
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has criticised Labour, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrat AMs for voting through measures which could be used to remove independence from the remuneration of Assembly Members.
Mr Isherwood expressed his concerns in the Assembly Chamber this week when responding to The Minister for Public Services, Leighton Andrews, on the ‘Supplementary Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Enterprise Bill Provisions relating to Public Sector Employment: Restriction on Exit Payments.’
He said:
“This cuts across the role of the Remuneration Board - the independent remuneration board. In passing the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010, the Assembly established the principle of the independence of that board.
“In the Presiding Officer’s letter to you of 7 March, she said that in passing the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010, the Assembly established the principle that all decisions relating to Members’ remuneration were made independently of the Assembly, the Assembly Commission and the Welsh Government, namely by the remuneration board. She said it’s therefore inappropriate for the Welsh Ministers to have any remit in relation to Members’ remuneration. She said there’s been no recognition of the need for constitutional separation between the Welsh Ministers and the Assembly in relation to exit payments for staff of the Assembly Commission.
“In your response, you say the amendments would give Welsh Ministers regulation-making powers in relation to exit payments to Assembly Members. You say, ‘However, I can confirm that it’s not my intention to interfere with the systems already in place’. And you also confirm that if the regulation-making power lies with the Welsh Ministers, you would not seek to exercise that power. But you are only Ministers for the next few weeks, and this is a regulation power in place until there will be a subsequent legislative change in the future. It’s the transfer of the power that is the constitutional outrage and the breach of the vote of the Assembly in 2010 regarding the independence of remuneration, and not what you individually or your current colleagues, individually, may themselves do in the remaining weeks of this Assembly.” Mr Isherwood added: “It is disgraceful that Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats voted through measures which could be used to remove independence from the remuneration of AMs and enable political control to be established.”