A Federal Wales I looked at the arguments for and against decentralisation within Wales after independence.
This part will look at the options and what each of them would mean more broadly.
A Federal Wales III will consider the options in more detail, including what kind of powers could be decentralised within Wales. A Federal Wales IV will consider how it would all work in practice – the number of regions/states, legislatures, executive arrangements/governance, elections etc.
There are perhaps four realistic options that can be put on the table to decentralise Wales:
- Regional Authorities – Identical to the regional authorities mentioned in Part VI (similar to the London Assembly), with no law-making powers.
- Devolution – A form of internal devolution similar to what Wales currently has within the UK. This means a small number of regional assemblies with law-making powers in policy areas that have been devolved to them by the Senedd.
- Autonomous Communities – Similar to devolution except the autonomous regions would have some control over their devolution settlements through statutes of autonomy – so they can take on as many or as few powers as they like within the bounds of the national constitution.
- Federalism – A written Welsh Constitution divides powers between the national and the state/regional legislatures with a clear boundary between the two.
How does this work?
This was partially addressed in Part VI.
There would be a small regional assembly, led by a directly-elected Mayor.
The Mayor would act as chief executive and political leader. They would be responsible for running regional services delegated to them by the Senedd and Welsh Government. They would also be responsible for setting policies and strategies.
The role of the regional assembly would be to scrutinise the Mayor’s actions/decisions, to hold inquiries (via committees) and to finalise the regional budget.
What would be the constitutional requirements to set this up?
The Senedd has most of the necessary powers over local government to do this now. It would probably require a Regional Assemblies Act setting out the precise number of regions, their responsibilities as well as the electoral process for the assemblies and mayor. The Act would also abolish obsolete regional bodies/boards and amend older laws.
An Act would probably take at least two years and come into effect perhaps another 2-3 years after being passed.
There would no doubt be an argument as to whether a referendum would be required (the London Assembly was established via a referendum) and whether referendums should be held on a region-by-region basis (potentially resulting in one area approving a regional assembly and another rejecting it) or nationally.
What sort of things would be decentralised under this arrangement (A Federal Wales Part III)?
This was touched on in Part VI. It would be administrative devolution only.
For example, it would include the functions of the Corporate Joint Committees/City & Growth Deals, fire services, national parks, educational consortia, health boards and – once the necessary powers are in place – Police & Crime Commissioners.
Would there be law-making powers (A Federal Wales Part III)?
No; though the regional assemblies could be given regulation/by-law making powers by the Senedd if deemed necessary to do so.
How could it be funded (Part VII)?
Likely via a direct revenue grant and separate capital funding set by the Senedd. Some of the money may be ring-fenced for specific purposes. The process would likely be similar to the local government settlements or form part of the same process.
What would it mean for local government (A Federal Wales Part III)?
It wouldn’t need to change. All options would be on the table under this model including retaining the existing unitary authorities.
The only difference is that instead of the 22 unitary authorities being partners in the regional body (as happens the Corporate Joint Committees), the regional assemblies would be an entirely separate tier of government sitting between local government and the Senedd.
