Y Comisiwn ar Bwerau a Threfniadau Etholiadol Cynulliad
Cenedlaethol Cymru
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Cyfarfod Cyhoeddus a gynhaliwyd yn Hwlffordd
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Ddydd Iau, 10 Ebrill 2003
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COFNOD O GWESTIYNAU A
SYLWADAU YSGRIFENEDIG
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| "Dear Sirs, |
| I attended the Commission’s public meeting at Haverfordwest
this evening and listened to the points raised. I also
made some points myself. |
| I am writing to reinforce the points I made. All the
people at the meeting were politically active. We would
all have different points to make about the effectiveness
of the present administration. However, the majority of
people of Pembrokeshire are not convinced as to the worth
of the Assembly. Like many at the meeting, I am currently
canvassing for a political party. There is a great deal
of scepticism about the Assembly and a great deal of public
confusion about its function. I would not be surprised
if there is a very low turnout at the Elections. It is
my view that until there is more public support for the
activities of the Assembly, it’s justification as
a vehicle for "public accountability" is extremely thin. |
| In this climate, it seems ridiculous to be talking of
either increasing the number of Assembly Members or indeed
increasing the powers of the Assembly. (I accept there
must be some tidying at the edges – at secondary
level only). I believe that your recommendations should
be extremely modest. |
| A further referendum (this time with a built in threshold)
at a later stage when the Assembly is more established,
which I believe would be in favour of the Assembly, would
"legitimise" what, as yet, is a very tentative body." |
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Jill Chambers
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| "1. Rhaid cofio wrth feirniadu sut y bu I’r cynulliad
weithredu dros ei bedair blynedd cyntaf mai dim ond pedair
blynedd sydd ers ei sefydlu. Bu senedd San Steffan wrthi
am yn agos I wyth can mlynedd, ac yn ol sawl un dyw honno
ddim yn berffaith. |
| Tynnaf sylw’r comisiwn at ddarlith yr Arglwydd
Gwilym Prys Davies I gyfarfod Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr
yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Llanelli 2000 (darperir copiau
gan swyddfa Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr yng Nghaerdydd).
Un o bwyntiau sylfaenol y ddarlith oedd bod yn rhaid I’r
cynulliad ddefnyddio’r pwerau sydd ganddi. |
| Daeth gwendidau y sefyllfa bresennol yn ystod helynt
clwyf y traed a’r genau ddechrau 2001, pan yr ymddangosai’r
Cynulliad yn ansicr neu’n amharod I defnyddio’I
phwerau (neu efallai ei fod yn cael ei rwystro rhag gwneud
gan weinidogion San Steffan). Y canlyniad oedd dryswch,
oedi a cholledion pellach I amaethwyr Cymru. Os yw’r
mater wedi ei ddatganoli, yna mae’n rhaid I San Steffan
ddeall yn ddigamsyniol mai mater I’r cynulliad ydyw. |
| Engraifft arall yw mater cynllunio a rhoi caniatad I
godi tai, yn enwedig yng nghefn gwlad Ceredigion. Mae
San Steffan wedi datgan bod rhaid codi hyn a hyn o dai
ychwanegol. Nid oes swyddi yng Ngorllewin Cymru, ac mae
ein pobl ifanc yn gadael eu broydd genedigol. I bwy felly
mae’r tai hyn yn cael eu code? Ond mae materiod tai
a chynllunio wedi eu datganoli onid ydynt? Ai John Prescott,
Gordon Brown felly neu ein cynrhychiolwyr yn y Cynnulliad
ddylai benderfynu ar y polisi? |
| Ni fydd gweinidogion San Steffan yn debyg o dderbyn
datganoli oni fydd y gweision sifil yn gwneud. Cyfeiriaf
y comisiwn at ddarlith flynyddol Cymdeithas y Cyfreithwyr
yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Tyddewi 2002 (wele gopi). Nid
yw meddylfryd "Yes, Minister" yn gydnaws a Chymru’r
ganrif newydd. |
| Mae’n ymddangos yn hollol bisar bod gan gynghorau
cymuned yr hawl I godi trethi ond nid oes gan y Cynuuliad
yr hawl I godi ceiniog o dreth. |
| Mae’n amlwg wedi helynt darparu arian cyfatebol
Amcan Un a fwyfwy dros gyflwr amaethyddiaeth a physgodfeydd
yng Nghymru bod rhaid I’r Cynulliad gael cynrhycholiaeth
uniongyrchol I’r Comisiwn Ewropeaidd. |
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Translated from Welsh
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1. It must be remembered when judging
how the Assembly operated during its first four years
that it has only been four years since it was established.
The Westminster parliament has been operational for
nearly eight hundred years, and according to many that
one isn’t perfect.
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2. I draw the commission’s attention
to Lord Gwilym Prys Davies’s lecture to the meeting
of the Law Society in the Llanelli National Eisteddfod
2000 (copies are provided by the Law Society office
in Cardiff). One of the fundamental points of the lecture
is that the Assembly must use the powers which it has.
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The weaknesses of the current situation
became apparent during the foot and mouth disease crisis
at the beginning of 2001, when the Assembly seemed unsure
or unwilling to use its powers (or was maybe prevented
from doing so by Westminster ministers). The result
was confusion, delay and further losses for Welsh farmers.
If the matter has been devolved, then Westminster must
unequivocally understand that it is a matter for the
Assembly.
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Another example is the issue of planning
and giving permission to build housing, especially in
the Ceredigion countryside. Westminster has stated that
a certain number of additional houses must be built.
There aren’t any jobs in West Wales, and our young
people are leaving the areas of their birth. For whom,
therefore, are these houses being built? But housing
and planning issues are devolved aren’t they? Should
John Prescott, Gordon Brown or our representatives in
the Assembly therefore decide on the policy?
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3. Westminster ministers are not likely
to accept devolution unless civil servants do so. I
refer the commission to the Law Society’s annual
lecture in St David’s National Eisteddfod 2002
(see copy). The "Yes, Minister" mindset is not in tune
with the Wales of the new century.
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4. It seems completely bizarre that community
councils have the right to raise taxes, yet the Assembly
does not have the right to raise a penny in tax.
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5. It is obvious after the debacle of
providing Objective One matching funds and especially
the state of agriculture and fisheries in Wales that
the Assembly must have direct representation to the
European Commission.
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Mererid Moffett
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| "Existing Local Authority members are anxious to retain
the ‘first past the post’ electoral system,
regardless of the fact that it does not encourage participation
and is undemocratic. Do you feel it necessary to persuade
them to change their minds or are you prepared to over-rule
them? |
| "The present system produces a result which is unbalanced,
unfair and completely ignores minority – even substantial
minority- views. A true democracy must represent the views
of a wider range of people. The electorate may then feel
it is worthwhile voting. |
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W C Philpin
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