| Pollution, Economy, Evasion, Social Procurement, Criminalisation of Non-voters |
A Political Diary |
| Things That Were Said , Politics First Half of 2023 , July 5, 2023 |
Public policy is difficult, complex and detailed. It is not easily entered into by lay persons. An arts writer has no particular insights of value. But political language, like all language, is the critic's domain. Language reveals attitude and attitude is a determinant of action; a watchful eye on public language is a useful eye. Take the topic of unionism aside and here is small difference that is discernible between the Labour Party of Wales and Plaid Cymru. They govern from 2021-2026 in a coalition that dare not speak its name. They reach for a higher value, that “we do things differently in Wales.” The difference is that Plaid claims no ministers for itself, a tactic that allows praise for itself where it chooses, or at least that is the idea. In May 2021, Labour won 30 of the 60 Senedd seats, all of them in the south and the north east, with 39.9% of the vote. The turnout was 46.6%. A common bond is that state precedes society. So Adam Price has called on the government to “deliver the kind of society that we want to see”. Society, rather than being the self-organising thing that it is, is subordinate to state. So some words from the first half of 2023: * * * * 9th January: Mark Drakeford addressing an opposition question. “He reminds us of how fiercely opposed by the Conservative Party Aneurin Bevan was at the time.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/senedd-sketch-welsh-nhs-centre-stage-as-first-ministers-questions-returns-for-the-new-year/ * * * * 7th March: Mark Drakeford at First Minister's Questions returned to a theme. Party and nation are one and political opposition lacks validity. “I know that Conservative Members think it's their job to run Wales down.” * * * * 8th March: The polluting of rivers rises. First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “We said we would bring people together and we brought people together; we said we would develop an action plan and we have developed an action plan – we are a government committed to our rivers. At this year’s summit, we discussed the need to be able to move at speed and accelerate actions, to strip away any unnecessary complexity and provide certainty and consistent messaging across the range of different challenges. We need to bring forward, quickly, mitigation measures to create headroom to support sustainable development now whilst also securing the longer-term investment to restore our rivers.” The action plan comprises abstracts: the need for a joined-up approach and the need for fit for purpose governance and oversight arrangements to support decision making, the need to use natural solutions more effectively in order to deliver multiple benefits, the need to work constructively with the agriculture sector to find solutions to reduce and address excess nutrients, provide clarity to stakeholders on the suitability of potential mitigation actions and interventions to reduce pollution, a unified approach to catchment consenting in failing SAC rivers; and increasing our understanding of practical measures within catchments which could be provided by Nutrient Trading. Source: https://nation.cymru/news/new-strategy-agreed-on-reducing-river-pollution/ * * * * 4th April: NRW’s work is prescribed by the Environment (Wales) Act of 2016 which, among other things, requires all public authorities to ‘maintain and enhance’ biodiversity in all relevant decisions. But NRW lost 35% of its funding from 2013 to 2020 and has been criticised for its ineffectiveness. Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker explained that his office could not take action upon individual concerns. This is because – quite rightly – the Act seeks to create a shared sense of responsibility through collaboration and involvement with stakeholders, and must respect differences of opinion. The Welsh government is failing to respect its own laws on protecting and increasing biodiversity, preventing pollution of soil and water, and it’s not putting sufficient money and resources into nature and planet-friendly farming,’ says Camilla Saunders of Sustainable Food Knighton. ‘It seems to lack the political will to take hard decisions’. Source: https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2023/04/intensive-poultry-units-and-the-well-being-of-future-generations-act/ * * * * 22 April. Lee Waters: “There’s a degree of disappointment among some people … who feel that devolution hasn’t achieved its potential. For 20 years we’ve pretended we know what we’re doing on the economy – and the truth is we don’t really know what we’re doing on the economy. Nobody knows what they’re doing on the economy. Everybody is making it up as we go along – and let’s just be honest about that. We’ve thrown all the orthodox tools we can think of at growing the economy in the conventional way, and we’ve achieved static GDP over 20 years. The levels of GVA per head now are the same as they were in 1999.” https://nation.cymru/opinion/lee-waters-deserves-praise-for-taking-political-honesty-to-a-new-level/ * * * * 10th May. At First Minister's Questions on 10th May Laura Anne Jones asked a question. That is her right as a member of the opposition front bench. Mark Drakeford replied: “I’m simply not going to get drawn into the shrill and deliberately divisive debate that the member continuously attempts to raise on the floor of the Senedd.” “Did she not see that her party lost over 1000 seats in the elections in England last week. I don’t think its wise for her to come here telling me that my party doesn’t understand the priorities of people in Wales. Your party absolutely has lost any credibility it may ever of had on that basis.” “Don’t come here and tell me that I don’t understand peoples priorities when you pursue an agenda that is designed exclusively to divide people when our job should be to try and unite people.” Council elections in England are of no relevance and the question made no mention of priorities and went unanswered. Source: https://nation.cymru/news/first-minister-accused-of-sexist-jibe-in-senedd/ * * * * 3rd May 2023: The Government's “Cyber Action Plan” is a document of interest. It is hampered by being clogged by generalities. It lacks the focus and purpose that characterise government policy papers in England. The precision of expression that is the norm of the civil service is forfeit. Instead: “Being a small, connected country with close relationships makes us agile and by strengthening and advancing our competitive advantage we can reap economic opportunities.” This is not logical. Agility has nothing to do with size. The concept of “close relationships” is over-played. If anything they stymie innovation. There is no mention of any company or activity, The vagueness does not extend beyond “innovation also makes Wales an attractive place for businesses to invest and locate their businesses and to feel secure in doing so. “ The assumption as ever is that no home-grown businesses are anticipated. The padding and floridity run thick: “with an emphasis on partnerships and shared goals and ambition, we will capitalise on our existing strengths and activity and ultimately make Wales more prosperous and resilient for now and future generations.” “Building on the strong partnerships referred to in this plan will develop new innovations, new jobs and new skills