Wales Office
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Annual Report 2008
Foreword by the Secretary of State for Wales, Rt. Hon Paul Murphy MP
This is the fourth annual report that I present to Parliament as Secretary of State for Wales - but my first since 2002.
When I left the Wales Office to become Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, devolution had been up and running for just three years. Good progress had been made but there was still some way to go before a complete acceptance of the system.
In January this year, when the Prime Minister asked me to return to the Wales Office, the National Assembly for Wales was in its third term and we had already celebrated the 10th anniversary of the historic Welsh vote for devolution.
Since my return people have repeatedly asked if I have noticed any changes. The answer is a resounding ‘yes’.
There are now 130,000 more people in employment than in 1997. We have 1000 more police officers in Wales, and nearly 700 new community support officers. We have more doctors and nurses in our hospitals, and more teachers and teaching assistants in our schools. Waiting-times for NHS treatment are shorter, education standards have risen, and crime levels have fallen.
Parliament is now handing on new powers to an Assembly whose role has been reformed and enhanced by the new Government of Wales Act 2006. And what the Wales Office was dealing with then is very different from what it now has to do.
In 2002 we were taking primary legislation through Parliament and most years this resulted in just one Bill specifically for Wales. Compare that to the current Session where we have three Bills containing new Framework Powers and you can already see the difference devolution is having for Wales.
It’s been a busy time for the Wales Office - and getting busier. And that, of course, is just part of the story.
April 9 was a historic day for Wales when the first Order in Council conferring legislative competence on the National Assembly for Wales was approved by the Queen at a meeting of the Privy Council.
Through both the Order in Council and Framework Power processes it is now possible that in this session the National Assembly will be granted the authority to pass legislation in up to nine areas - nine times more than before the 2006 Act. This is a clear sign that devolution is working.
I take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor Peter Hain for delivering the Government of Wales Act, supported by the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Nick Ainger. Both worked tirelessly during their times at the Wales Office to make devolution work for Wales and the rest of the UK.
Today we must always remember that devolution is not an abstract principle, divorced from the delivery of services - it is about better governance. It is about genuine partnership between our Government in Westminster, the Assembly Government in Cardiff Bay and our local authority colleagues in their respective council chambers.
Devolution is all about better services and tackling social injustice - working together to get results for the people of Wales. I’m proud the Wales Office will continue to play a pivotal role in this success story, helping to change people’s lives for the better now and in the future.
