The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on the role that inspection, regulation, and audit should play in delivering top-quality public services.
Source: Inspection, Audit and Regulation in Wales: Policy Statement, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | HIW press release
Date: 2008-Nov
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that migrant workers in Wales created new businesses, met labour shortages, and were no more likely to perpetrate crimes than other citizens: but a significant number of them were 'unscrupulously exploited'.
Source: Issues Affecting Migrant Workers in Wales, Their Families and the Communities in Which they Live and Work, Equality of Opportunity Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Nov
A think-tank report said that the model of union-employer partnership being developed in Wales provided a way forward for unions across the United Kingdom, giving unions a role in promoting social progress across a wide agenda.
Source: Howard Marshall, Trade Unionism and Social Partnership: Does Wales provide a way forward?, Bevan Foundation (01495 725214)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report examined the 'Barnett formula', used to allocate public spending between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Identifiable public spending per head in England was running at £7,535 per annum (2007-08): but in Scotland it was 22 per cent (£1,644) higher, in Wales 14 per cent (£1,042) higher, and in Northern Ireland 30 per cent (£2,254) higher. Such spending gaps were 'impossible to justify' to English taxpayers.
Source: Mike Denham, Unequal Shares: The definitive guide to the Barnett formula, TaxPayers' Alliance (0845 330 9554)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that the Assembly Government should establish a central body or unit to promote and support partnership projects with the private sector. The central unit should take a lead role, with local management, in developing project specifications, negotiating contracts with the private sector partner, and monitoring and managing performance in relation to the contract.
Source: Inquiry into Public Private Partnerships, Finance Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release
Date: 2008-Sep
A think-tank report said that disparities in funding across the United Kingdom were becoming an increasing source of tension between the four nations, especially between England and Scotland. It called for the 'Barnett formula' – used to fund the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – to be replaced with a more transparent and equitable funding system.
Source: Iain McLean, Guy Lodge and Katie Schmuecker, Fair Shares: Barnett and the politics of public expenditure, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
An updated version of the Wales spatial plan was published, following consultation. The plan was designed to shape how each part of Wales would evolve economically, socially, and environmentally over the following 20 years, and to guide the way the Welsh Assembly Government spent its money.
Source: People, Places, Futures: The Wales spatial plan 2008 update, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Plan | WAG press release
Date: 2008-Jul
A report presented the findings from a qualitative evaluation of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parents pilot in Jobcentre Plus districts in Scotland and Wales. Staff felt that the pilot offered lone parents the support needed to address multiple barriers to entering employment: but there was a need to 'fine tune' some of the elements to make them more appropriate to claimant needs.
Source: Sarah Jenkins, Extension of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parents Pilot to Scotland and Wales: Qualitative evaluation, Research Report 499, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2008-Jun
The Welsh Assembly government began consultation on a strategy designed to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment, or training. Despite some progress in tackling the problem, the number of young people classed as 'Neets' remained unacceptably high – at 10 per cent of all those aged 16-18. The Assembly Government wanted to ensure that local councils, schools, and further education institutions worked together to deliver more attractive and flexible learning options.
Source: Delivering Skills that Work for Wales: Reducing the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | BBC report
Date: 2008-May
A report examined the problems faced by migrant workers in Wales, and the steps that trade unions could take to help tackle them.
Source: Victoria Winckler, One Workforce: Migrant workers in Wales – A trade union report, Wales TUC (029 2034 7010)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Feb
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on a strategy to raise skills levels and increase the economic activity rate in Wales.
Source: Skills That Work For Wales: A skills and employment strategy, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | Consultation document (Welsh) | Summary | Summary (Welsh) | REC press release
Date: 2008-Jan