'But what does a Policy Officer actually do?'

Imagine doing a job where your Mum thinks you work for the government, your younger brother thinks you go the pub with the First Minister, and your Gran asks whether you're able to get her a new house on the cheap. It doesn't get any easier when it comes to meeting new people either. Nobody knows what a policy officer does. They know we have meetings, and we like coffee, and it's verging on something political so they're not really interested anyway.

It's hardly the greatest stigma of our age, but policy types get a bad rap. Our colleagues in comms are always waiting on us, our friends in political parties think we're a bit boring, and our parents don’t have a clue what we do!

I'd worked in the Assembly, and on campaigns, and I'd flirted with a career in comms, so all these assumptions about the mysterious policy folk weren't new to me. Starting out at CHC, I was anxious not to become one of those 'bods'. Ten weeks on a Go Wales placement couldn't hurt though, could it? And how much could there really be to know about housing?

I very quickly learned that many of my assumptions were wrong. I found myself at CHC with lots of great people who were passionate and impatient for change. And, whisper it, the people in policy weren't boring either! Oh, and there really was quite a lot to learn about housing...

Three years in policy at CHC was an education. It was the trip to the House of Lords in my first week to campaign against the welfare reforms; it was the constant reminders about why we do this job as I heard the money advice team ask some of the toughest questions anyone will ever ask another person. It was successfully protecting the Supporting People budget last year, and wondering why my 'normal' friends weren't as excited as I was in the pub that night. It was becoming an overnight expert in devolution as we prepared to make radical calls to the Silk Commission. And it was the occasional campaign defeat too. And trying to understand the Lobbying Bill. And the Conservative MP who still replies to complain every time I use 'bedroom tax' in an email. And it was digesting the ever changing Welsh Government budget sheet – ‘what have they called social housing grant this year?!”

Policy was far from the boring drag I’d been told about; partly because working with the people at CHC meant even the longest strategy document or the driest task and finish group would turn out OK, and partly because I was representing a sector that really was about ‘more than bricks and mortar’. Over the course of three years, you can see that policy really can make a difference to people’s lives if we’re given the opportunity to channel it – it’s the basis of great projects and successful campaigns. It’ll change your political views and your outlook on life. But as I head off to my new policy role at NIACE, I’m still not sure my Mum knows exactly what I do…

Aaron Hill 

Aaron is leaving CHC after three years to work for NIACE Cymru as Policy and Public Affairs Officer. Good luck in your new role, you'll be missed! 

Silk - as smooth as it sounds?

After more than two years of consultation and evidence gathering, the Silk Commission has now published two reports which focus on devolution in Wales. Part I, which focused primarily on tax powers, was released on 19 November 2012 and Part II, which focused on the powers of the Welsh Assembly, was released this week on 3 March 2014. Altogether, the Silk Commission has recommended significant constitutional changes that would provide the Assembly in Cardiff with more power - power that will be taken away from Westminster.

The Silk Commission was made up of voluntary members who researched how the Assembly works and how it could be improved. It was set up by the UK Government and its members comprised a representative from each of the four main parties in Wales as well as independents, so agreeing on its recommendations should be easy, right? Not quite. Part I, which was supposed to be the less controversial part, caused tensions between Westminster and Cardiff and brought about tensions within the parties themselves. The ‘lockstep’ on income tax powers (you can’t lower taxes for the poorest without doing so for the richest and vice-versa) was particularly problematic as the Welsh Conservatives found divisions within their own party and significant divisions with the UK party. Meanwhile, Labour appears to not support income tax powers at all and have been dubbed the ‘party of anti-devolution’.

Silk Part II has published 61 recommendations in all, including the devolution of policing, youth justice, energy projects and water. The report also says that the current ‘conferred powers model’ (being told what powers you do have) should be replaced with a ‘reserved powers model’ (being told what powers you don’t have, as in Scotland). Also, like every report before it, the report has called for more AMs to cope with the extra powers. This is a particularly sore topic for everyone involved, especially the electorate. What comes as a disappointment, though not as a surprise, is that the Commission has not called for the devolution of welfare which could have given the Welsh Government the chance to right the wrongs of the UK Government’s pernicious welfare changes (benefit cap, ‘bedroom tax’, Universal Credit) which disproportionately affect people in Wales.

Part II is set to be much more controversial as cross-party support in the Senedd is unlikely. Even more unlikely is any real cooperation between Cardiff and Westminster unless the 2015 General Election returns a UK Labour Government, giving them free reign to do what they wish in Wales. So why is Part II so controversial? It comes down to principles. Should the Assembly be more powerful? If so, how? Plaid Cymru have said that the recommendations do not go far enough, while the Welsh Conservatives have been hush-hush about it as of yet, no doubt because agreement between Conservatives seems difficult to achieve when it comes to Wales.

The Welsh Government hopes that the recommendations will be met in full and will be fully implemented by 2020/21, while the UK Government has all but confirmed that any major reforms will have to be carried out by the government elected in 2015. With tensions already high, talks on Part II are sure to split parties further while it is the people of Wales who suffer from a stunted devolution settlement, the victims of partisan politics and a long-lasting stranglehold of power.

Liam Townsend
Political and Administration Assistant