At the end of July, the Welsh Affairs Select Committee suggested in a memorandum to the Secretary of State for Wales that it was in danger of being swamped by the number of LCOs eminating from the Assembly. LCOs, of course, are the instruments through which law-making powers are transferred to the Assembly and require the approval of both the Assembly and Parliament.

Today, the National Assembly’s Presiding Officer - a staunch defender of the LCO process in the past - has published his response, saying that the Welsh Affairs Select Committee was exaggerating the number of LCOs it has had to deal with. And he is right, only four LCOs have actually made it to the Committee over the past year and not the eleven the Committee seemed to suggest in its report.

The question of what’s happened to the other seven is an interesting one. One was rejected by the Assembly while another three are yet to be considered by it. And the other three? Well their fate is significant in showing that LCOs are often held up for long periods before they even get to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. Those three proposals are currently awaiting Whitehall approval with the Assembly having completed its consideration of them, with one - the Proposed LCO on Environmental Protection and Waste Management having been waiting over a year.

The sooner that this convoluted and drawn-out process is disposed of completely and we move to make the Assembly a proper legislative Parliament, the better for all concerned!

We had a very interesting and well attended meeting at the Eisteddfod on Thursday, with Cynog Dafis, Geriant Talfan Davies, Meri Huws and The Rev. Aled Edwards outlining their visions of the future in a panel discussion chaired by the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan.

The main topic of conversation was how the Assembly’s new powers are working and being used, and the debate around the All-Wales Convention and the envisaged referendum. Amongs other interesting topics raised were the need for strengthening the Welsh media (a very prevelant topic recently) and the need to develop the Welsh civil service, inlcuing the possibility of establishing a Welsh civil service college.