00:00 Way back in 1997, before the Senedd had officially opened its doors, Ron Davies, then Secretary
00:11 of State for Wales, said that devolution is a process, it's not an event and neither
00:16 is it a journey with a fixed end point.
00:18 Meaning throughout the history of Welsh governance, changes would be inevitable, including more
00:22 powers handed to Wales over time.
00:24 This has happened a number of times over the years, since 1999 in the first years of the
00:29 Senedd, when powers resembled little more than a glorified council.
00:36 The first few years of the Senedd, politicians had secondary law-making powers, which in
00:41 its most basic form were sources of suggestions they could make to Westminster, who could
00:44 then put those actions into law.
00:47 Or not.
00:50 We can see that in its early years, our Senedd was not the Parliament for Wales as it is
00:54 now, and the term Assembly, which many of us became accustomed to, was far more correct.
01:01 That wasn't the case forever though, and proper official law-making powers were eventually
01:04 given to politicians in the Senedd, in a number of areas.
01:12 Most of these areas related to the environment, like agriculture, flood defences, farming
01:16 etc, but also included cultural elements like sport, tourism, language and food.
01:20 And one that had been a major part of the birth of the Senedd, health.
01:29 The conferred powers model was an important stepping stone for Welsh devolution, and was
01:33 soon followed by the reserved powers model.
01:35 This seemingly minor but impactful change cemented a number of areas that Wales would
01:40 have and continue to have powers over.
01:42 It was supposed to create a lasting devolution settlement for Wales, and has arguably done
01:47 its job.
01:52 The Senedd has become a mainstay of life in Wales, and so many decisions previously made
01:56 in London are now made here in Cardiff Bay.
01:59 That's not the end though, and now the Senedd Cymru Members in Elections Bill hopes to become
02:03 the latest in the journey of devolution.
02:08 Some of the major points to the new bill will be a massive increase in the number of Senedd
02:12 members, from the current 60 all the way up to 96.
02:15 This is arguably the sort of main element of the new bill, and also of course most controversial,
02:20 given the increased costs.
02:25 Also involved in the plans are job sharing initiatives for cabinet members, changing
02:33 Senedd voting from every five years to every four years, and one that might seem like it
02:40 would have already been in place, but to make sure that every candidate and Senedd member
02:44 is an official resident and registered to vote here in Wales.
02:51 These changes, some of which seem logical and some being very controversial, are hoped
02:55 to be the latest leg of the long journey to nowhere.
02:58 Devolution in Wales.
02:59 James P. Twotkins, Local TV.
03:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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