Memorandum from the Association of National Park Authorities

Evidence to Richard Commission on the Structure and Powers of the National Assembly for Wales

Introduction
The Association of National Park Authorities welcomes the opportunity to give evidence to the Richard Commission on the structure and powers of the National Assembly for Wales. The Association exists to provide the National Park Authorities (NPAs) with a single voice and provides a focus for collaborative working, corporate activity and the sharing of best practice across the Parks. The Association also attempts to increase public understanding of the statutory purposes for which National Parks exist in the UK, and to promote them as models for sustainable development. The Association represents the views of the three Welsh National Park Authorities of Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Snowdonia, which cover 20% of the land area of Wales. Each National Park Authority is a free-standing body, corporate and executive within the local government framework. Each comprises of members appointed by the National Assembly for Wales and local councillors appointed from local authorities that have land within a National Park. National Park Authorities have two statutory purposes: To conserve and enhance the natural beauty of, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks; and To promote greater opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Park by the public. The Association has a limited remit and will therefore not comment on all the issues raised by the Commission. None of the three National Park Authorities have taken a formal view on devolution or on the activities of the Assembly and its electoral arrangements. However, devolution and the establishment of the Assembly has had considerable impact on the work of the NPAs by the Assembly’s control and monitoring of their budgets and by the Association presently undertaking a review of their activities. Devolution has led to changes for the three National Parks, insofar as they now report to the Assembly through its Environment Committee and because of the Assembly’s responsibilities for planning matters including enquiries. However, before the establishment of the Assembly there was a limited devolution of responsibilities to the Welsh Office, which made decisions on Park budgets and this and the establishment of the CCW in 1990 had already created some level of difference in Wales as compared to the English National Park Authorities.
What has been the impact of devolution on your organisation and the people it serves?
Devolution and the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales has and is increasingly having a positive impact on the Welsh National Park Authorities in developing their programmes of work, particularly in their role as test beds for sustainable development. The Welsh National Park Authorities recognise that devolution has created variations in policy development and implementation between England and Wales, and welcome greater focus on a distinctive Welsh approach. The Welsh National Park Authorities now have a more direct working relationship with Government, with greater accessibility not only to the Minister and Officials, but also to the discussions on policy development and implementation that affect the way in which they operate to fulfil their purposes. The Welsh National Park Authorities are accountable to the Minister for Environment Planning and Transport in the National Assembly for Wales and have experienced a change in their operations towards a more joined up, partnership based approach, working collaboratively with other Agencies, Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies, the private and voluntary sectors. The implementation of requirements upon Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies to work in partnership and demonstrate an inclusive approach has been demanding, but nevertheless welcomed by the National Park Authorities. The National Parks are now developing strong and progressive partnerships with a variety of Agencies to increase collaborative work, avoid duplication, share best practice and develop a greater understanding of the role of individual bodies, in line with the aims and strategies of the National Assembly for Wales.
What are the main advantage or problems with the present devolution settlement?
As indicated, devolution has largely had positive effects for the National Park Authorities. Insofar as problems have arisen, these are specified in the response to subsequent questions. None of the problems are fundamental and changes already occurring are addressing them.
What is your experience of the division of powers between Cardiff and Westminster in your area of work?
National Parks are a "National designation" based on a series of statutes applicable to England and Wales. Even before devolution, however, there was some diversity between the Welsh and English Parks because of the separate Welsh Office responsibilities for the designations. This led, for example, to slightly difference Circulars, which are still extant, being prepared for Wales and England following the most recent National Park legislation in 1995. The fact that the English and Welsh Parks are now being separately reviewed by DEFRA and the National Assembly will probably further increase the level of diversity. The newly designated Scottish Parks have been established under separate Scottish Parliament legislation, which gives them a wider range of statutory responsibilities including a socio-economic role. The regional government proposals for England will further add to this UK diversity in the next few years. At present, there is contact between DEFRA and the Assembly Executive and we know that there have been joint discussions about the two reviews. There appears to be less contact with the Scottish Executive. The Association itself provides a UK level perspective as the National Park Authorities have frequent meetings to maintain common agendas and exchange good practice. All evidence suggests that the growing diversity between the three Parks systems is having a positive influence as the Park Authorities are sharing good practice that is generated by diversity. However, there is limited machinery for ensuring "National standards" and this will need to be kept under review as Park practices continue to diverge. In regard to the present review of Welsh Assembly powers, it can be argued that this ideally would need to be set in a wider review of the UK governmental structures, which would decide whether we are seeking to create a federal constitution. This at least would allow proper consideration of what powers were appropriate to which levels of government and the extent to which the UK government would overview environmental policies of which the national Parks are part.
