Crowd Sourced Constitutional Convention

For those of you who were at CHC’s Annual Conference in November last year, you may recall both Matthew Taylor and Lee Waters challenging us as a sector to stop waiting for others to change things or stop waiting for others to do things and get on and do it ourselves...

This call came at a time when the constitutional promises that had been made to the people of Scotland following the referendum were generating a much broader debate about the powers we have and, more importantly, the powers we want here in Wales. Couple this with the challenges we as a sector and tenants are facing, and it seemed that the forthcoming General Election would be a lost opportunity if we didn’t make the right calls for change in those non devolved areas which have such an impact on our communities. So, for this reason, CHC made the decision to become a partner in the Institute of Welsh Affairs' Crowd Sourced Constitutional Convention.

This is a debate about the future of Wales. The direction of travel for this debate is not set in stone and we are inviting people to respond to the draft plan. CHC will be involved in all aspects but we will specifically be facilitating the discussion around ‘What makes Wales a fairer country?’. We anticipate certain parts of the welfare state being a key focus in this debate. At CHC, we want to translate the discussions around constitution, devolution and powers into the reality of delivery. As a sector, we have an in depth understanding of existing policies, processes and procedures surrounding key areas of welfare and crucially understand the direct impact they have on individuals and communities. Therefore, when we ask ‘What do we want our communities to look like?', we’ll also be asking, 'What’s stopping us from getting there?' and 'What needs to change?'.

So during the next eight weeks, we hope you will get involved and that you will encourage your colleagues, friends and family to share their views and join the debate to shape a fairer Wales.

Go on, what are you waiting for? ... Permission?!


Sioned Hughes
Director of Policy and Regeneration