15 December 2015

Dear Sir/Madam

Consultation on the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill

The Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee is undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny on the Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill.

On 24 November 2015, the Minister for Public Services published the draft Bill and consultation documents, and made a statement in Plenary.

Terms of reference

The terms of reference for the Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny are:

To consider the draft Bill and accompanying documents, including the Explanatory Memorandum and the Regulatory Impact Assessment (which assesses the potential costs and benefits of the policy intentions included in the draft Bill).

Invitation to contribute to the pre-legislative scrutiny

The Committee would like to invite you to submit written evidence to assist its scrutiny of the draft Bill. It would be helpful if you could use the above terms of reference to frame your response. The Committee would welcome your views on all or any parts of the draft Bill or accompanying documents. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, please provide a brief description of the role of your organisation.

The Committee may also invite a small number of witnesses to give oral evidence to inform its scrutiny.

The Committee welcomes contributions in English or Welsh and we ask organisations with Welsh Language policies/schemes to provide bilingual submissions, in line with their public information policies.

If you wish to submit evidence, please send an electronic copy of your submission to: SeneddCELG@assembly.wales

Alternatively, you can write to:

Committee Clerk,
Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee,
National Assembly for Wales,
Cardiff Bay,
CF99 1NA.

Submissions should arrive by 21 January 2016.  It may not be possible to take account of responses received after this date.

For your information, the Committee has invited submissions from those on the attached distribution list. The Committee would be grateful if you could forward a copy of the letter to any individuals or organisations that are not included on this list, but might like to contribute to the pre-legislative scrutiny. A copy of this letter has been placed on the Assembly’s website with an open invitation to submit views.

Disclosure of Information

You can find details about how we will use your information at www.assembly.wales/en/help/privacy/Pages/help-inquiry-privacy.aspx. Please ensure that you have considered these details carefully before submitting information to the Committee.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

Submissions should be no longer than five sides of A4, with numbered paragraphs, and should focus on matters set out above.

The Assembly is committed to providing accessible information to the widest audience possible. This short guide is to assist witnesses who produce written information for committees. This will enable the Assembly to provide information submitted by third parties in an accessible manner.

Use plain English and plain Welsh – avoid unnecessary jargon.

Use a minimum of font size 12.

A clear sans serif typeface, such as Lucida Sans.

Do not have writing over graphics, pictures or watermarks.

Colours and contrast - writing should have maximum contrast to the background: dark on light, light on dark.

Do not use block capitals, and minimise use of bold, underlining and italics.

Where possible, information should be provided in Microsoft Word to ensure accessibility. Where a scan or Pdf is provided, particularly in the case of signed letters or tables of information, the original Word document should be provided along with it.

Yours faithfully,

Christine Chapman AM

Chair

List of consultees

Local Government

All 22 Local Authorities

Association of Council Secretaries & Solicitors

Local Government Leadership Centre

National Parks Wales

North and Mid Wales Association of Local Councils

One Voice Wales

SOLACE

Society of Local Council Clerks

WLGA

WLGA, Regional Co-ordinators

WLGA, Regional Partnership Boards

Public sector

All Fire and Rescue Authorities

All Police Authorities

Association of Chief Police Officers Cymru

Unions

Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales

Children’s Commissioner for Wales

Commissioner for Sustainable Futures

Community Health Councils

Electoral Commission

ESYTN

Health Boards

Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales

Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales

Natural Resources Wales

NHS Trusts

Older People’s Commissioner for Wales

Public Health Wales

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

Wales Audit Office

Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

Welsh NHS Confederation

Third sector

Alliance of Welsh National Park Societies

WCVA

Academic/research

Association for Public Service Excellence

Cardiff Business School

Centre for Local & Regional Government Research

Centre for Public Scrutiny

Institute for Public Policy Research

Institute of Welsh affairs

Professional bodies

CIPFA

Confederation of British Industry Wales

Country Landowners Association Cymru

Federation of Small Businesses Wales

Institute of Historic Building Conservation

Other Organisations

Electoral Reform Society Cymru

Law Commission

Legal Wales

Equality Organisations

Anti-poverty Network Cymru

Bevan Foundation

Care Council for Wales

Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg

Cymru Yfory

Disability Wales

Equality & Human Rights Commission in Wales

Learning Disability Wales

Mencap Cymru

Welsh Language Commissioner