How Does Government in Wales Work - Funnel Diagram
Facilitator’s Notes

The purpose of this activity is to help participants better understand the functions and
relationship between the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) and the Welsh
Government.

These notes will give you information about the various labels to add to the funnel
diagram.

Start with a blank funnel diagram and add labels one by one as you discuss them with
participants. Ask participants what they have found out during their research exercise
about each element. Be clear about what the correct and accurate information is, and
add additional information as appropriate to the group.

Add them in the appropriate place according to the ‘completed funnel’ diagram and
discuss any details not covered by participants’ own knowledge.

It is up to you to use as much or as little of it as you like depending on your group’s
needs. The numbered bullet points below each heading are the minimum information
each group should receive. Additional information can be shared with the group as
deemed appropriate by the facilitator.
The Voting Public
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Most people who are over 18 and living in Wales are entitled to vote.
You must be registered to vote – this is done on something called the
‘electoral register’.
People can vote by post or at their local ‘polling station’.
People receive ‘polling cards’ in the post and must present these at the
polling station. Here they will be given a ‘ballot paper’ on which they cast
their vote.
At National Assembly for Wales elections, people vote for Assembly
Members (AMs), and generally these people stay in this post for 4 years.
Once the votes have been counted, the leader of the party with the most
votes is invited by the Queen to form the Welsh Government
Additional Information
Where can you vote?
Electronic voting is being tested and people can apply to
vote by post (postal voting) but the vast majority of voters must go to their local polling
station to vote. Polling stations are often set up in a local school or church hall. The
day when everyone votes is called ‘polling day’.
How do you vote?
You must bring the polling card sent to you in the post to
the polling station on Election Day. Staff at the polling station will give each voter
their ballot papers: one for their constituency vote and another for their regional vote.
You must then go into the polling booth and: On the constituency ballot paper put an
X next to the constituency candidate you want to vote for. On the regional ballot
paper put an X next to the regional political party you want to vote for.
How do you know who has won?
As two votes have been cast – one for a
Regional AM and one for a Constituency AM – calculating the winners is a two stage
process.
Constituency AMs - are elected by the first-past-the-post (fptp) method. Put simply,
this means that the candidate with the most votes wins.
Regional AMs - are elected through the “additional member method”. To work out
how many regional seats each party wins you divide the number of votes each party
gets in the regional ballot by the number of constituency seats the party has won,
then add one. You add one so that parties which have not won any constituencies
can be included in the calculation for the regional seats.
To calculate which parties win the remaining seats you have to redo this calculation,
but each time add in any additional seats won. There are four seats per region in
Wales so the calculation must be performed four times
The regional seats each political party wins are filled by the candidates in the order
they appear on the regional ballot paper. This order is decided by the party.
What happens once the election is finished?
The leader of the party with
the most seats is invited by the Monarch (King or Queen of the day) to form the
Welsh Government. It is the Welsh Government that, with the approval of the
National Assembly for Wales as a whole, has the power to implement policies
Register to vote in real elections now!
Young people who are 16 and over are able to register to vote now to ensure they
are registered to vote in elections as soon as they turn 18. They should go to
www.aboutmyvote.co.uk for more info.
The National Assembly for Wales (NAfW)?
1.
The National Assembly for Wales is an elected body whose purpose is to represent
and make decisions on behalf of the people in Wales
2.
The National Assembly is made up of 60 AMs who can come from political parties
or can be ‘independent’.
3.
There are 4 political parties currently represented in the Assembly. The parties are:
Labour, Plaid Cymru, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
Assembly Members
1.
Of the 60 Assembly Members – 40 represent constituencies, and 20 represent regions
2.
A constituency is a small, specific area of Wales e.g. Cardiff West, Wrexham. And a
region is a bigger area of Wales made up by a number of constituencies eg. North
Wales
**It would be worth finding out what constituency you are delivering this
workshop in and giving that example**
3.
The AM’s meet in the ‘siambr’ (meaning chamber of the ‘Senedd’ building in Cardiff.
Plenary and Committees
1. The AM’s meet regularly to discuss issues and hold votes. This is called a ‘plenary’.
2. A committee is made up of a number of AM’s from across the parties, to look at
specific issues and policy areas e.g. education.
