Business Committee - Call for Evidence
Date: May 2010
Dear Sir / Madam
Assembly Review of Standing Orders - call for evidence
The National Assembly for Wales’ Business Committee is inviting evidence to inform its Review of Standing Orders. The closing date is 23 July 2010.
The Assembly’s Business Committee has agreed that it will undertake a Review of Standing Orders. Our aim is to agree revised Standing Orders before the Assembly dissolves prior to the Assembly election in May next year, so that they are in place to guide the proceedings of the next Assembly.
The Review will consider changes to Standing Orders to:
improve the clarity of the Standing Orders;
bring them into line with the accepted conventions and ways of working of the Third Assembly;
allow for innovation or improvement.
See Annex A for further background information on Standing Orders and the role of the Committee.
The general principles underpinning the Assembly’s proceedings
The Business Committee considers that the review of Standing Orders should be determined in light of the following principles:
The Assembly's procedures should facilitate arrangements that are in the best interests of the Assembly as a whole and enable it to fulfil its statutory and constitutional functions as the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales and holds the Welsh Government to account.
They should:
allow the Assembly to consider any matter of relevance to Wales or the National Assembly itself;
allow Government the opportunity to get its business, subject to sufficient and proper scrutiny and approval by the Assembly;
allow opposition groups, committees, the Assembly Commission and individual Members the opportunity to initiate and influence business;
allow the public the opportunity to engage with the work of the Assembly;
be suitable for any model of government - minority, majority or coalition;
be as flexible and comprehensible as possible and complemented by precedent and convention.
Call for evidence - how you can help
The Committee would like to know if the Assembly's way of working gives you confidence that it is accessible and effective in fulfilling its roles of:
holding the government to account;
making laws; and
representing the people of Wales.
We also welcome your views on:
the general principles above which will form the basis for the review;
how the Assembly’s proceedings and rules could be improved to reflect the principles;
changes you think would improve any particular provisions within Standing Orders.
The Committee would like to invite you to submit written evidence to assist its work. The Committee welcomes contributions in English and Welsh and will consider responses to the written consultation during the autumn term. Where they relate to more general comments on the Assembly’s ways of working, we will also bring them to the attention of other Assembly Committees or officials.
Please see Annex B for details of how to submit evidence. If you have any questions, please contact Anna Daniel, Head of Chamber Secretariat, on 029 2089 8144 or Llinos Madeley, Procedures Clerk, on 029 2089 8403.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
The Rt Hon the Lord Elis-Thomas AM, Presiding Officer
Chair of the Business Committee
Annex A
What are Standing Orders?
The Standing Orders set out the rules of procedure by which the Assembly operates. They are a requirement of the Government of Wales Act 2006. It is normal practice for an Assembly, Parliament or other elected body to have such procedures to regulate their proceedings.
Our Standing Orders cover all aspects of Assembly proceedings, for example: how the Presiding Officer and First Minister are elected; the organisation of business in Plenary; the legislative process; and how Members undertake their scrutiny role in Committees.
The Assembly is responsible for making and revising its own Standing Orders. The Standing Orders of the Third Assembly can be found here:
http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-guide-docs-pub/bus-assembly-guidance.htm
What is the role of the Business Committee?
The Business Committee considers the management of the Assembly’s business and its general practice and procedures. Standing Order 11 provides full details of the Committee’s remit.
The Presiding Officer chairs the meetings, which are attended by the Minister for Business and Budget and a Business Manager from each of the parties represented in the Assembly.
The Committee is also responsible for making any proposals to remake or revise Standing Orders. These proposals are voted on by the Assembly in Plenary. At least two thirds of the Members voting must support the proposal for the changes to be agreed (Standing Order 35).
Further information about the Committee can be found here:
Why is the Committee reviewing the Standing Orders?
The current Standing Orders were agreed at the end of the Second Assembly to implement the provisions of the Government of Wales Act 2006. These provisions provided for the formal separation of the Assembly from the Welsh Government and gave the Assembly primary legislative powers. This resulted in significant changes to our Standing Orders compared to those in place for the Second Assembly.
The Standing Orders have now been "road tested” during the Third Assembly. There have been no significant issues with them and only a few changes have been made by the Assembly since 2007.
However, the Business Committee has agreed that a number of factors point to the need for the Standing Orders to be reviewed between now and the end of this Assembly:
there are some areas where "technical” amendments would improve the clarity of the Standing Orders;
in other areas, working practice has diverged from Standing Orders and has since developed into accepted convention;
changes could also be considered to allow for innovation or improvement.
Annex B
If you wish to submit evidence, please send an electronic copy of your submission to StandingOrders@wales.gsi.gov.uk and entitle the e-mail Consultation - Review of Standing Orders
Alternatively, you can write to:
Llinos Madeley, Procedures Clerk, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA.
Submissions should arrive by 23 July 2010. It may not be possible to take into account responses received after this date.
Further information on the Assembly can be found on our website:
http://www.assemblywales.org/abthome.htm
When preparing your submission, please keep the following in mind:
please reference your response using the title applied above;
the National Assembly normally makes responses to public consultation available for public scrutiny and they may also be seen and discussed by Assembly Members at Committee meetings;
if you do not want your response or name published, it is important that you clearly specify this in your submission. However you should be aware that it may not be given the same weight by the Committee when considering the evidence. You should also be aware that the information you have provided in your response to this consultation, including company information, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances;
please indicate whether you are responding on behalf of an organisation, or as an individual. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, please provide a brief description of the role of your organisation.
The Committee welcomes contributions in English and Welsh and will consider responses to the written consultation during the autumn term.
If you have any queries, please contact Llinos Madeley, Procedures Clerk, on 029 2089 8403.
