Guide to the Welsh Assembly

Introductory Video

On 18 September 1997, the people of Wales voted in a referendum on devolution.

They may have voted yes, but it was by the thinnest of margins - 50.3% to 49.7%. Nevertheless, a new dawn had broken, as the then-Welsh Secretary Ron Davies claimed.

Although wheels were set in motion for a National Assembly for Wales, those in favour had a huge task to convince those who had voted against it - and those who hadn't voted at all - that it would benefit the country.

With that challenge in mind, Mr Davies famously said that "devolution is a process, not an event."

Laws from scratch

That proved to be the case. The Government of Wales Act 1998 established the Assembly but it wasn't until a second act in 2006 that it gained the ability to make its own laws from scratch rather than adapting legislation created in Westminster.

However, the Assembly still had to ask MPs for permission to legislate in some areas, which led to bickering between Cardiff Bay and Westminster over the finer details of certain requests for the power to legislate.

Two areas that saw a tug-of-war along the M4 were the Welsh language and affordable housing.

The beginning of the fourth Assembly in May 2011 heralded a new legislative system in Wales.

In a referendum on 3 March 2011, voters in Wales decided that the Assembly have the power to pass laws on devolved issues without first having to ask Westminster.

The Assembly prides itself on avoiding the "yah-boo" politics of Westminster.

And although chamber sessions do get heated from time to time, the shouting and jeering associated with the House of Commons is kept to a minimum.

The Senedd , sited in the area formally known as Tiger Bay, plays home to the 60 AMs.

There are 60 Assembly Members, made up of 40 constituent AMs and 20 regional AMsPlenary sessions are held twice a week on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoonsSince the 2011 Assembly election, Labour has half the available seatsThe Senedd houses the debating chamber and committee rooms
There are 12 subject committees, on issues such as Enterprise and Learning, and SustainabilityThe Senedd was officially opened by the Queen on St David's Day in 2006There are five legislative committees that scrutinise new BillsThe Senedd building was designed by the architect Lord Richard Rogers

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