National Assembly for Wales presentation

National Assembly for Wales

Key Dates

l Assembly for Wales

Key Dates 1997 – Referendum on set up of the National Assembly for

Wales

1998 – Government of Wales Act 1998

1999 – First Assembly elections

2006 – Government of Wales Act 2006

2007 – Third Assembly Elections

2011 – Referendum on law making powers

2011 – Fourth Assembly Elections



Who represents you?

Elections: every 4 years

60 Assembly Members:

40 constituency

20 regional

Next election: 2016


Responsibilities


Responsibilities


Representing the interest of Wales and its people

l Assembly for Wales

Key Dates In your area AMs –

•Hold surgeries in their regions and constituencies

•Give the people of Wales a chance to raise issues

•Work directly on behalf of their constituents

•Meet with groups and community organisations

At the Senedd AMs–

•Welcome constituents at the Senedd

•Attend Plenary Sessions

•Sit on Committees

•Propose Legislation

•Statements of Opinion

•Cross Party Groups


Committees

Fourth Assembly Committees:

Children and Young People Committee

Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee

Enterprise and Business

Environment and Sustainability

Health and Social Care Committee

Petitions Committee

Constitutional and Legislative Affairs

Finance Committee

Public Accounts Committee

Standards of Conduct Committee

Scrutiny of the First Minister

You can also watch Committee meetings via senedd.tv


Making laws for Wales

Bills can be introduced by –

• Welsh Government Ministers

• an individual Member, if their name is drawn from a ballot

• Assembly Committees, if within the remit of the Committee

• Assembly Commission, if within the remit of the Commission


Making laws for Wales – 4 stages

A Bill must be formally ‘introduced’ to the Assembly. There is generally a four-

stage process for the consideration of a Bill.

Stage 1 – consideration of the general principles of the Bill by a committee, and

the agreement of those general principles by the Assembly ;

Stage 2 – detailed consideration by a committee of the Bill and any

amendments tabled to that Bill ;

Stage 3 – detailed consideration, by the Assembly, of the Bill and any

amendments tabled to that bill;

Stage 4 – a vote by the Assembly to pass the final text of the Bill.

If passed by the Assembly at stage 4, a Bill must receive Royal Assent from the

monarch before formally becoming a piece of law.


Human Transplantation (Wales) Act

The Human Transplantation (Wales) Act aims to increase

the number of organs and tissues available for transplant

by introducing a soft opt-out system of organ and tissue

donation in Wales.

The Bill was agreed by the Assembly 2 July 2013.

Royal Assent was given on 10 September 2013.


Active Travel (Wales) Bill

The Active Travel (Wales) Bill places a requirement on local

authorities to continuously improve facilities and routes

for walkers and cyclists and to prepare maps identifying

current and potential future routes for their use.

The Bill will also require new road schemes to consider the

needs of pedestrians and cyclists at design stage.

The Bill was agreed by the Assembly 1 October 2013


Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill

The Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill was introduced by the

Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies AM,

on 8 July 2013.

It is largely an enabling Bill that delegates a number of

powers to Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation

at a later date.

The Bill was agreed by the Assembly 17 July 2013.

The Attorney General has written to the Chief Executive

and Clerk of the Assembly to advise that he will be

referring the Bill to the Supreme Court under Section 112

of the Government of Wales Act 2006.


Mobile Homes (Wales) Bill

An Assembly Member Bill, introduced by Peter Black AM.

Peter Black AM was successful in a legislative ballot on 29

November 2011, and given leave to proceed with his Bill

by the Assembly on 1 February 2012.

The purpose of the Bill is to establish a licensing regime

for mobile home sites in Wales and to make further

provision in relation to the management of such sites and

the agreements under which mobile homes are stationed

on them.

The Bill was agreed by the Assembly 25 September 2013

Enterprise and Business Committee:

Youth Entrepreneurship

- The Outreach team interviewed young entrepreneurs

who had experience of setting up their own business

- A total of 37 young entrepreneurs were interviewed

from across Wales

- The participants ran a variety of different businesses;

from coffee shops to app translation, to boutiques

and agriculture.

- Their views were then put together in a 20 minute

video package which was shown to members of the

Committee

Enterprise and Business Committee:

Youth Entrepreneurship

- The Committee also heard from MasterChef 2013

finalist, and young entrepreneur Dale Williams who then

gave us an interview about his experiences of giving

evidence

- The interview with Dale along with individual

contributions were placed on the Assembly YouTube site

- The videos received over 1,000 hits and were actively

promoted on social media

How can you have your say?

The Assembly is here to represent the interest of the people of Wales and

we encourage participation from individuals and organisations.

• Petition the National Assembly for Wales – there is a Committee of

AMs that consider petitions from people across Wales.

• Three easy steps: 1. Submit your proposal, 2. Collect signatures, 3.

Present your petition

• www.assemblywales.org/e-petition


Engaging with the Assembly

To summarise what’s been mentioned:

Contact your Assembly Members

Respond to consultations for Committee inquiries (legislation and scrutiny)

Propose Legislation to Assembly Members

Petition the Assembly

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter:

• Twitter – http://twitter.com/CynulliadCymru

• Facebook – Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Contact the Outreach Team if we would like further information about

anything introduced today or would like us to come and hold a workshop

in your organisation.