DfES, Concordat with National Assembly for Wales

INTRODUCTION

1. This Concordat establishes an agreed framework for co-operation between the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales (“the Assembly” ) and the Department for Education and Skills (“the Department”) on all matters arising from the Department's responsibilities which impact directly or indirectly on the functions of the Assembly and vice versa . The functions of the Assembly are either conferred directly on it by primary legislation or transferred to it under the Government of Wales Act 1998.

2. The Concordat follows the principles set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations. It is non-statutory and is not intended to constrain either the Assembly's freedom to operate in areas for which it is responsible, or the Department's competence in its areas of responsibility. However, the Assembly and the Department agree to honour the principles and obligations set out in the Concordat.

3. This co-operation is for the mutual benefit of both parties. It is intended to give them the assurance that working relationships will be conducted in an agreed and helpful manner, underpinned by good communications in both directions and the avoidance of surprises for either party. This will assist the efficient, effective and economical delivery of the public services for which both parties are responsible, to the benefit of the users of those services.

4. Any education and skills functions for which the Assembly is not responsible remain functions for which the Department is solely responsible. The latter include:-

• teachers' pay and conditions of service and pensions; and

• student support under the Teaching and Higher Education Act.

5. Further detail on specific matters listed above is at paragraph 14.

6. Of those functional areas which are the responsibility of the Assembly, the following are matters for which the Department is responsible in England; for which the Department (or the Secretary of State for Wales) sponsors primary legislation covering Wales introduced into Parliament (in consultation with the Assembly ), and for which the Department represents the UK internationally (with appropriate involvement from the devolved administrations).

• Childcare Strategy, including regulation of daycare under the Children Act;

• early years and school education;

• family policy;

• the teaching profession;

• further and higher education;

• training;

• adult and community education;

• qualifications;

• youth issues;

• careers advice and guidance; and

• HE funding of scientific and other research.

In addition, under administrative arrangements, the Department currently decides on barring or restricting persons from providing education or carrying out work that involves regular contact with children under the age of 18. Its decisions apply to Wales as well as England .

7. Further detail on specific matters listed above is at paragraph 16.

CONSULTATION AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

8. There are various statutory requirements on the UK Government to consult the Assembly. In addition, the Department will consult the Assembly about any changes it is proposing to legislation, policies and programmes relating to the matters referred to above and which might have an impact on matters within the competence of the Assembly. In turn, the Assembly will consult the Department about any proposed legislation, policy or programme developments in relation to its responsibilities which could impact on the Department's responsibilities.

9. The parties confirm their commitment proactively to consult and exchange information in a timely and helpful manner, to enable the policy and practical implications of initiatives to be examined and representations to be made if necessary. In accordance with the spirit of the framework set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, advance notification of, and consultation on, policy initiatives and associated announcements will take place on a reasonable timescale before the announcement, wherever possible at least one month before any announcement. Each party will give appropriate consideration to the views of the other administration. In the case of legislative proposals, advance notification and consultation will take place on a similar timescale before the introduction of primary legislation and the making of subordinate legislation. In the case of press releases, 48 hours notice will be given where possible.

10. In addition to such consultation, one party will notify the other of any official comment they intend to make when the other's initiative is made public.

11. The parties confirm their commitment to provide each other with as full and open as possible access to policy and other information including statistics and research and, where appropriate, representations from third parties. In accordance with the spirit of the framework set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, whenever practicable and reasonable each party undertakes to provide within 15 working days any information that may be requested by the other to enable them to carry out their functions effectively. These arrangements will be supplemented by those in the overarching Concordat on Statistics and the statistics Annex to this Concordat.

12. In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, both parties will encourage joint working where they agree that there would be advantages for the development of policy or the delivery of services. This will include regular or ad hoc bilateral meetings and officials of one party attending working groups or committees sponsored by the other party, either as formal members or observers.

13. Each party will treat information received from the other in accordance with any restrictions that the sending party may specify.

