As we all know by now, the solution to every problem in Wales is to form a committee. The more serious committees are called commissions or conventions instead.
The recent announcement of a new Welsh Government-backed constitutional commission chaired by Prof. Laura McAllister and The Rt Rev. Rowan Williams has generated a lot of buzz; given the credentials and profiles of the chairs that’s to be expected. I don’t think there’s any question that this is going to be a serious piece of work even if there’s some confusion over the terms of reference.
Nevertheless, the sobering reality is that Wales is currently averaging a commission to look at the Senedd’s powers, electoral reform or constitutional reform roughly once every three to four years. Yes, that often.
That’s before including the other non-constitutional committees, conventions and commissions – for example, the Diamond Review (student finance), the Senedd-commission review into digital media and the Burns Commission (Newport bypass alternatives).
What everyone needs to keep in mind before they get too excited about the latest commission is the poor track record we have in Wales of turning pages in a report into real things.
- Report: Empowerment and Responsibility – Financial Powers to Strengthen Wales (archive link; Oggy Bloggy Ogwr summary).
- Chaired by: Sir Paul Silk.
- Tasked with: Consultation on the National Assembly’s financial, borrowing and tax powers.
A spin-off of/sequel to the 2010 Holtham Commission (which deserves to be mentioned in this list too but largely covered the same ground), the Silk Commission was unique in being established by the UK Government. In light of austerity, the UK Government were on a “responsibility agenda” under David Cameron and felt it was about time the Senedd paid its way (but not by too much).
Part I recommended a greater degree of fiscal autonomy for Wales including the devolution of several smaller-yielding taxes (landfill tax, stamp duty, aggregates levy, long haul air passenger duty) as well as the partial devolution of income tax and limited borrowing powers.
Outcome: The Wales Act 2014 largely delivered on Silk I’s recommendations, except for air passenger duty and aggregates levy. However, except for stamp duty (now land transaction tax in Wales), the tax powers have been used sparingly and it’s long been argued the borrowing limit for Wales is too low. Scotland, by contrast, was eventually granted further fiscal (and some limited welfare) powers after their 2014 independence referendum – though it could’ve gone even further had the proposals not been watered down by the UK Government.
Verdict: Mixed Outcome.
