Out with the old, in with the ...
So on the very last day of Assembly business out go health trusts and local health boards and in come seven new bodies who'll run the health service in Wales ... just like they did when I lived in a place called South Glamorgan and before terms like service providers and health commissioning had ever been coined.
Out go any plans to prevent patients in North Wales to cross the border to receive neurosurgery treatment, out goes a problem that had got bigger and bigger for Labour AMs in the North East and in come calls from David Jones MP for Edwina Hart to resign.
Out go plans to do anything anytime soon about a Federal College, a body that would ensure the provision of education through the medium of Welsh in higher education. A "planning board" keeps the One Wales pledge alive.
And out goes lack of clarity about how to transfer powers to the Assembly. In case you were worried about holiday reading, your problem has been solved. With me to Tenby I'll be taking a copy of this and this - two new sets of guidelines which are designed to ease the devolving of powers.
The first is the Ministry of Justice's offering; the second is written for Welsh Assembly Government departments and 'complements' the first.
The Ten Commandments for Whitehall officials dealing with Wales don't actually include the words: 'Be nice. Your neighbour probably does have the right to ask you for those powers you know' but that, in essence, is what they're trying to say.
The good news for anyone still uncertain about the effects of devolution is that one thing is spelled out very clearly:
"Government departments ... should not normally object to proposals for legislative competence on the grounds that the Welsh Assembly Government could pursue policies that differ from England ..."
Glad that one's been cleared up.
I also spot an opening for a 'finish the sentence' competition:
"UK Government Departments should maintain a clear distinction between the scope of legislative competence in the proposed Order and the detail of any Measures likely to be brought forward as a result of the Order being made. The contents of likely Assembly Measures are ..."
I turn the page and find the sentence has trailed off. MPs, AMs, blog readers: feel free.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~59~RS~)
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I've been reading some of the LCO proceedures that the Assembly will have to take in order to get legislative authority, lol. For the Assembly, asking for more powers is a complicated process, that simply granting full parliamentary authority would make so much easier!
To continue the (admitedly bad analogy):
"Now, son, if you really think that you are ready to be trusted with more responsibility, then you will have to show us you can handle it ...
*smiles affectionaly*
"... and then follow these simple instructions.
"First you will need to write down ahead of time... that is as soon as possible.... what you want to do, when you want to do it, and where. Give it to myself or to your father. Don't delay, because your father and I will need to schedule a meeting to discuss your proposal. If you wait too long we may not have time to discuss it, and you will have to do it next month!
"Oh, just to be sure we do not waste any time, be sure to list who you will be with, and their cell phone numbers, and their parent's cell numbers too.
"By the way, we are not going to give you any more allowance either, you will have to save and pay for your entertainment on your own.
"Then your father and I will liason with your friends, and their parents, and after joint consultation between the parties involved, and a clear understanding of the ramifications of your plans reached, and if you have been on good behaivor, doing all of your chores without fuss, then we should be able to say yes.
"See, not so complicated, is it?"
*son blinks in bewilderment*
"Golly mom, I just graduated from University last year! Is this really all that necessary? I mean; I think we can go to the theater or the pub on our own now!"
Can't blame the Assembly for wanting a full parliament can you? LMAO.
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As someone who would be affected by a Federal College, I sincerely hope that the idea goes out permanently.
Many in the sector have grave doubts that it would be 'a body that would ensure the provision of education through the medium of Welsh in higher education.' As far as I can see it would be a bureaucratic nightmare which would divert resources away from Welsh-medium teaching and allow the universities to walk away from their responsibilities in the area.
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Betsan ~"And out goes lack of clarity about how to transfer powers to the Assembly"
Hey Betsan, heard you in the week on Eddie Mair's BBC 5.00pm post-modern R4 news programme ~ "sarco-whimsy" on line. For the yoof...explaining the new Cymru lego scene...
"New bursting Pipelines carrying legislation back and forth from, and to, Cardiff and Westminster" (not a direct quote)
WONDERFUL STUFF.
"Watering our very level playing fields"
Although it did remind me of raw sewage.
Have a good (long) holiday.
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Well, the decision on neuro services in North Wales may be out (although there's still the question of how it will be funded). But.....the arguably more contentious issue of services in South wales (Swansea ? Cardiff ? Both ?) is still long outstanding. Let's hope this one isn't pushed out quietly during the recess.
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I think if you gave the assembly full law making powers you could slice a fraction off their budget in efficiency savings! Remember Westminster is to blame for this - not the Assembly.
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The thought of giving the assembly more powers is a nightmare for the plain fact is they cannot be trusted. This is not a criticism of government but the way in which we are governed, for the democratic process has broken down. The only interest these assembly members serve is their own and in that respect they are in collusion with one another not to spill the gravy train.
The assembly fearing for its usefulness and future has bumped into the ‘forces of conservatism’ and sold us all out for the sake of so-called devolution. It has done nothing to empower the ordinary person on the street; on the contrary, it has passed the Public Audit (Wales) 2004 to limit its powers of intervention and the right of the public to complain about public service corruption.
The result is that the public are already banned from complaining about the admitted corruption that goes on inside Welsh Universities, those who boast their role is to ensure proper financial management also claim they and the assembly have no powers of intervention and such corruption is all part of the tradition. If my taxes are being paid to any institution then I have a right to complain about how that money is spent, the assembly has abused what power it has to take that right away from us.
With more powers the assembly would also ban complaints about schools and hospitals. Why has the BMA no confidence in the assembly to manage the health service? The answer is because you could not trust this lot to look after a budgie. I firmly believe in empowering the ordinary person in the street and abolishing crown immunity, which this assembly hides behind as and when they have something to conceal.
It will be the Charity Commission and not the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales that will regulate the charitable activities of Welsh Universities, including fraud under the Charity Act 2006. There will be a lot of scandal once that magic word transparency comes into play, we will then be fully aware of the corruption that goes on and the extent to which the assembly has tried to conceal it. It would also be a good time for a referendum on the future of the assembly, with the option to get rid of it.
Meanwhile the appalling way in which Welsh Universities treats its students continues to circulate around the globe. The result will be closures, mergers, redundancies, and higher tuition fees, so we can keep a corrupt elite in a job, if that’s not a sell out of socialist principles then what is?
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