During the past few years, one of the major concerns of citizens and businesses in North Wales is their distance from the centre of political decision-making in Cardiff Bay. Despite this, there have been, paradoxically, considerable successes in the past six years, and it could be argued that these successes have been achieved because of the lack of governance from Cardiff.
In this respect, distance from the Assembly and the headquarters of its sponsored bodies have allowed the region to "get on with it" and to develop its own economic identity. Whether this will continue under the new regime following the merger of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies in April of this year remains to be seen, as many critics of the current Government would argue that there is creeping politicisation and centralisation of public life within Wales, as we have seen recently regarding the different rows involving the Arts Council for Wales and the Welsh Language Board.
With the demise of the WDA, WTB and Elwa in North Wales, there will be, in my opinion, a greater burden and influence placed on the North Wales Economic Forum (NWEF), a partnership which currently comprises representation from all of the key agencies in the region, as well as business representative organisations. Its five key aims are to promote investment in business; investment in people and communities; investment in infrastructure; investment in the image of North Wales; and investment in intellectual capital.
While it is generally recognised that the current activities of the Forum are key to the future of North Wales and that such a partnership is an effective way of identifying and addressing major issues, there have been concerns about the future of the forum, once Assembly sponsored bodies such as the WDA, Wales Tourist Board and Elwa had been integrated into the Assembly. Although the Assembly Government has reiterated that it will continue to provide the same level of funding as those three bodies, it has also stated that it will review the arrangement within the next 12 months.
This, to me, does not indicate that there is a guarantee of continuing financial support for the Forum at the same level, especially as the Assembly will not become a full member but will instead take observer status. here would not be much common sense for a government to support a body that may wish to criticise its policies.
In this respect, perhaps the real question for the remaining members of the Forum is whether they wish to continue funding its role as the main consultative body for pan-North Wales economic development in the future when the main economic development organisation has taken a peripheral role. By essentially removing the Assembly from the forum, perhaps this is the Minister's way of allowing this organisation, and the other three across Wales, to slowly fade away without having any direct responsibility for their demise.
That may well come to pass, but over the next year, there is certainly a rare opportunity for other parts of the public sector in North Wales, along with representatives of the private sector, to establish a body that can, through having an independent voice, advise the Minister and the North Wales Assembly offices.
In that respect, the only change I would make would be to give greater representation to the private sector in North Wales on the forum to ensure that the needs of enterprise are fully taken into account when considering new policies. The success of the Economic Forum in bringing together different bodies across North Wales suggests that there could and should be greater co-operation amongst bodies in the public and private sector in the region.
Despite the changes to the economic development function of the Assembly Government, there is still a requirement for a body that brings together all organisations in North Wales (and indeed, in other parts of Wales) to ensure that there is distinctive voice for the region, especially within the corridors of Cardiff Bay.
In this respect, distance from the Assembly and the headquarters of its sponsored bodies have allowed the region to "get on with it" and to develop its own economic identity. Whether this will continue under the new regime following the merger of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies in April of this year remains to be seen, as many critics of the current Government would argue that there is creeping politicisation and centralisation of public life within Wales, as we have seen recently regarding the different rows involving the Arts Council for Wales and the Welsh Language Board.
With the demise of the WDA, WTB and Elwa in North Wales, there will be, in my opinion, a greater burden and influence placed on the North Wales Economic Forum (NWEF), a partnership which currently comprises representation from all of the key agencies in the region, as well as business representative organisations. Its five key aims are to promote investment in business; investment in people and communities; investment in infrastructure; investment in the image of North Wales; and investment in intellectual capital.
While it is generally recognised that the current activities of the Forum are key to the future of North Wales and that such a partnership is an effective way of identifying and addressing major issues, there have been concerns about the future of the forum, once Assembly sponsored bodies such as the WDA, Wales Tourist Board and Elwa had been integrated into the Assembly. Although the Assembly Government has reiterated that it will continue to provide the same level of funding as those three bodies, it has also stated that it will review the arrangement within the next 12 months.
This, to me, does not indicate that there is a guarantee of continuing financial support for the Forum at the same level, especially as the Assembly will not become a full member but will instead take observer status. here would not be much common sense for a government to support a body that may wish to criticise its policies.
In this respect, perhaps the real question for the remaining members of the Forum is whether they wish to continue funding its role as the main consultative body for pan-North Wales economic development in the future when the main economic development organisation has taken a peripheral role. By essentially removing the Assembly from the forum, perhaps this is the Minister's way of allowing this organisation, and the other three across Wales, to slowly fade away without having any direct responsibility for their demise.
That may well come to pass, but over the next year, there is certainly a rare opportunity for other parts of the public sector in North Wales, along with representatives of the private sector, to establish a body that can, through having an independent voice, advise the Minister and the North Wales Assembly offices.
In that respect, the only change I would make would be to give greater representation to the private sector in North Wales on the forum to ensure that the needs of enterprise are fully taken into account when considering new policies. The success of the Economic Forum in bringing together different bodies across North Wales suggests that there could and should be greater co-operation amongst bodies in the public and private sector in the region.
Despite the changes to the economic development function of the Assembly Government, there is still a requirement for a body that brings together all organisations in North Wales (and indeed, in other parts of Wales) to ensure that there is distinctive voice for the region, especially within the corridors of Cardiff Bay.
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