Cyflwynwyd yr
ymateb hwn i
ymgynghoriad y
Pwyllgor Biliau Diwygio ar
Fil Senedd Cymru (Aelodau ac
Etholiadau).
This response
was submitted to the
Reform Bill
Committee consultation on
the
Senedd Cymru
(Members and Elections) Bill.
SCME284 Ymateb gan: | Response from: Nicholas
Edmunds
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sir,
I write to provide evidence not supporting this bill.
Increasing the Members to 96-COST COST COST £££££
Given the financial struggles of the Assembly and the cost of living crisis, this move is unbelievable. The additional cost added to the Senedd will amount to £17M, this has increased by £5M since the original estimate in 2020. This final cost will no doubt be higher when all support services are included.
The first minister is quoted on the BBC news-"I hope it will be less than that," he said. "It will be 2026 before any of these bills have to be paid, that's plenty of time to prepare.
It's worrying that the First Minister is "Hoping" and he thinks 2026 is still plenty of time to prepare for the additional cost burden on the Tax Payer. Given the sensitivities of this increase in cost, which will probably be much higher. I have seen figures of £120M quoted, with all the support staff. This cannot be supported and needs to go to a referendum. The Welsh people need a say in how this is shaping, not an election, a referendum on the allocation of scarce money that is being used to create more politicians in Wales.
How can we even be talking of thee astronomical sums when the Welsh NHS is estimated to overspend by £400M this year? This is where the focus needs to be in effectively running the services we currently have, before adding more bureaucracy to an already under performing organisation.
Diluting Smaller Parties
The creation of additional MSs and the splitting down of the areas within Wales will favour the Labour and Plaid alliance. Smaller parties will become under-represented and will no doubt have zero voice in the Senned.
Again this split of boundaries needs to be put to a referendum, just breezing this through the Senned is not a fair reflection on people's views.
--
Thanks,
Nicholas Edmunds MBA