A new approach to devolved government in Wales?
Plaid Cymru entered Cathays Park with a plan.
They have four priority areas; child poverty, childcare, the economy, schools, and health and social care services. Central to achieving progress in each of their priorities is an overarching aim to make devolved government ‘better’. To deliver its responsibilities, spend its budget and manage public services more effectively.
Their calls for reform derive from a belief that people in Wales have ‘lost trust’ in devolved government’s ability to deliver tangible outcomes. The new government must thus, ‘put a new focus on effectiveness and outcomes,’ according to a new Cabinet Minister. Doing so is essential to ‘build a more confident, modern nation, where everyone who lives in Wales is able to contribute towards our collective success,’ they argue, a government and public services which are; ‘people centred,’ ‘open and transparent’ and ‘cooperative and collaborative’.
In Wales, we have persistently wrestled with a so-called ‘delivery gap’. That is, a gap between generally strong, purposeful legislation and poor delivery and outcomes achieved against it. Meanwhile an uneven sharing of powers and responsibilities between devolved and reserved government has contributed to a muddying of the lines of accountability and scrutiny. This government appears determined to bridge the delivery gap, to demonstrate the ability of government to advance progress on priority areas, areas which have, in part, been prioritised because of their ability to be felt in people’s everyday lives.
The need to focus on how government delivers is echoed by the challenge set by Andy Burnham in his recent speech, where he argued for the need to rewire the state and devolve meaningful power (and resources) closer to the communities which politicians serve. You only need to listen to Keir Starmer’s former Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on the need to reform the state – with him arguing that the need for reform was underestimated on entering government. In Wales, whilst the new Welsh Government continue their predecessors’ calls more powers to be devolved (over justice, the Crown Estate for instance) and a ‘fairer funding’ settlement from UK government, they also want to focus on managing the powers they currently have more effectively.
So, what are the plans on the table to reform the devolved state? They have four proposed tools aimed at creating ‘better government’.
Firstly, we have a commitment to create a new ‘digitally enabled Welsh Cabinet Office to drive our priorities forward including – policy, delivery and data specialists’. An enhanced Cabinet Office function, which hitherto performed a primarily administrative function. The purpose here is to strengthen the centre of devolved government and place ‘clear measurable outcomes and milestones’ at the centre of pan-government decision making. This will be supplemented by their external communications through a ‘public dashboard,’ published to display progress against their four headline priorities. These sound sensible ways to ensure the government remains outcomes-led and to strengthen the ability to prioritise. Using Westminster terminology in ‘Cabinet Office’ here confuses things slightly, however, given that the UK Cabinet Office alone has over 15,000 members of staff, about triple the number working in the entire Welsh Government. A Welsh Cabinet Office will therefore need to work in a different way, likely requiring some degree of external expertise and engagement.
Secondly is a new government position of Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution (filled by Dafydd Trystan Davies), a role with responsibility for ensuring ‘progress on our key priorities’ and reporting to the wider cabinet. This role has a chunky set of responsibilities, including oversight of the government’s priorities, the Programme for Government, the legislative programme and supporting the wider Cabinet Office. Whilst this new role is not a new idea (both Eluned Morgan and Carwyn Jones’ administrations had their equivalent roles) it’s indicative of a need for one individual to coordinate and manage the priorities (in addition to the First Minister) across (horizontally and vertically, with civil servants) government. Trystan Davies appears a shrewd pick for this role, a consensus builder who has experience as a Special Advisor in Welsh Government during the final months of the Co-operation Agreement. The role will nonetheless become challenging when the trade-offs inherent in governing (especially with Welsh Government’s tight fiscal position) come to a head.
Thirdly, establishing a new ‘National School of Government,’ an idea which was part of the party’s Co-operation Agreement with the Welsh Labour Government (between 2021-2024). This school intends to offer development, support and upskilling opportunities for the civil service and public sector in Wales. The intention is to retip the balance from policy design to policy delivery, from focussing on process to focussing on outcomes. That requires a rethinking of how devolved government delivers more innovatively and purposefully. Any such school should seek to align itself with the Well-being of Future Generations Act, which establishes the long-term vision for Wales’s future, alongside five ways of working. Any new institution also must take into consideration how it will add, or work alongside, similar plans to establish a school of government from UK Government. If there is to be a distinctly Welsh approach to government, establishing what this is should be a foundational consideration.
Finally, is a commitment to bring together public services into a ‘One Wales Public Service’. There is some sense in this, the political and delivery map of Wales is riddled with complexity, mismatched borders and opacity of powers and responsibilities. For instance, we have 22 local authorities, seven health boards, four educational consortia, four Corporate Joint Committees, 15 Public Service Boards and around 55 Public Bodies (plus plans for a new Wales Development Agency). This in a nation which has a similar size population to that of Greater Manchester (albeit one that is far more culturally and regionally dispersed). So, there is some sense to the argument that more coherence and shared identity would be valuable, the question is quite how far you take this approach. Will it be largely procedural pursuit (an articulation of a set of shared standards, which already exists), a greater sharing of data and insight, or something more radical, which reimagines how public bodies work together to achieve national level missions. The answer is to be determined and is, of course, highly consequential.
As with all these reform proposals, we currently have little detail to go on. To an extent, these proposals are still being turned into meaningful changes behind closed doors. There’s thus much to be figured out and detail to be established. Each of the proposals are identified as First 100 Day commitments, a deadline that is quickly creeping into view. These reforms aim to provide the platform upon which the rest of the government’s agenda is built so getting them right is crucial.
It’s important to state that this is also a reform agenda being delivered by a largely inexperienced group of Cabinet Ministers (beyond new Finance Cabinet Secretary Elin Jones and Dafydd Trystan Davies). It is also an agenda expected to be undertaken by a civil service which isn’t expected to drastically grow (at least not in the short term) and for which no notable rise in revenue raising is planned. Achieving better outcomes with no rise in resources is of course difficult to achieve, but these are issues that need attention.
Plaid Cymru have been criticised by their opponents for a manifesto and 100 days plan which is a ‘plan to have plans’. Whilst there is an element of truth to these accusations, a focus on the often unheralded, but vitally important agenda of governance reform is an important first step.
How the new Welsh Government will bring forward this agenda over the coming months, and how it will shape their wider priorities will be a central concern. Setting up the government to deliver their priorities isn’t a side-dish – it’s the main course.
About the author
Joe Rossiter is Co-Director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA). Joe is responsible for delivering the IWA’s broad portfolio of policy and research. He is focused on delivering an impact which helps to create a better Wales for all. Prior to joining the IWA in November 2022, Joe worked at Sustrans Cymru and Stonewall Cymru, where he helped to develop equality and sustainable transport policy solutions.
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