The Richard Commission

Powers and Electoral Arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales

Response by Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS)

CWVYS

CWVYS is the umbrella body for the Voluntary Youth Sector in Wales. It has a membership of 29 national and local organisations and works with over 200,000 young people between the ages of 11-25. The main purpose is to promote quality youth work with young people. The member organisations subscribe to the principles and practice of the Youth Work Curriculum Statement for Wales which state that work should be empowering, expressive, educative, participative and undertaken in a context of equal opportunities.

Member organisations either work to or support work which encourages the development of personal and citizenship skills through active participation in informal community settings. Young people are encouraged to learn about democracy and supported to take an active and positive role about issues of concern to them.

In Wales structures have been set up through local youth councils and Funky Dragon to enable young people to have a greater say in decision making processes. These developments have been very positive in signalling to young people that their views are important. However it is early days and there is a long way to go before young people feel that their views and opinions are both heard and have made a difference.

There is absolutely clear evidence that young people are interested and participate in public life in many ways. However, young people can feel very disempowered and somewhat sceptical that they are being taken seriously. Confidence can only be achieved by a concerted effort by those in positions of power to ensure that young people’s views are seen as both important and relevant.

There is not one exclusive model, and systems which mimic adult-led structures, are not always appropriate to engage young people. More fluid models are often more user-friendly for young people, enabling greater expression of views and opinions. These alternative models can also reflect diversity and be more inclusive than the more traditional ‘representational’ models.

Young people are also their own best advocates. However the confidence and skills to communicate their views has to be developed and supported through, for example, training and experience. These skills are also valuable in other contexts such as career development.

In Wales the existence of the Assembly has resulted in greater opportunities for young people to meet with politicians and officials which is one way of encouraging young people to engage in the political processes. The youth event in Cardiff Castle at the opening of the Assembly in 1999 was an example of a good opportunity for young people to appreciate history in the making, feel they had participated in the political life of the country and meet some of the AMs and other politicians.

Proactive work to encourage young people to vote and become actively engaged with the democratic political processes is everyone’s responsibility from national and local government, the political parties and organisations and agencies that have the most contact with young people. The media should also be promoting youth involvement by positive reporting so that young people can be encouraged through witnessing their peers in action.

The debate about lowering the ages for voting and for standing as a candidate will also be an opportunity to consult with children and young people and should raise some interesting perspectives.

The Powers of the Assembly

There is no doubt that there is confusion about the powers of the Assembly and the understanding of differences between primary and secondary legislation and its is funding relationship with the UK Parliament. A useful seminar for the voluntary sector held by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2001/2 helped to clarify this and illustrate where and when the sector can be more influential. More could be done to inform people in Wales during the Assembly’s second term.

There is also frustration that the Assembly has limited control over issues such as rail transport and police, and that local government has to be accountable to bodies outside of Wales. The Young People’s Partnerships are responsible for co-ordinating Youth Support Services at a Local Authority level and have very limited opportunities to influence issues which are not devolved to Wales.

There have been examples when UK–wide structures, both governmental and non governmental, have taken inadequate account of issues in Wales, and the support of the Ministers and other AMs has been invaluable in helping to resolve the issues. Devolution means that in Wales we have to embrace and understand structures, processes and relationships in all four countries in order to ensure the best outcomes, which implies close co-operation with our colleagues across the UK.

Currently the community learning sector represented through the Paulo NTO Wales Panel is taking the initiative to influence positively the development of the Lifelong Learning Sector Skills Council to ensure that the partnerships and policy perspectives in Wales are considered in the emerging structure.

The Electoral System in Wales

There is confusion in Wales about the system of proportional representation that exists at the moment. This may in part be due to the newness of the system and the fact that in 2003 local elections were held in England at the same time and information from the UK media was confusing. There also seemed to be inadequate explanation of why there were two votes and the implications of these.

The fact that 50% of the Assembly Members are women is an excellent result from the 2003 elections. The reasons need to be analysed in some depth to assist the Assembly representation become even more inclusive including more young AMs.

A recent International Seminar on young people’s involvement in public decision making was run by NCVYS (National Council for Voluntary Youth Services in England), Connect Youth International and the Carnegie Young People Project. It provided some examples of how young people have become local and national representatives in democratic structures and the roles they have taken both to champion their own issues and to represent constituencies.

Conclusion

In order to ascertain the views of young people about the powers of the Assembly and their involvement in the democratic process it is important to be proactive in consulting with and involving them.

The voluntary youth sector is an important vehicle to promote citizenship and personal skills with young people. The organisations work both with young people and the devolved structures to ensure a high quality of experience for young people and are affected by the systems and processes of devolution.

The views described above are taken from those expressed by member organisations and individuals, the experience of working with young people and the current issues discussed by the voluntary youth sector.

Veronica Wilson
Chief Executive
CWVYS
Leslie Court
Lôn y Llyn
Caerphilly
CF83 1BQ