The government published the draft Wales Bill, for pre-legislative scrutiny. The Bill would: enable the Welsh Assembly to legislate on devolved taxation and provide for a referendum in Wales on whether an element of income tax should be devolved; allow the Assembly to set a Welsh rate of income tax; extend, and create new, borrowing powers; extend Assembly terms to five years; and amend rules governing candidates in Assembly elections and Welsh Assembly members.
Source: Draft Wales Bill, Cm 8773, Wales Office, TSO
Links: Draft Bill | Wales Office press release | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report by a committee of MPs said that the existing European Committee system should be enhanced, made recommendations about scheduling and conduct of debates in the House of Commons, and suggested the creation of a new session of 'EU Questions'. It said that the United Kingdom should introduce a form of national veto over European Union legislative proposals, and then explore the 'disapplication' of parts of the existing European Union obligations.
Source: Reforming the European Scrutiny System in the House of Commons, Twenty-fourth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 109-I, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, TSO
Links: Report Vol I | Report Vol II | Report Vol III
Date: 2013-Nov
A public Bill was published, designed to enable 'supremacy of the sovereignty' of the United Kingdom parliament in relation to its membership of the European Union. The bill would enable the 'disapplication' of parts of the United Kingdom's obligations under European Union legislation, as discussed by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee.
Source: United Kingdom Parliament (Sovereignty) Bill, TSO
Links: Bill
Date: 2013-Nov
A government report responded to the recommendations made by the Silk Commission. The report said that, of the Commission's 33 recommendations, 31 were for the United Kingdom government to consider and 30 were accepted in full or in part. It said: that landfill tax, stamp duty land tax, and business rates in Wales would be fully devolved; that the Assembly would be able to hold a referendum on whether some income tax responsibilities should be devolved; that the Welsh government would be able to create new taxes with the United Kingdom government's agreement; and that the Welsh government would be given new powers, such as a cash reserve and limited borrowing powers. The Commission was due to report further in 2014 on whether the powers of the Assembly would now need modification.
Source: Empowerment and Responsibility: Devolving financial powers to Wales, HM Treasury
Links: Report | Silk Commission report | HMT press release | Welsh government press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Nov
The United Kingdom government announced that additional financial powers would be devolved to Wales. The announcement was made in response to the Commission on Devolution in Wales (the Silk Commission). A formal response to the Commission would be issued later in 2013.
Source: Powers for Wales in biggest devolution in decades, Wales Office press release | Ministerial statement | Finance Minister for Wales press release | CBI press release | LGA press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the issue of how many members should sit in the National Assembly for Wales. It concluded that, to bring it in line with similar legislatures, the National Assembly should have around 100 members.
Source: Size Matters: Making the National Assembly more effective, Electoral Reform Society
Links: Report | ERS press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The 2014-2015 draft budget for Wales was published.
Source: , Draft Budget 2014-2015: Priorities for Wales, Welsh Government
Links: Draft budget | Narrative | Tables | Alignment | Welsh Government press release | WLGA press release | BBC report | UNISON press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A think-tank report set out the existing United Kingdom economic fiscal context and explored the implications for Wales. It examined the changes in Welsh Government spending in recent years, and set out a number of scenarios for the Welsh government's budget for the period to 2025. It examined the trade-offs facing the Welsh Government when setting its departmental budgets, and related these to the spending pressures that would be faced in the coming decade as the impact of demographic change begins to make itself felt.
Source: Benjamin Deaner and David Phillips, Scenarios for the Welsh Government Budget to 2025-26, Institute for Fiscal Studies, London
Links: Report | Institute of Welsh Affairs comment
Date: 2013-Oct
The Welsh Government published its annual report for 2012-13.
Source: Programme for Government: Annual Report June 2013, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2013-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that devolution to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland was being carried out in a 'piecemeal' fashion and without any overarching vision about the future of the United Kingdom, in a way that risked leaving the union fragmented and disorganized. There was growing unhappiness in England about the failure of successive governments to consider the impact of devolution on England's needs.
Source: Do We Need a Constitutional Convention for the UK?, Fourth Report (Session 2012-13), HC 371, House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Additional written evidence | LGA press release | SNP press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the 'paradox' that citizens of European countries wanted their regional governments to do more and yet seemed reluctant to embrace the logical consequences of regional control, namely inter-regional policy variation and limited state-wide intervention in policy provision.
Source: Ailsa Henderson, Charlie Jeffery, Daniel Wincott, and Richard Wyn Jones, 'Reflections on the "devolution paradox": a comparative examination of multilevel citizenship', Regional Studies, Volume 47 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined the impact of devolution on social welfare for older people, and on the associated administration of age equality. Although divergent practice between devolved areas might be seen as unjust, the autonomy to determine local priorities had fostered progressive practices that 'went beyond the prescriptions of the central state'.
Source: Paul Chaney, 'Equality and territorial (in-)justice? Exploring the impact of devolution on social welfare for older people in the UK', Critical Social Policy, Volume 33 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
A think-tank report said that the mismatch between the financial framework of devolution and the constitutional powers and political accountability of devolved governments had reached a point where it was no longer sustainable. It recommended a package of devolved taxes, including personal income tax and an assigned share of VAT, to balance the need to manage devolved budgets, relate funding to devolved services, and avoid adverse fiscal outcomes. It also proposed institutional and administrative changes, and identified areas for further research.
Source: Alan Trench, Funding Devo More: Fiscal options for strengthening the union, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Jan
