The final budget of the National Assembly for Wales for 2005-06 to 2007-08 was published. It included a 5 per cent increase in the deprivation grant aimed at helping local authorities serving deprived communities.
Source: National Assembly for Wales' Budget 2005-2006 to 2007-2008, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report (pdf) | Explanatory note (pdf) | WAG press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A Bill was published to create a single Ombudsman service for Wales.
Source: Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Bill [HL], Wales Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Wales Office press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The Welsh Assembly government began consultation on a strategy for public services and the way they were designed and delivered in Wales. The overall aim was to make public services more efficient, and more responsive to needs.
Source: Making the Connections: Delivering better services for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2080 1435)
Links: Report (pdf) | WAG press release
Date: 2004-Oct
The government signed an order allowing a single individual to hold all three public sector ombudsman offices in Wales (Commissioner for Local Administration in Wales, Health Services Commissioner for Wales, and Welsh Administration Ombudsman). It said that this was an important step towards establishing a unified public services ombudsman for Wales.
Source: Press release 6 October 2004, Wales Office (wales.office@walesoffice.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Wales Office press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A report said that the treatment of many pregnant women at work in Wales was unfair, unsafe and unlawful.
Source: Time to Deliver: Putting an end to pregnancy discrimination in Wales, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2004-Sep
The Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 was given Royal Assent. The Act merged the Audit Commission in Wales and the National Audit Office Wales arm, to create the Wales Audit Office headed by a new Auditor General for Wales.
Source: Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act
Date: 2004-Sep
An article provided an analysis of the observed increase in employment in Wales during 2002 and 2003. Between summer 2001 and summer 2003, employment in Wales rose by 90,000 and the employment rate rose from 68.4 per cent to 72.9 per cent. The majority of the increase came from growth in the number of female employees.
Source: James McNair, 'The increase in employment in Wales during 2002 and 2003', Labour Market Trends, September 2004, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
The Welsh Assembly Government announced that three largest quangos in Wales - the Welsh Development Agency, the post-16 education funding body ELWa, and the Welsh Tourist Board - would be absorbed within the assembly government.
Source: Press release 14 July 2004, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release | WLGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
The Public Audit (Wales) Bill had its third reading. The Bill would combine the existing functions of the Auditor General for Wales and most of the functions exercised by the Audit Commission in Wales, under the Wales Audit Office.
Source: Public Audit (Wales) Bill, Wales Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 19 July 2004, columns 101-113, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC Library research paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jul
The 2004 United Kingdom Spending Review provided for the Welsh Assembly Government s budget to increase by an annual average of 4 per cent in real terms - equivalent to an increase of 2.5 billion by 2007-08.
Source: Stability, Security and Opportunity for All: Investing for Britain s long-term future - 2004 Spending Review/New public spending plans 2005-2008, Cm 6237, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Spending Review report (pdf links) | HMT press release | WAG press release | Wales Office press release
Date: 2004-Jul
The Welsh Assembly Government published its annual report for 2003-04. It said that big steps forward had been made over the previous year in implementing commitments made, and it was on target to deliver on its priorities.
Source: The Report of the First Minister May 2003-April 2004, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2004-Jul
The Public Audit (Wales) Bill had its second reading. The Bill would combine the existing functions of the Auditor General for Wales and most of the functions exercised by the Audit Commission in Wales, under the Wales Audit Office.
Source: Public Audit (Wales) Bill, Wales Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 17 June 2004, columns 929-961, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Wales Office press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
The Welsh Assembly government began consultation on new proposals to boost skills levels and help more people into employment. It said that nearly one third of people in the workforce had basic literacy or numeracy skill needs.
Source: Consultation Document on the Skills and Employment Action Plan 2004, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report (pdf) | Background paper (pdf) | WAG press release
Date: 2004-May
An article reported on a study of advice provision in employment discrimination cases in Wales. It explored the opportunities and constraints of the Welsh context and profiled many of the policy challenges posed for the devolved administration. It demonstrated that, despite advances in equalities legislation and policy directives aimed at strengthening people's employment rights, a number of critical obstacles remained for the most disadvantaged groups.
Source: Charlotte Williams, 'Access to justice and social inclusion: The policy challenges in Wales', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 26 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Mar
Researchers examined the link between the devolution of power and the effectiveness of economic policy development across the four countries of the United Kingdom. They produced a database of institutional strategies and best practice statements for policymakers.
Source: Mark Goodwin, Martin Jones and Rhys Jones, Constitutional Change and Economic Governance: Territories and institutions, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb