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Government of Wales Bill

moved Amendment No. 49:"Page 40, line 39, at end insert ““for approval””" The noble Lord said: In speaking to Amendment No. 49, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 50. These amendments were originally solely in the name of my noble friend Lord Davies of Coity, who much regrets that he is unable to be with us today. At Second Reading, he gave notice that he would table amendments concerning the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council. He also showed his personal commitment to the voluntary sector in Wales and gave the relevant background, which I adopt: in short, the vital role played by voluntary organisations in our national life and its ability, rather like a well known brand of beer, to touch parts which other parts of the public sector are unable to do. He also mentioned the role of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). Amendment No. 49 simply adds the words ““for approval”” to Clause 74. It strengthens the role of the Assembly in the endorsement or otherwise of the annual report on how the voluntary sector scheme has been implemented. Amendment No. 50 should be considered in the context of earlier clauses. The relevant section of the Explanatory Notes is headed, ““Inclusive”” approach to exercise of functions. Clause 72, which follows, requires Welsh Ministers to establish a partnership council for Wales with members of local authorities and other public sector groups, such as the police, the fire service and so on. Clause 72 includes the partnership council of Wales in the Bill. In my judgment, what is important for the public sector is also to be considered for the voluntary sector, given its importance in our national life. Clause 74 sets out the obligation on Welsh Ministers to make a scheme for the voluntary sector. Mutatis mutandis, this mirrors the obligation on the Assembly set out in Section 114 of the Government of Wales Act 1998. The resultant scheme provided inter alia for the establishment of a Voluntary Sector Partnership Council as the principal bridge, means or instrument for dealings between the Assembly and the voluntary sector. The partnership council has therefore provided an opportunity for consensus to be reached on major issues of policy and detail affecting the voluntary sector and its relations with the Assembly. Because of the involvement of all four parties in the Assembly, it has also helped to promote the voluntary sector among various local groups in Wales. Most valuable has been the tripartite membership—the voluntary sector, Ministers and Assembly Members—who have learnt by practice to work together in a spirit of co-operation. That spirit of co-operation has led to a number of successes, including the establishment of the Criminal Records Unit in 2003. This unique body, which is run by the WCVA and is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, provides the voluntary sector with access to the Criminal Records Bureau. It has also led to the strengthening of links with United Kingdom voluntary organisations operating in Wales. Following the withdrawal, which we all recall, I am sure, with regret, of the Children’s Society from Wales in 2003, the partnership council took the lead in organising a seminar from which emerged the code of principles. Thus, the amendment seeks to maintain the partnership council by adding this to the Bill and by providing an assurance about its future. In my judgment, a precedent has been set by Clause 72, entitled, Partnership Council. It recognises the success of the voluntary sector in Wales under the partnership council and seeks from the Government a positive signal that they value the work of the voluntary sector. I have now seen a letter, dated 25 April, from the relevant Cabinet Minister, Jane Hutt, the Minister for Assembly Business, Equalities and Children, to Win Griffiths of the WCVA, which I concede throws a new light on the amendment. For the benefit of those Members of the Committee who have not seen the letter, perhaps it would be helpful if I quoted the relevant paragraphs. Following a meeting between Jane Hutt and representatives of the four parties in the Assembly who agreed on certain points, she wrote:"““The first point is that all four parties can affirm their commitment to a productive relationship with the voluntary sector, both from the point of view of the Welsh Ministers and from the point of view of the Assembly. We all four agreed that we wanted this relationship to work and that it was the commitment to making it work which mattered most””." The second point is the relevant one in respect of the proposed amendment:"““The second is that all four parties would wish to maintain a Voluntary Sector Partnership Council following separation. However there are reservations about setting these arrangements in statute and indeed about committing to maintain the status quo, totally unchanged. If the role of the council is to advise and act as a ‘critical friend’ to Ministers, not all opposition parties may think it appropriate for their Members to sit on a body advising Ministers. There are other models for ensuring cross-party engagement and engagement with the Assembly as a scrutinising body and legislature which we should like to consider further and which we would encourage the sector to think about too””." Clearly the views set out in that letter, which was only recently received, should be respected. Notwithstanding that letter, I would welcome my noble friend’s response. Is there, in his judgment, something to be lost in abandoning the tripartite relationship which has acted with success in the partnership council since 1998? I concede that there is a new dispensation with the separation, but could not something be lost by abandoning that tripartite principle? What value do the Government attach to the role of the voluntary sector in Wales? I am intrigued by what is said in that letter, pregnant with meaning, about other models that may be pursued. What other models, in my noble friend’s judgment and that of the Assembly, could be relevant to the working out of what is for us in Wales an important relationship: that between the voluntary sector, which carries out such valuable work, and the Welsh Assembly Government, both the executive and the legislature. I beg to move.