It’s the last week of the Senedd term so that means it’s time for the traditional end of year review.
January
The priorities in the Senedd were, obviously, very different at the start of 2020 than the end of it, with a law passed to outlaw smacking, the final version of the new national curriculum being published and plans being announced to downgrade A&E services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant.
In a hangover from 2019’s rail problems, Transport for Wales Rail were fined £2.3million by the Welsh Government for poor service quality.
Off the field, the arrest and release without charge of Shadow Finance Minister, Nick Ramsay MS (Con, Monmouth), for an undisclosed incident over the Christmas period led to a legal challenge against his subsequent suspension from the Conservatives – which was later withdrawn. At the end of 2020, he was formally deselected.
With the Welsh Government accepting the inevitable, the UK officially left the European Union at 11 pm on 31st January, starting an 11-month transition period and a race to agree “the easiest deal in history”.
February
At the start of February, there were growing concerns that a SARS-like virus (later called Covid-19) which emerged in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 was spreading globally, with the first cases in Europe confirmed at the end of January.
In Wales, several Senedd committees thought the Welsh budget for 2019-20 wasn’t doing enough to address the climate emergency they declared less than a year earlier. The Senedd also backed the findings of the Thomas Commission report which called for the devolution of criminal justice.
Following a large protest outside the Senedd, members support a call for A&E services to be retained in Llantrisant.
The main story during February was a series of devastating floods caused by Atlantic storms which affected the Conwy Valley and hit particularly hard in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot and other places, causing some of the worst damage for a generation. Estimates put the cost of the clean-up at tens of millions of pounds. At the end of 2020, this still hadn’t been completely resolved.
March
If February was bad enough, March would prove to be worse.
The main Senedd-related development was the passing of the Health & Care Quality Act, which abolished Community Health Councils.
The first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UK and eventually Wales, prompting the Welsh and UK governments to prepare an emergency response. The World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic on March 11th. By w/c March 16th, it was becoming clear a serious situation was developing. Many public events were cancelled, and the decision was taken to close schools in Wales from March 20th.
An emergency law was approved giving the UK and devolved governments wide-ranging regulation-making powers to deal with the emerging crisis. On March 24th, the UK Prime Minister announced the first all-UK lockdown, which lasted around six weeks and imposed some of the strictest peacetime limits on freedom of movement to halt the spread of Covid-19.
Both the UK and Welsh governments announced a raft of measures to support businesses and employees through the lockdown and the period of restricted trade afterwards, including furlough subsidies and emergency grants.
April
With the Senedd changing its procedures to allow virtual meetings via video conference, the business of government continued in a pared-back manner. At UK level, the virus struck close to home with the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, being hospitalised and briefly moved to intensive care after contracting Covid-19.
There was growing criticism of the Welsh Government’s handling of the pandemic, focusing particularly a lack of asymptomatic testing in care homes, as well as a decision to drop Covid-19 test targets. A serious data breach led to thousands of letters advising people vulnerable to the virus to “shield” were sent to the wrong addresses.
Towards the end of the month, the Welsh Government and the Sargeant family agreed to drop a long-delayed QC-led inquiry into the death of the former minister, Carl Sargeant.
May
The Welsh Government u-turned on testing in care homes, but Public Health Wales caused red-faces all around by saying they weren’t aware that the Welsh Government set daily testing targets at all. The first warnings of a serious financial crisis in the university sector emerged too.
One of the major themes emerging from the pandemic was the long-standing lack of coverage of Welsh politics, with public health restrictions often resulting in the public’s first serious awareness of devolution. At one point, the Welsh Government were forced to issue an embarrassing reminder to the UK press that education is devolved.
While the UK Government initially won plaudits for how they had handled the pandemic, things changed when Dominic Cummings – a senior advisor to the Prime Minister and someone who had supported a “herd immunity strategy” – reportedly broke lockdown rules on a trip to Durham Castle. When the now fully-recovered Prime Minister failed to act, this marked a turning point in public attitudes towards the UK Government’s response to the pandemic and, in Wales and Scotland, the UK itself.
June
With the first wave of the pandemic easing, lockdown restrictions were relaxed and replaced with the Welsh Government’s new track and trace programme. The policies of the four UK nations started to diverge more noticeably, with travel and social restrictions remaining in place in Wales and Scotland as they were eased more rapidly in England.
On other health matters, campaigners seemingly won the fight to retain A&E services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
Following the latest example of police brutality against people of colour in the United States, protests took place globally under the Black Lives Matter banner. There were calls for public commemorations to people involved in the slave trade and colonialism to be removed. This would later lead to calls for the proper inclusion of BAME history in the new Welsh national curriculum, as well as a public audit of monuments and commemorations.