Department for Education and Skills functions

14. The Department retains a number of important functions on an England and Wales basis, on which there is an especially strong need for mutual co-operation. It is particularly important that the Assembly and the Department continue to maintain close contact on issues arising in these areas. Specific arrangements for consultation and exchange of information will be set out in separate annexes, including :-

Teachers' pay and conditions of service and pensions (Annex A);

student support (Annex B);

Education statistics (Annex C);

the maintenance of the Database of Teachers' Records (Annex D).

15. Other important areas of work for England and Wales , reserved to the Department, which will require close co-operation between the Assembly and the Department, are:

European and international education and training issues and UK-wide programmes;

further and higher education: - promotion abroad of the UK .

Assembly functions

16. Important Assembly functions which will require close co-operation between the Assembly and the Department are (in alphabetical order):

(a) functions where the Assembly and the Department have concurrent powers, and where the Department carries out functions in Wales :

Cases of misconduct and other cases in which barring may be appropriate and provision of details of persons barred or restricted from providing education or carrying out work that involves regular contact with children under the age of 18 (Annex D);

training: Career Development Loans and Small Firms Training Loans;

training: National Training Organisations (Sector Skills Councils/ Sector Skills Development Agency) – UK co-ordination and formal recognition;

University for Industry (as regards oversight of Ufi National and of research and development issues).

(b) functions which the Assembly carries out for Wales :

education statistics (Annex C);

Individual Learning Accounts;

Investors in People: funding of IiP UK Ltd activity in Wales ;

learndirect - provision of free-phone helpline (Annex E);

Millenium Volunteers

National Grid for Learning;

Sector Skills Councils/ Sector Skills Development Agency – work unique to Wales 3 ;

qualifications and examinations policy;

school buildings and premises issues;

skills issues;

teachers - award of QTS, initial teacher training, & recruitment;

teachers: newly-qualified teachers - induction;

training: evaluation of programmes;

training: quality inspection;

University for Industry as regards the operation of Ufi Cymru.

Youth programmes.

In practice consultation and exchange of information in a timely and helpful manner would mean sharing draft versions of advice to Ministers at the same time as internal consultation/clearance was being sought.

Regulatory Appraisal

17. The Government of Wales Act 1998 requires regulatory appraisals of the costs and benefits of secondary legislation proposed by the Assembly. To save duplication of effort, the Department and the Assembly will co-operate in producing regulatory appraisals in cases where they are both proposing to make similar legislation.

APPOINTMENTS

18. To involve the Assembly in appointments to public bodies whose coverage includes Wales , the Department has agreed:

(a) to make one appointment with agreement of the Assembly; or

(b) to consult the Assembly on one appointment; or

(c) to inform the Assembly in advance of starting the process for any appointment, to facilitate publicity to potential candidates in Wales ; or

(d) that the Assembly sends an assessor / observer to meetings.

19. The Department will involve the Assembly in appointments to the public bodies below, listed alphabetically within category, as indicated by (a), (b) (c) or (d):-

	Executive NDPBs:-
	1. British Educational Communications and Technology Agency 4 2. Construction Industry Training Board (b) 3. Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (b) 4. Investors in People ( UK ) Ltd. (b) 5. Teacher Training Agency (d)
	Advisory NDPBs :- 6. School Teachers Review Body (b)

	Other near-to-Government bodies :-
	7. Basic Skills Agency (c & d) Wales bodies are involved in nominating an assessor
	8. Examinations Appeals Board (c)
	9. Sector Skills Development Agency (tbc)

20. For each body, the Department will agree with the Assembly, before the start of the first round of appointments after the Assembly starts work, the timetable and procedure for involving the Assembly.

FINANCE

21. In keeping with the general commitment to timely information exchange at paragraph 9 above, the Department will inform the Assembly in advance about all proposals for significant new policy initiatives and changes to existing policy, where they directly or indirectly have an impact on the Assembly's expenditure or on the costs to industry and/or consumers in Wales, and the Assembly will do the same in return.

