Giving evidence on the future of Wales

The Bevan Foundation have submitted evidence to the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales recently called for evidence on the future of Wales. The Bevan Foundation were pleased to submit a response, which argued that the governance of Wales should be based on four fundamental principles:

• Accountability – all organisations that take decisions that affect people’s lives should be clearly accountable to the people they serve. The mechanisms for accountability include citizen engagement and effective scrutiny as well as democratic election.
• Responsiveness – organisations should reflect the legitimate expectations and needs of citizens, which will normally mean that decisions are taken as close as possible to the communities that organisations serve.
• Clarity – it should be clear to ordinary citizens who is responsible for which public service, whether that is between UK government and devolved functions or between different organisations within Wales.
• Transparency – all organisations should be open and transparent in how they conduct their business.

These principles should inform the relationship between devolved and non-devolved public bodies.

The Bevan Foundation also shared some of our thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the current devolution settlement and set out what issues we think should be considered when discussing Wales’ constitutional future.  

You can read our response in full using the link below: 

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