Richard Commission

The Commission on the Powers and Electoral Arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales, known unofficially as The Richard Commission, was established in July 2002 by the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales. Ivor Richard, Baron Richard was appointed to chair the Commission. Richard was joined by five Commissioners appointed following open competition and interview, as well as four commissioners nominated jointly by the four party leaders in the first Assembly.

The purpose of the Commission was examine the powers and electoral arrangements of the National Assembly and to remit its findings in an independent report. The report was intended to contribute to decisions on the future of the National Assembly and the way Wales was to be governed.

The Commission published its report in March 2004. It recommended that the National Assembly should have powers to legislate in certain areas, whilst others would remain the preserve of Westminster. It also recommended changing the electoral system to the single transferable vote (STV) which would produce greater proportionality.

The Commission did not evaluate the performance of the Assembly or the Welsh Assembly Government. The Commission viewed that would have involved going outside the terms of reference and making subjective judgments.

In response, the British government, in its Better Governance for Wales White Paper, published on 15 June 2005, proposed a more permissive law-making system for the Welsh Assembly based on the use of Parliamentary Orders in Council. In so doing, the Government rejected many of the cross party Richard Commission's recommendations. This has attracted criticism from opposition parties and others.

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