Commons Speaker to take a look at National Assembly’s drive towards openness and transparency
25 September 2009
House of Commons Speaker, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP will be visiting the National Assembly on September 30th.
During the visit he’ll meet with National Assembly for Wales Presiding Officer, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, to learn more about the work of the National Assembly for Wales.
He’ll look at what the National Assembly is doing to encourage more people to take part in the democratic process through its e-petitions system and Senedd TV.
The National Assembly for Wales, unlike Westminster, has a specific cross-party committee of Assembly Members to look at each petition we receive and decide whether it can be advanced through our legislative system.
Since it was introduced, in May 2007, the National Assembly has received almost 200 petitions.
The Speaker will also be told about the planned changes that will be made to the system of financial support for Assembly Members as recommended by the Independent Panel which was commissioned by the National Assembly.
“We are delighted to welcome the speaker of the House of Commons to the Senedd,” said Lord Elis-Thomas.
“It is a great opportunity to explain the things we have achieved, and our ambitions for the future, here at the National Assembly in terms of the institution being as open and transparent as possible and encouraging participation in the political process.
“In the first decade of devolution, we’ve focused on doing things differently to Westminster so the Speaker will be able to get first hand experience of a parliamentary body operating in a completely different way to the system he’s used to, from our use of technology to the way we conduct business. We have moved ahead swiftly with our reform of financial support for Assembly Members and I am sure the Speaker will be keen to hear about our experience of this.”
The Speaker will also meet children from Caereinion High School visiting the Assembly on an educational visit and also go to Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf in Cardiff.