Looking out from his office across Cardiff’s developing skyline, Rhodri Morgan needs no help in convincing anyone that Wales has changed a great deal in the last decade.

Though far from immune from the economic turmoil gripping the world, the first minister is still positive about his country’s direction and believes – now more than ever – that having a devolved administration within the United Kingdom is the best formula for tackling local and international problems.

“I am a committed devolutionist because I believe it provides the best of both worlds,” he says. “When it comes to big international discussions like this month’s G20, it’s a good thing that Wales is a part of that decision-making process as a constituent part of the United Kingdom. Views held in Wales can be transmitted more effectively on a global level through the UK’s muscle, whilst we’re free to tackle our own, specific challenges locally.”

Devolution was always meant to allow local politicians to come up with appropriate solutions to local problems – and along with political thinking, says Morgan, the attitudes of the civil service have also been ‘localised’.

“There are three separate civil service bodies in the UK: the home civil service, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Northern Ireland civil service,” he explains. “And while the Scottish and Welsh civil services are part of the home service, devolution has fostered a culture of giving distinct and autonomous advice according to the needs of ministers in those areas. Development of policies to address the distinct needs of Wales has been coming along apace over the last 10 years, and it is something we can celebrate.

“Some of those in the older generation, used to working on the back of Whitehall for most of their civil service careers, have been challenged by the changes,” notes Morgan, “but they have also been set free: the service is unrecognisable from just 10 years ago.”

A sharp learning curve

A decade after being given the chance to tackle those local challenges through devolution, the first minister says, the service has adapted well in Wales – despite in some ways having even greater changes to make than in Scotland. While the old Scottish Office was used to framing policy and drafting legislation to suit Scotland’s unique legal system, the old Welsh Office was not – and had to learn quickly. For historical reasons, Scotland had also retained a greater degree of autonomy in areas like education, while the old Wales Office would merely advise Whitehall on local issues that could be affected by legislation for England and Wales.

The pre-devolution Welsh Office, Morgan continues, was not a dynamic organisation: “From my days there nearly 40 years ago to the point of devolution, it hadn’t actually changed that much. Until the setting-up of the Assembly, the Welsh Office was much more of a lobbying department throughout Whitehall and Westminster, as well as a source of information for distinct policies. It didn’t write its own white papers; it would simply add Welsh sections to other the departments’ papers.

“Therefore it was a bit of a culture shock when devolution came, but people have adapted to that massive change and the civil service has come on leaps and bounds in becoming an autonomous source of advice on policies – which is obviously what ministers in Cardiff need now.”

Since devolution in 1999, the biggest subsequent change has been the Government of Wales Act 2006, which essentially gave the Assembly powers to legislate where previously it had lobbied and advised. The Assembly’s new powers to pass ‘measures’ – essentially, bills passed as primary legislation – created a new set of challenges for civil servants.

“Since phase two of devolution we have had to get to grips with drafting legislation,” explains Morgan. “We’ve had to persuade civil servants that framing legislation is part of the day job. In other words, in order to implement a policy that the cabinet has agreed on, officials have had to learn that instead of saying ‘you can’t do this because you haven’t got the powers’, they have to explain to ministers how a bill could pass the relevant legislative competence orders from Westminster in order to frame a measure.”

“So the civil service has to think in different ways now; they have to think outside the box and beyond the day job. And people have adapted to that new way of thinking,” insists Morgan.


A two-way street

So, what of dealings between the Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government? “It’s a good relationship; occasionally it is frictional because that is built into the system,” Morgan replies. “The Wales Office is there to oil the wheels between us and Whitehall, but we also have direct relationships with Whitehall as well. Working out when you should go direct to the departments in Whitehall and when you should go via the Wales Office is always going to cause difficulties.”

Devolution was also meant to create two-way policy traffic, with the devolved administrations formulating innovative approaches that – if successful – could be adopted by Whitehall, and vice versa. Morgan points to a couple of examples. “I think London has learnt some lessons from Cardiff. I think the children’s commissioner was the first example of England copying Wales,” he says. “The big question is whether they will copy us on the foundation phase, following the ‘Nordic model’ for the education of the three-to-seven age group and the Welsh baccalaureate.”

As well as forging a distinct new branch of the home service, Wales has also become home to a number of other government offices. “Since Barbara Castle located the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea 40 years ago, we have got the Patent Office and, more recently, the Office of National Statistics,” says Morgan proudly. “Although we’ve missed out on a few, like the Met Office, the ones that have come to Wales have helped enormously in diversifying the Welsh economy.”

With his own decade as first minister approaching – and, with it, the prospect of retirement – Morgan believes that Wales has a bright future, thanks in part to a civil service that has adapted fast to the challenges of devolution.