The past, present and future of our Senedd
The Senedd are in the process of finalising a bill that is hoped to make drastic changed to the Welsh parliament. There are plans to increase the number of members, increase the frequency of elections, and make sure all Senedd members are residents of Wales. The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill has been called a once in a generation opportunity, so we take a look at what it could mean.
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00:00 Way back in 1997, before the Senedd had officially opened its doors, Ron Davies, then Secretary
00:11 of State for Wales, said that devolution is a process, it's not an event and neither
00:16 is it a journey with a fixed end point.
00:18 Meaning throughout the history of Welsh governance, changes would be inevitable, including more
00:22 powers handed to Wales over time.
00:24 This has happened a number of times over the years, since 1999 in the first years of the
00:29 Senedd, when powers resembled little more than a glorified council.
00:36 The first few years of the Senedd, politicians had secondary law-making powers, which in
00:41 its most basic form were sources of suggestions they could make to Westminster, who could
00:44 then put those actions into law.
00:47 Or not.
00:50 We can see that in its early years, our Senedd was not the Parliament for Wales as it is
00:54 now, and the term Assembly, which many of us became accustomed to, was far more correct.
01:01 That wasn't the case forever though, and proper official law-making powers were eventually
01:04 given to politicians in the Senedd, in a number of areas.
01:12 Most of these areas related to the environment, like agriculture, flood defences, farming
01:16 etc, but also included cultural elements like sport, tourism, language and food.
01:20 And one that had been a major part of the birth of the Senedd, health.
01:29 The conferred powers model was an important stepping stone for Welsh devolution, and was
01:33 soon followed by the reserved powers model.
01:35 This seemingly minor but impactful change cemented a number of areas that Wales would
01:40 have and continue to have powers over.
01:42 It was supposed to create a lasting devolution settlement for Wales, and has arguably done
01:47 its job.
01:52 The Senedd has become a mainstay of life in Wales, and so many decisions previously made
01:56 in London are now made here in Cardiff Bay.
01:59 That's not the end though, and now the Senedd Cymru Members in Elections Bill hopes to become
02:03 the latest in the journey of devolution.
02:08 Some of the major points to the new bill will be a massive increase in the number of Senedd
02:12 members, from the current 60 all the way up to 96.
02:15 This is arguably the sort of main element of the new bill, and also of course most controversial,
02:20 given the increased costs.
02:25 Also involved in the plans are job sharing initiatives for cabinet members, changing
02:33 Senedd voting from every five years to every four years, and one that might seem like it
02:40 would have already been in place, but to make sure that every candidate and Senedd member
02:44 is an official resident and registered to vote here in Wales.
02:51 These changes, some of which seem logical and some being very controversial, are hoped
02:55 to be the latest leg of the long journey to nowhere.
02:58 Devolution in Wales.
02:59 James P. Twotkins, Local TV.
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