On 16th June, the Senedd mourned Conservative MS, Mohammad Asghar – the first BAME member of the Senedd – who died suddenly. Leader of the Opposition, Paul Davies MS (Con, Preseli Pembs.), said Asghar was “someone who spoke no ill of others, who was not capable of hate, who saw in other politicians of all parties a shared commitment to achieve for their communities and their constituencies.”
July
Although it turned out to be a false dawn, things started to return to a semblance of normality. The Senedd resumed a hybrid of virtual and in-chamber sessions, schools began to reopen for a shortened summer term and people could form social bubbles to allow in-person socialising.
The Airbus factory in Broughton, Flintshire bore the brunt of the company’s job losses (up to 1,500) as the result of the pandemic’s impact on the aerospace industry.
In the Senedd, after years of work, the Bill to establish a new national curriculum was introduced, while it was decided that schools would reopen as normal after the summer holidays. On 15th July, the Senedd approved a law to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses, while there was initial approval for the future introduction of a default 20mph speed limit in Wales.
Following a sharp increase in support for Welsh independence – and a later membership surge for the pro-independence campaign group, YesCymru – the first formal debate on Welsh independence took place on the last day of term; but it turned out to be something of a clash of cliches.
August
With schools closed, 2020’s GCSE, AS and A-Level exams were cancelled and replaced with an algorithm. This decision prompted a furious backlash across the UK when the algorithm seemingly overturned teacher-predicted grades. The resulting lower grades threw the future of many students into doubt.
Following a protest outside the Senedd, the Education Minister u-turned and determined that grades would be based on teacher predictions and assessments after all.
September
During September, the concerns began to grow in Wales and Scotland over the UK Government’s Internal Market Bill – which outlines how the UK’s internal market will work after Brexit but includes clauses which will seemingly heavily restrict the legislative powers of the devolved parliaments.
The Welsh Government extended the notice period for evictions to 31st March 2021 as part of coronavirus measures, but the Health Minister warns that increasing cases in an emerging second wave could force a second lockdown.
Elsewhere, plans for a nuclear power station on Anglesey are dropped and the Bridgend Ford engine plant closed for the last time. After a year in which independence went mainstream, Plaid Cymru published the report of their Independence Commission – though its findings were rather open-ended.
October
The Senedd backs a call for a trial of a universal basic income, while a significant drop in passenger numbers due to the pandemic results in the Welsh Government opting to nationalise the Wales & Borders rail franchise from February 2021.
Elsewhere, a mini-reshuffle sees the creation of a dedicated Cabinet position for mental health, while the Welsh Government criticises the decision of the UK Home Office to house refugees and asylum seekers at a military camp near Tenby.
By this point, several Welsh local authority areas had been placed into local lockdowns due to spikes in new cases of Covid-19. It became clear that this wasn’t enough. The Welsh Government imposed a two-week “firebreak” lockdown at the end of October/early November. Although it reduced the number of new cases for a few weeks afterwards, by the end of the year it was obvious the firebreak was nothing more than a speedbump.
November
While the firebreak lockdown ends, confusion over a “ban” on the sale of non-essential items in supermarkets prompts outcry and urgent clarification from the Welsh Government.
After the furore in the summer, the Education Minister announces that 2021’s external school exams will be replaced with school-based assessments. Also, Tata’s intention to sell its European steel operations prompts further concerns over the steel industry in Wales.
Elsewhere, the Senedd approves the Local Government & Elections Bill, which is a significant watering-down of the decade-long argument for local government reform. After five years, the Betsi Cadwaladr health board is taken out of special measures – which catches many by surprise.
With one eye on next year’s Senedd election, an electoral planning group recommends it goes ahead in May 2021 – though contingency measures are prepared as a back-up.
December
News about the successful development of working vaccines for Covid-19 raises hopes of a return to normality sometime in 2021, but new cases continue to rise at an alarming rate during the pandemic’s second wave.
The Senedd withholds their consent from the Internal Market Bill, though due to how the UK constitution works this is unlikely to make a difference and presents the latest threat to devolution in Wales.
Shy and retiring Neil McEvoy MS (Ind, South Wales Central) is handed the longest suspension since such sanctions were introduced after aggressive behaviour towards Mick Antoniw MS (Lab, Pontypridd) way back in May 2019.
Oh, and talks continue between the UK and EU on a deal after the Brexit transition period….
Normally, I’d finish with the top 10 most-read posts of the year etc. but that kind of backslapping seems inappropriate and it’s fairly obvious what would be at the top.
2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, particularly those who’ve lost homes and possessions to the February floods, or people and livelihoods to Covid-19.
There’s also an unsung army in the NHS, other emergency services, social care, funeral services, logistics, local government, education, personal services, hospitality and retail who’ve had to adapt to changing circumstances at great speed whilst under unbelievable pressure. They deserve our patience, support and gratitude both now and in the recovery.
If there’s one good thing to come out of 2020, it’s a better understanding of what and who matters. Let’s hope things turn a corner next year.
As for next year, there’ll be a statement on the future of Senedd Home shortly.
