In today’s devolved Wales there are five ’tiers’ of representative democracy. The electorate is served by a Member of Parliament (MP), a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Members of the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) (AMs) and their local councillor(s) elected to the unitary council. In most rural areas and in some urban areas the electorate is also served by a community council or a town council.
The European Union issues legislative and policy directives to its member states across Europe. Parliament determines primary domestic legislation for England and Wales. the National Assembly for Wales develops and issues secondary legislation in Wales within this primary legislative framework, directs national policy, and manages the public purse in Wales. All public services which are overseen by the Assembly are delivered either by a local council, by another statutory body, or by sponsored public bodies sometimes known as ‘quangos’.
Welsh political representation is as follows. There are 4 members of the European Parliament, 40 Members of Parliament and 60 Members of the National Assembly. 1257 councillors serve on 22 unitary or ’principal’ councils and there are 3 national parks authorities, 4 police authorities and 3 fire authorities. Some 8000 councillors serve on 750 community and town councils.
There are a range of Assembly Sponsored Public (ASPBs) in Wales - non elected public bodies charged with responsibilities for public services. Examples the Welsh Development Agency in the field of economic development, the Environment Agency in the field environmental regulation and protection, the post-education body ELWa, and the Wales Tourist Board the Arts Council for Wales in the fields of tourism culture. Lay persons are appointed by the Assembly serve on the management boards of these bodies non-executive capacities. Councillors representing views and interests of the unitary councils also these boards.
With the reform of the National Health Service in Wales, 22 local health boards (LHBs) replaced the health authorities in 2003. These boards, which are charged with responsibilities for the prevention of ill health and the commissioning and performance primary and secondary health services, are based the same geographical boundaries as the principal councils. Councillors and council officers are key members of the local health boards.
There are special arrangements in the most disadvantaged communities of Wales to involve local people in solutions to improve their own quality of life and life opportunities. Under the Communities First Programme local strategic partnerships in over 100 of the most deprived wards in Wales bring together representatives of all interests to manage funding programmes to tackle deprivation and build community capacity.