22. Where actions taken by the Department have consequential costs for the Assembly, or vice versa , provision is made in the Block and Formula Rules to cover payments or financial adjustments between the two bodies .

23. The Department will whenever practicable inform the Assembly of any relevant in-year claims it makes on the Treasury's Departmental Expenditure Limit Reserve. The Department will provide the Assembly with information about planned and actual expenditure it makes in Wales , subject to MoU conditions on practicality, proportionate cost, and accessibility.

24. The Department will maintain an appropriate contingent liability to cover the eventuality that a court or Employment Tribunal decides that, for the purposes of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, the period of employment of former Civil Service secondees by the Employment Department and a Welsh TEC are continuous for the purpose of redundancy payments.

ACCESS TO SERVICES

25. The Assembly and the Department may by agreement, provide each other with administrative, professional or technical services. Arrangements may also be made for any function of one party to be exercised by the other party. Each may charge the other for services provided; where services have been provided free of charge in the past, each would give good notice, and an opportunity to comment, if they proposed to change current charging policies.

THE USE OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE IN PUBLIC BUSINESS

26. The Assembly has a statutory duty to treat the Welsh and English languages on the basis of equality. The Department is bound by Ministerial undertakings given to the UK Parliament about the use of Welsh in public business. These undertakings oblige them to prepare Welsh language schemes in line with the 1993 Welsh Language Act for the agreement of the Welsh Language Board. Such schemes are to cover:

•	their services to the public in Wales ;

•	services provided by other public bodies to the public in Wales in relation to which they exercise statutory functions.

27. The Department introduced a scheme endorsed by the Welsh Language Board in March 2000.

28. The division of functions and services between the Assembly and the Department determines which party is responsible for the use of Welsh in relation to any particular function or service. Where the parties agree that they will undertake functions jointly, they agree that they are jointly responsible for the use of Welsh in connection with those functions.

29. The Department and the Assembly will consult each other in good time about new policies, procedures or initiatives which they propose to introduce which may generate a new or different need to use Welsh for the other party.

30. These provisions are without prejudice to the statutory obligations of the Assembly as regards the use of Welsh, as set out in section 47 of the Government of Wales Act.

CORRESPONDENCE

31. Correspondence which has to be transferred by one party to the other will be transferred promptly, and in any case within 15 working days. At the same time, the correspondent should be told what action has been taken and who is now responsible for handling their correspondence.

OTHER DOCUMENTS

32. The arrangements set out in this Concordat will be supplemented by those in the overarching Memorandum of Understanding and its Supplementary Agreements, the Agreement on the Joint Ministerial Committee, and the Concordats on Co-ordination of EU Policy Issues, on International Relations and on Statistics.

33. The Cabinet Office has published a series of Devolution Guidance Notes; these include notes covering Ministerial accountability, the role of the Secretary of State for Wales , primary legislation affecting Wales , handling correspondence, and common working arrangements.

DISPUTES

34. Resolution of disputes will take place in accordance with the principles and procedures set out in the Memorandum of Understanding. The parties are committed to resolving issues at working levels wherever possible, or if necessary at Senior Civil Service levels. Only very exceptionally should it be necessary to refer matters to Ministerial levels or, failing that, to the Joint Ministerial Committee.

REVIEW

35. This Concordat will be reviewed every three years. Either party may request an additional review if they consider it necessary (for example, to propose the addition of further areas as new policies develop). Any changes made to the Concordat will be with the agreement of both parties.

W here this text refers to the Assembly, the Department would normally deal with the First Minister or the relevant Cabinet Minister, or their officials, as appropriate.

On the role of the Secretary of State for Wales and on primary legislation affecting Wales refer to published guidance - see “Other Documents”, below.

3 A Memorandum of Understanding between the SSDA and Welsh Assembly Government was signed on 3 April 2002.

4 To consult the assembly on up to three representatives on the UK wide Strategic Committee.

5 See HM Treasury's “Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly, A Statement of Funding Policy”, 2 nd edition, July 2000.