Y Llwydd/ Presiding Officer
1. There is a ‘presiding officer’ who acts as a kind of ‘chairperson’ for discussions
between AM’s in the Siambr.
Additional Information
What is a constituency and what is a region?
There are 40 constituencies in Wales, these are: Aberavon; Aberconwy; Alyn and
Deeside; Arfon; Blaenau Gwent; Brecon and Radnorshire; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff
Central; Cardiff North; Cardiff South and Penarth; Cardiff West; Carmarthen East and
Dinefwr; Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire; Ceredigion; Clwyd South; Clwyd
West; Cynon Valley; Delyn; Dwyfor Meirionydd; Gower; Islwyn; Llanelli; Merthyr Tydfil;
Monmouth; Montgomeryshire; Neath; Newport East; Newport West; Ogmore; Pontypridd;
Preseli Pembrokeshire; Rhondda; Swansea East; Swansea West; Torfaen; Vale of Clwyd;
Vale of Glamorgan; Wrexham; Ynys Mon.
A regional Assembly Member represents a bigger area, made up of a number of
constituencies. The regions are: North Wales, Mid and West Wales, South Wales West,
South Wales East, South Wales central.
Parties currently in the NAfW:
The Labour Party has 30 AMs; Plaid Cymru has 11 AMs; Conservative Party has 14 AMs;
Liberal Democrats has 3 AMs.
The Siambr It houses the full meeting of all 60 (58) Assembly Members under a spectacular
funnel which hangs from the roof. Siambr is the word for Chamber in Welsh. Each Assembly
Member has a designated seat in the Siambr with a touch-screen computer they can access
during debates. They sit in a horse shoe shape facing the Presiding Officer. The touchscreen computers provide Assembly Members with access to electronic mail and information.
Assembly Members can send a message to the Presiding Officer (who acts as a kind of chair
person) to request permission to speak. The Assembly is fully bilingual and Assembly
Members speak in their preferred language, English or Welsh. Simultaneous translation,
Welsh to English, is provided for all Plenary and Committee meetings.
Y Llywydd or Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler AM has the responsibility for maintaining
order and protecting the rights of all Assembly Members when chairing plenary sessions. She
is responsible for making sure that Assembly business is handled on the basis of Equality and
Impartiality. Her Deputy, David Melding AM, chairs Plenary in her absence.
Plenary
This is a regular meeting, where all of the 60 (58) Assembly Members get
together to discuss and vote on issues. It takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons
in the Siambr. It is broadcast live on S4C2.
Committees An Assembly Committee is a group of Assembly Members which meets
regularly to scrutinise policy and legislation. Most meet in public and are generally ‘partybalanced’ (i.e. have an equal number of members from each party).
Some areas that have committees are:
 Children & Young People
 Enterprise and Learning
 Equality and Opportunity
 Community & Culture
 Health, Well-being & Local Government
The work of these is on-going, but sometimes committees can be formed to look at a
particular issue and once policy is in place they then dissolve, for example a committee
relating to Vulnerable Children.
The Welsh Government
1.
It is made up of up to 14 AMs from the party which wins the election.
2.
The party currently making up the Welsh Government is Labour.
3.
The Welsh Government consists of:
a. The First Minister
b. The Ministers
c. The Counsel General (Chief Legal Advisor)
d. The Deputy Welsh Ministers
The First Minister
1. The leader of the party winning the National Assembly for Wales elections becomes
Wales’s First Minister, and is invited to form the Welsh Government
2. Wales’s First Minister is currently Carwyn Jones.
The Cabinet of Ministers
1. Of the 60 (58) elected AM’s – 8 are chosen to have specific responsibilities within a
certain policy area (e.g. health or education).
2. These AM’s are known as ‘ministers’, and form the cabinet of the Welsh Government.
Additional Information
Cabinet
First Minister + Deputy First Minister
This is the person who has been elected as the leader of the Government in Wales.
His name is Carwyn Jones and he is a Labour AM. Responsibilities include policy
development, maintaining relationships with the rest of the UK, Europe and Wales
Abroad, staffing and Civil Service in Wales
The Ministers and their portfolios are:
Leighton Andrews AM – Minister for Education and Skills
John Griffiths AM – Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development
Lesley Griffiths AM – Minister for Health and Social Services
Edwina Hart AM – Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science
Jane Hutt AM – Minister for Finance and Leader of the House
Huw Lewis AM – Minister for Housing , Regeneration and Heritage
Carl Sargeant AM – Minister for Local Government and Communities
Random Facts
You can run this as a short quiz at the end of this session
1. In the 2007 elections for the National Assembly for Wales, what percentage of
people in Wales who were eligible, voted? (44%)
2. How much money did the Welsh Government have to spend in 2008/09? (£637
million)
3. How many visits to Wales are made by overseas tourists each year?(1 million)
4. Which countries do most tourists visiting Wales come from?
(Ireland, USA + Germany)
5. How much did it cost to build the Senedd in Cardiff Bay? (£67million)
6. How many people can fit into the Senedd’s public gallery to view Plenaries?
(120 people)