Quangos Corralled

Major new book, "Building a Civic Culture", published by the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Welsh Governance Centre

PRESS RELEASE

Quangos Corralled,

Not for publication before 00:30 Monday March 11th 2002

Wales National Assembly has had a big impact on the former Welsh quangos, corralling and disciplining them and making them more like state departments along Whitehall lines rather than free-standing organisations. This is one of the conclusions drawn by the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Welsh Governance Centre in their latest study of the new Welsh political institutions.

The need for more democratic control to be exerted over quangos, such as the Wales Tourist Board, the Arts Council and the Welsh Development Agency - now known as Assembly Sponsored Bodies (ASpBs)- was one of the principal justifications made for the creation of devolved institutions and the study, Building a Civic Culture, suggests this has begun to happen.

"Apart from delivering annual reports and agreeing broad outline targets, the quangos were largely unmolested by the Welsh Office and only rarely interrogated by MPs at Westminster. Now, instead of one Secretary of State, there are nine ministers and three deputies who keep a constant watch on the ASpBs. Their plans and strategies are ever more closely aligned to those of the Assembly Government," says John Osmond, one of the co-editors of the 272 page report.

The change is seen as a consequence of the continuing development of a stronger executive machine in Cardiff, capable of developing policy and pushing it through. This process itself began in the first year of the Assemblys operation when it started to move away from the mode of operation laid down for it - a corporate body combining legislative and executive functions - towards a more parliamentary working style, separating the government from the assembly body as a whole.

"The emergence of a strong central authority represents a profound innovation in Welsh political life. The notion of Wales having a civic culture is novel to a society with such little experience of its own institutions," John Osmond says.

The book, undertaken with the support of a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, also examines how successful the Assembly has been in setting its budgets within the framework of the Barnett formula, and at the work of the individual subject committees, covering health, agriculture, education, the economy and other key areas. Other chapters look at relations with the press and other groups.

Copies of the publication, which will be launched at a reception in Cardiff tonight (Monday) attended by Paul Murphy, Secretary of State for Wales, can be obtained from the address below, price 16.50 (including p + p) or 26.50 (including p + p and a years membership of the IWA).

Further information contact John Osmond or Rhys David 029 2057 5511 (IWA) or
J. Barry Jones 029 2087 4145 (WGC)

Institute of Welsh Affairs, Ty Oldfield, Llantrisant Road, Cardiff, CF5 2YQ
Tel: 029 2057 5511. Fax: 029 2057 5701. Email: wales@iwa.org.uk