where they are needed. Growing digital and cyber skills, across all age groups, will help us as a nation take advantage of technological change for work and society. It will lay the foundations for everyone to participate to build a more equal Wales.” “It requires a whole of society approach and the collective efforts of public services, industry, academia, law enforcement and government at a local, national and UK level including Arm’s length and sponsored bodies.” The padding often tips over into banality. The introduction by the Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, reads: “The increased use of digital services poses opportunities, challenges and threats. The global risk of cyber-attacks is rising alongside the exponential pace of technological advancement, and Wales is not immune.” “Crimes occurring when people use online services (often called cyber-crime) can cause significant harm to individuals and businesses.” “Organisations, regardless of their sector, need to be aware of and manage cyber security risks and protect against cyber-attacks. They also need to be able to detect cyber security events and minimise the impact of any cyber security incidents. When incidents do occur, they need to be resilient and recover quickly.” The word “partnership” occurs 26 times. It is a policy document of sogginess that is of little value to the interested citizen of Wales. Source: https://www.gov.wales/cyber-action-plan-wales-html * * * * 18th May. The polluting of rivers rises. Dr Christine Hugh-Jones from CPRW asks “If National Resources Wales doesn’t have the capacity to regularly inspect farms and enforce regulations properly, then what is the point of having it in this role?” NRW responded with a statement that said: “Improving water quality in our rivers and on our coast is one of our biggest priorities, and we are working with key stakeholders across industries to reduce pollution sources...“We are now planning a compliance and enforcement programme....preventing incidents from occurring in the first place is our ultimate goal and is the best thing for the Welsh environment. By working with companies and individuals to do the right thing in the first place, we avoid environmental damage, costly investigations and court cases, allowing us to use our limited resources on more positive action.” “We are committed to improving the condition of the River Wye and will use all evidence to improve our understanding of the issues and to use all legal and regulatory routes to support the conditions of Welsh rivers. The factors contributing to pollution in the Wye catchment are complex with a range of different sources, including from farming as well as the water industry, home discharges and run-off from roads and urban areas. It is because of this complexity that no one organisation has all the answers to solving the issues.” Source: https://nation.cymru/news/natural-resources-wales-accused-of-failing-as-a-regulator/ * * * * 24th May 2023: Press Release from Government “The new Act will see the creation of a statutory social partnership framework through a permanent Social Partnership Council for Wales. “This Team Wales approach will unite Welsh Government, workers and public services to work towards the common goal of a making the country a stronger and fairer place to live and work. “This Act also includes Wales’ first piece of primary legislation on procurement. Public bodies will be required to deliver socially responsible procurement, which means putting environmental, social, economic and cultural well-being at the heart of an £8bn annual procurement spend. “Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn said: “I’m very pleased and very proud to have delivered this important new law for Wales. We know that it’s only by working in partnership with workers, employers and businesses that we can make real changes which will embed equality, fairness and well-being in our workplaces. “I want to thank our trusted social partners, and all who worked with us on the procurement duties, for their support in helping us to create this Act, which will make a real difference to people, to workplaces, and to Wales as a whole.” “Social partnership duties will be placed on certain public bodies and on Welsh Ministers to improve the delivery of public services as well as social and economic wellbeing. “Social partners will be given the tools to work together in pursuit of the well-being goals contained in the Well-being of Future Generations Act. The Social Partnership and Public Procurement Act will amend the ‘A Prosperous Wales’ well-being goal so fair work is one of the stated outcomes. “First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Social partnership is a uniquely Welsh way of working. Making it law supports us on our journey of creating a stronger and fairer Wales. “In Wales, we’re driving-up the quality of work and employee rights thanks to open dialogue. This is a country with a vibrant economy that values and safeguards our workforce. “Part 2 of the Act places social partnership duties on those public bodies subject to the well-being duty in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and on Welsh Ministers. Part 2 also replaces the reference to ‘decent work’ in the A Prosperous Wales well-being goal with a reference to ‘fair work’. The provisions relating to public bodies will be commenced on April 1 2024. Public bodies covered by the legislation will need to seek consensus or compromise with recognised trade unions or other representatives of staff when developing their well-being objectives or making decisions of a strategic nature about the steps they intend to take to deliver the objectives. For their part, Welsh Ministers will be required to consult with the SPC when making decisions of a strategic nature in relation to the delivery of their own well-being objectives.” https://www.gov.wales/uk-first-uniquely-welsh-way-working-passed-law-giving-employers-and-employees-voice-way-wales-run * * * * 18th June. Politics Wales interviewed Rhun ap Iorwerth for the first time as leader. The question was asked “Are you in favour of a new nuclear power station of Anglesey?” The new leader: “I've always worked positively on the issue of nuclear on Anglesey because we have a workforce there, we have communities that look at the economic opportunities that can come from using the skills within our community. We've long had a position of looking at those sites, had nuclear skills in action over many decades, but at the same time someone once asked me, a colleague, in an interview“are you nuclear or renewables? And I said renewables etc etc The interviewer then changed topic. * * * * 2nd July: Adam Price called for the criminalisation of those who do not vote. He called on the Senedd to support his calls for a "civic duty to vote" bill. The policy could be enforced with fines. On the Politics Wales programme he said compulsory voting would mean Welsh voters would be "truly represented in the election system". Instead of dismissing the call out of hand Counsel General Mick Antoniw, speaking for the government, said that the idea was "well worth exploring". He backed researching the matter and perhaps a pilot scheme. "I do hope this is just the beginning of an important debate on a potential reform," he said. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66069843 |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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