The Assembly’s Powers

"We have seen the abolition of tests for seven year olds, free milk, free bus passes - but it is still felt we are not getting the message over to the public" Neath CLP

"There is still much to be done as the Assembly is still in its infancy." Blaenavon BLP

The Assembly’s powers are not weak. Exercising nearly all those functions formerly exercised by the Secretary of State for Wales, the Assembly has secondary legislative powers over health, education and training, transport, economic development, local government, culture, sport and the Welsh language, housing, planning, agriculture and the environment. With discretion over a budget of £11 billion, the Assembly has direct responsibility for approximately half of all public sector expenditure in Wales.

Across a range of policy areas the Assembly has begun to make a real difference to the lives of people in Wales. Initiatives such as free bus travel for older people and those with disabilities and Assembly Learning Grants for less well off HE and FE students have received widespread approval. In addition the Assembly has developed an effective strategic role through initiatives such as Winning Wales, giving vision and direction for economic development in Wales. Measured by outputs, the Assembly has clearly made a difference. Before devolution Wales had the highest rate of unemployment of any of the four UK countries. Today the unemployment rate in Wales is lower than Northern Ireland, Scotland and England, according to the International Labour Organisation measure of joblessness.

Welsh Labour rejects the argument that the Assembly has been too weak solely because it has not always been able to act without reference to other government institutions. Constraints are a fact of life for all levels of government, including the UK government visà- vis the EU. The nature of modern governance is of partnership working; between local government and the Assembly, between the Assembly and the UK Government, between the UK Government and the European Union and between any combination of these institutions. The ability to act unilaterally is not a litmus paper test of whether a constitutional settlement is workable in the modern world. Rather, it is a matter of degree and of fitting the settlement to actual circumstances.