Bits and pieces

Last nights Dragon’s Eye was all about AWEMA and BBC Wales deserve credit for not letting the matter rest, but while they revealed more of the putrefying stench around the Chief Executive’s Naz Malik’s multiple indiscretions, its difficult to conclude as I did last week that the Welsh Government can be impartial and is undertaking another whitewash, as Trustees, Staff and the man who undertook the initial investigation haven’t been contacted by the Welsh Government who will lay out its report findings next week. The Opposition have been trying to get answers for the past 4 weeks but it could be too late to make any difference despite Darren Millar writing to the police to investigate the allegations, maybe i'll be surprised next week.

The programme is here until next Thursday (9th Feb) if you are interested.

We also had ITV Wales first poll of the year which showed very little movement in Welsh political voting habits in either Westminster or Assembly elections. It had comfortable lead for Labour, the Tories in second, Plaid Cymru in third and the Lib Dems bringing up the rear.

The poll also asked about what should happen to Wales if Scotland became independent and the majority of respondents said Wales should have more powers but not independent, which proves that the ruptures over the Scotland and the UK over the last few weeks which got lots of attention from the media has passed most Welsh voters by, a potential problem for all Welsh parties but most of all Plaid Cymru.

Finally the Assembly’s influential Finance Committee is considering borrowing powers and capital funding for Wales.

From the website ‘The National Assembly for Wales’s Finance Committee has opened a public consultation on a new inquiry examining aspects of financing and finding of devolution.

In particular the Committee will explore the extent to which the Welsh Government could be granted borrowing powers and what lessons could be learned from the experience of local authorities which already have borrowing powers.

The conclusions and recommendations formed by the Committee will help to inform Part One of a report by the Silk Commission which is currently examining devolution in Wales.

“After consulting with the Silk Commission, the Committee has decided to undertake an inquiry examining local authorities’ experiences of prudential borrowing and different models of capital funding which may be suitable for the Welsh Government,” said Chair of the Finance Committee, Jocelyn Davies AM.
“We will be considering the existing models currently in use by local authorities as well as more innovative mechanisms to gain capital funding for infrastructure projects.

“Our findings will be shared with the Silk Commission with a view to helping inform Part 1 of their report on the future of devolution in Wales.”

Anyone wishing to submit evidence to the Finance Committee can do so via email: financecommittee@wales.gov.uk or by writing to: The Clerk to the Finance Committee, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA.
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