompasses social inclusion, equality
of opportunity, a target of 50% participation in HE
in Wales, and the eradication of poverty in Wales. Giving
the Assembly enough powers to give increased consideration
to all these values and aims would improve the life
of a twelfth of the population (i.e. students) immensely.
Other benefits and values to be given consideration
are the smooth re-configuration of Welsh HE in light
of the 'Reaching Higher' and the 'Learning Country'
and proposals for increased collaboration and possible
mergers. This smooth re-configuration should be completed
without job losses and without putting students under
increased pressure in terms of finance and welfare.
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| Funding Streams
Funding stream uncertainty is actually an issue for
N US Wales at the moment Devolving powers in relation
to HE funding to the Assembly, would .mean that bigger
and more significant steps could be taken to decrease
student hardship, and reach towards the aim of making
Wales a truly learning country by encouraging lifelong
learning and reducing the deterrent of debt.
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