National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales (or NAW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) is a devolved assembly (not a full legislature) with power to make regulations in Wales, and also is responsible for most UK government departments in Wales.

Powers and status

The National Assembly is led by First Minister Rhodri Morgan and a nine strong Cabinet. The 60 members use the title AM (Assembly Member) or, in Welsh, AC (Aelod y Cynulliad).

Related Topics:
Rhodri Morgan - Cabinet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The executive and civil servants are based in Cardiff's Cathays Park while the Assembly Members are based in Cardiff Bay where a new £60 million debating chamber has been built by Richard Rogers.

Related Topics:
Cardiff Bay - Richard Rogers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Set up by the 1998 Government of Wales Act, the National Assembly for Wales cannot pass its own primary legislation, nor can it raise its own taxes, as these powers remain with Westminster. This is largely because, unlike other parts of the United Kingdom, Wales has always had the same legal and administrative system as England. The Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, have stronger powers.

Related Topics:
Westminster - United Kingdom - England - Scottish Parliament - Northern Ireland Assembly

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Assembly inherited the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales. It has power to vary laws passed by Westminster using secondary legislation. In its 1997 White Paper "A Voice for Wales" the Labour Government argued the Assembly would be more democratically accountable than the Welsh Office, which was represented in the British Cabinet by a Secretary of State who often did not even represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster.

Related Topics:
Secretary of State for Wales - Welsh Office - Cabinet - Westminster

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Assembly is composed of 60 Assembly Members, or AMs (in Welsh, Aelodau'r Cynulliad, ACau). Under the Additional Member System http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/publications/leaflets/welshassembly.htm, 40 of the AMs are elected from single-member constituencies on a First Past the Post (more accurately termed single member plurality or SMP) basis, the constituencies being equivalent to those used for the House of Commons, while the remaining 20 AMs are elected from regional closed lists using an alternative party vote. This attempts to achieve a somewhat more proportional result than SMP, though there are too few 'top-up' seats to achieve any true proportionality. The Assembly sits in Cardiff, and will have a new, high-end assembly chamber in Cardiff Bay once construction is finished.

Related Topics:
Additional Member System - First Past the Post - Single member plurality - House of Commons - Closed list - Cardiff - Cardiff Bay

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To date there have been two elections to the Assembly, the first taking place in 1999 and the second in 2003. The second election produced the first ever democratically elected legislature in the world in which 50 % of the members were women.

Related Topics:
Elections - 1999 - 2003

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The First Minister and the Cabinet form the Welsh Assembly Government.

Related Topics:
First Minister - Welsh Assembly Government

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~