Have your say: the constitutional future of Wales

We are an independent body asked to look at options for how Wales might be governed in the future.

We have been asked to look at how Wales could be run differently, while remaining an integral part of the United Kingdom. We have also been asked to consider other options to strengthen Welsh democracy both within and outside the United Kingdom.

Our task includes reviewing current arrangements, looking at who has power over what, the current rules for how Wales is run, and whether these are the best ways of organising things, including:

• who takes the political decisions that affect the people of Wales, and how those decisions are taken
• on which aspects of our national life should Wales be able to set its own rules and make its own decisions.

We want to hear from as many people as possible, from all walks of life and from every community, about what matters to you, and your hopes for Wales’s future.

This is an opportunity to tell us what is working well with the way Wales is governed at the moment, and what needs to change.

This invitation is the first part of a national conversation over the coming months during which we will talk to people from all parts of Wales.

To help you respond, we’ve set out some broad questions below. But feel free to raise any other issues that are important to you and might be relevant to our work.

This is your opportunity to help shape our work. It is vital that your voice is heard and your views reflected in our report at the end of 2023.

Please tell us what is important to you in this national conversation: what should we be thinking about?

1. What matters to you about the way Wales is run?

2. What do you think the priorities for the commission should be?

3. Thinking about how Wales is governed, by the Welsh Government and the UK government, what are the strengths of the current system, what aspects do you most value and wish to protect?  Can you provide examples?

4. Are there any problems with the current system, and if so, how could they be addressed?  Again, please provide examples.

5. Thinking about the UK government, the Welsh Government and Welsh local government (your local council), what do you think about the balance of power and responsibility between these three types of government – is it about right or  should it change and if so, how? For example, who should have more power, or less?

6. As a distinct country and political unit, how should Wales be governed in the future? Should we:

• broadly keep the current arrangements where Wales is governed as part of the UK, and the Westminster Parliament delegates some responsibilities to the Senedd and Welsh Government, with those responsibilities adjusted as in Q5, OR
• move towards Wales having more autonomy to decide for itself within a more federal UK, with most matters decided by the Senedd and Welsh Government, and the Westminster Parliament decides UK-wide matters on behalf of Wales (and other parts of the UK) OR
• move towards Wales having full control to govern itself and be independent from the UK OR
• pursue any other governance model you would like to suggest
• alongside any of these options, should more responsibilities be given to local councils bringing decision making closer to people across Wales and if so, please provide examples.

7. Overall, what is most important to you in about the way in which Wales should be governed in the future? Is there anything else you want to tell us?

In responding to these questions, we would welcome views on how the current forms of governance, and any proposals to change governance in the future, might impact on the Welsh language.

The views that we gather during this first stage of engagement will shape how we plan the commission’s work, and will inform the findings and recommendations that we make in our interim and final reports.

The commission wants to maintain an ongoing conversation with citizens and stakeholders, and will be receiving views up until the summer of 2023. But we want your input to help shape our work programme, so please respond as soon as you can.

To feed into our interim report in the autumn/winter of 2022, we will need to receive contributions by 31 December 2022. Please send to: ConstitutionCommission@gov.wales.

If you are a group or organisation and intend to send in views, it would be helpful if you could let us know your planned timescale.

You are welcome to send views in written form, or as video or audio submissions.

Submit your comments by 28 February 2023, in any of the following ways:

• complete our online form
• video or audio submission via our online form
• written form, e.g. email, pdf/word doc, paper submission
• download, complete our response form and email ConstitutionCommission@gov.wales

• download, complete our response form and post to:

  The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
  Cathays Park
  Cardiff
  CF10 3NQ

Information to include

Please let the commission know if you are writing in a personal capacity or on behalf of an organisation. If you are writing on behalf of an organisation, it would be helpful if you could confirm its purpose, size and membership.

Under the data protection legislation, you have the right:

• to be informed of the personal data held about you and to access it
• to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• to (in certain circumstances) data portability
• to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.

Responses to consultations are likely to be made public, on the internet or in a report. If you would prefer your response to remain anonymous, please tell us.

For further details about the information the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you want to exercise your rights under the GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

E-mail: dataprotectionofficer@gov.wales

Information Commissioner’s Office

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: Information Commissioner’s Office

UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

The Welsh Government will be data controller for any personal data you provide as part of your response to the consultation. Welsh Ministers have statutory powers they will rely on to process this personal data which will enable them to make informed decisions about how they exercise their public functions.

Any response you send us will be seen in full by Welsh Government staff dealing with the issues which this consultation is about or planning future consultations.

Where the Welsh Government undertakes further analysis of consultation responses then this work may be commissioned to be carried out by an accredited third party (e.g. a research organisation or a consultancy company).

Any such work will only be undertaken under contract. Welsh Government’s standard terms and conditions for such contracts set out strict requirements for the processing and safekeeping of personal data.

In order to show that the consultation was carried out properly, the Welsh Government intends to publish a summary of the responses to this document. We may also publish responses in full.

Normally, the name and address (or part of the address) of the person or organisation who sent the response are published with the response. If you do not want your name or address published, please tell us this in writing when you send your response. We will then redact them before publishing.

You should also be aware of our responsibilities under Freedom of Information legislation. If your details are published as part of the consultation response then these published reports will be retained indefinitely. Any of your data held otherwise by Welsh Government will be kept for no more than 3 years.

Further information about the commission and its work is available on its website:

The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

If you need this document in a different format, please contact us.

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