(Title Image: Audit Wales)
Having looked at health, education, the environment and the economy, last but not least how have the Welsh Government delivered when it comes to housing, local government, culture and community cohesion?
With this out of the way, coverage of the election proper will start w/c 5th April.
Key Events & Issues of the Fifth Senedd
Homelessness & Rough Sleeping – There has been, in spirit at least, a more concerted effort to deal with homelessness over the last five years. There’s also been a brighter spotlight shone on conditions in homeless shelters, while moves during the Covid-19 pandemic to house the homeless prove that rough sleeping can be eradicated if the political will is there.
Welfare Reform & Devolution of Welfare Administration – One of the big drivers of homelessness has been welfare reform, with local housing allowance often being inadequate and universal credit resulting in working households being punished for earning too much. While there’s no great desire on the part of the Welsh Government to see welfare administration devolved as in Scotland, that conversation has started.
Grenfell Disaster & High-Rise Safety – While the number of high-rise residential buildings in Wales is relatively small, some residents have been left in criminally-unsafe accommodation due to the kind of corner-cutting by developers which led to the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.
Impact of Second Homes – This has been discussed on-off since devolution, but has been thrust into the spotlight again due to tourists and second home-owners (rightly or wrongly) using rural Wales as a “bolt hole” during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resulting massive increase in house prices is also driving new developments dedicated to the second home market while locals are an afterthought.
Black Lives Matter – Although originating from a new round of police brutality in the United States, the Black Lives Matter movement has forced reflection on how people of colour have been treated here too, more recently demonstrated by the death of Mohamud Hassan in police custody in Cardiff. Broader discussions took place on the public commemoration of slave owners and slavery beneficiaries and the teaching of BAME history in the curriculum.
Thomas Commission – If it wasn’t for the pandemic the quiet rejection of the Thomas Commission’s findings in London (if not surprising) may have made more headlines, but a coherent case for devolution of criminal justice has now been made though unfortunately not likely to lead to much.
Cymraeg 2050 – The Welsh Government has committed to 1 million Welsh-speakers by 2050, though the parameters are rather vague and there still hasn’t been any real discussion about who qualifies as a “Welsh-speaker”.
Future of Welsh Music – Live entertainment has been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, but even before then live venues were under threat from aspects of the planning system. The music industry generally faces more pressure from low streaming royalties as physical sales decline.
Key Committee Inquiries
- Rough Sleeping (Communities)
- Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings (Communities)
- Benefits in Wales: Options for better delivery (Communities)
- Voting Rights for Prisoners (Communities)
- Diversity in Local Government (Communities)
- News Journalism in Wales (Culture)
- Live Music Industry (Culture)
- Devolution of Broadcasting (Culture)
- Effectiveness of Local Planning Authorities (Public Accounts)
- Delivering for Future Generations (Public Accounts)
Key Legislation
- Abolition of Right to Buy Act 2018 – Ended the Thatcherite policy by which social and council-housing tenants can buy their rented property for a discount.
- Public Services Ombudsman Act 2019 – Extended the investigatory and complaints-handling powers of the Public Services Ombudsman.
- Renting Homes Act 2019 – Outlawed several private tenancy fees and restricted the use of several others.
- Senedd & Elections Act 2020 – Lowered the voting age in Senedd elections to 16 and made several relatively minor administrative changes, such as the Senedd/Welsh Parliament’s official name.
- Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) Act 2020 – Will outlaw “smacking” in Wales from 2022 by eliminating it as a defence in criminal prosecutions.
- Local Government & Elections Act 2021 – Falls short of a comprehensive reform of local government envisaged by the Williams Commission, but opens the door to limited electoral reforms, a greater role for community councils and regional working.