Should the powers be extended to include a broader range of functions or to include primary legislative powers? What would this achieve?
There are a number of policy areas affecting National Park Authorities that are devolved only in part to the National Assembly for Wales, such as animal health control and transport. The transfer of functions to the Assembly has benefited National Park Authorities to an extent, through greater access to and consequent influence upon the decision making process. However, in certain areas there is a lack of clarity on the extent to which powers are retained by Westminster and it is felt that there is also a strong perception among the public that the Assembly is failing to deliver on areas of work for which it has no remit or no legislative powers. If the Assembly for Wales it to achieve its sustainability objectives effectively, then the ability to form primary legislation would be of obvious benefit. The current power divide between Westminster and the National Assembly for Wales means that the ability to deliver strategies that are tailored and appropriate for Wales cannot be fully realised. This can be seen in policy areas such as renewable energy, transport and certain aspects of agriculture.
What is your experience of the Committees and their roles in:
Scrutiny/challenge
Policy development?
The role of subject committees in relation to policy development and scrutiny is valuable and should be maintained. However, the experience of the Assembly’s first term has demonstrated that this role could be further developed and become more effective. The findings of the Assembly’s Review of Procedure undertaken in 2000reiterate this and the National Park Authorities welcome the establishment of the new research teams to support Assembly members in their scrutiny and policy development work, particularly as the teams are independent of the Welsh Assembly Government and should therefore provide impartial information to allow for rigorous scrutiny and a more accountable and transparent approach to Government. In addition, greater access to information on the forthcoming legislation and the general distribution of discussion papers in advance of meetings could be improved in certain cases. An increase in committee membership could potentially also encourage greater diligence among members in holding the Minister to account leading to further improvement in the scrutiny role. The National Park Authorities are required to appear before the Environment Planning and Transport Committee on an annual basis in order to present their grant bids and work programmes. Through this the NPAs have greater access to Government and the opportunity to inform the Minister and Members of their achievements in implementing policies at ground level and undertaking their statutory duties. It also allows the Members to scrutinise this work, and to provide a steer to the Authorities for areas of improvement in the delivery of services. Access to information of subject committee discussions is also of value to the National Park Authorities, as several of these committees contribute towards policy development in their areas of work. From the experience of the Assembly’s first term, it seems that greater efforts could be made to demonstrate a joined up approach on areas of work where there may be a remit within more than one subject committee. The National Park Authorities are an example of this, as they are accountable to the Environment Minister, but have interests to a greater or lesser extent in areas of work covered by all other subject committees. A more integrated approach would lead a more holistic approach as well as being essential in taking the sustainable development agenda forward. We have seen an improvement in access to information and public engagement since the Assembly’s establishment. However, this could be further improved by increasing the frequency of the Regional Committee Meetings, allowing members of the public from all regions in Wales to have their say and experience a degree of inclusiveness in the policy development process, as well as clarifying the role of these committees.
What are your views on the size of the Assembly membership or the way it is elected – are there any changes you would like to make?
The Association has not taken a view on electoral procedures for the Assembly. However, the issues of Committee scrutiny addressed in 5 above are partly, in our view, affected by the size of Assembly membership. We assume that an increase in membership would strengthen the effectiveness of the Committees and also better represent the Welsh community. However, this will no doubt have to be considered as part of an overall review of Welsh representation in Westminster.
Are there any other changes you would like to see in the powers of the Assembly, its structure or the way it operates?
As indicated in this paper, the Association and the National Park Authorities are supportive of devolution and believe that it has generated benefits for the Park movement. However, if the Assembly is to achieve its stated environmental objectives of making all its and its partners activities sustainable, we believe it will have to make even greater effort to involve the public in Assembly activities. This will require re-energising its participatory agenda and maintaining and expanding the transparency of its activities. It will also require, we believe, much greater focus on a communications strategy that will fully engage the Welsh population.