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?
Powers would be divided between the Senedd/national parliament – and however many regional/state parliaments we decide are needed. This would probably be done via a written Welsh Constitution, though it’s not a strict requirement.
What would be the constitutional requirements to set this up?
Either a written Welsh Constitution or a series of constitutional laws. Everything else would be left to the federal and state legislatures themselves.
The process for drafting a Welsh Constitution was covered in more detail in A Welsh Constitution III(a): How should a Welsh Constitution be drafted?
What sort of things would be decentralised under this arrangement (A Federal Wales Part III)?
It would be more extensive than devolution.
It could include all of the standard devolved policy areas (health, education, transport etc.), a greater degree of fiscal autonomy and quite possibly separate legal and criminal justice/court systems.
The Senedd wouldn’t have much control over what the regional assemblies can and can’t do.
Would there be law-making powers (A Federal Wales Part III)?
Yes, though there would need to be a “supremacy clause” in the constitution setting out that laws made by the Senedd override any laws made by the state/regional parliaments.
How could it be funded (Part VII)?
The states/regions would have a far greater degree of fiscal autonomy and would likely set most taxes and raise most of their revenues themselves. For example, we would probably end up with state/regional and federal rates of income tax.
Some funding could be redistributed by the federal/Welsh Government as a block grant or to fund specific federal government priorities.
What would it mean for local government (A Federal Wales Part III)?
Unless specifically protected as a class in its own right in the Welsh Constitution, local government would be the responsibility of the regional legislatures.
