What’s in a name? part two
Fury was sparked on social media, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was refused, and an MP has been alerted about the cost of plans to change the name of the Welsh assembly, it has emerged.
An angry commentator said on Twitter the cash could have been put to better use, while several said it was a complete waste of money and the name should be left as it is.
The outrage comes as assembly members voted yesterday for increased devolved powers.
The FOIA request asked officials: “What is the budget for the projected name change for the National Assembly for Wales?”.
But in reply she was told: “As this is information (sic) is already published, your request is subject to section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which exempts information that is already reasonably accessible by other means.”
The MP for Monmouth, David Davies, has been asked to monitor the mounting concern about the cost.
In July assembly members agreed that the name of the National Assembly for Wales should be changed.
‘Welsh Parliament’ has already been proposed, but it has been suggested the Welsh word ‘Senedd’ should be considered.
The Plaid Cymru AM, Bethan Jenkins, has said that Senedd, which is used to refer to the assembly building, should be the name of the institution itself.
She told AMs: “Let us be self-confident enough to discard our mental baggage and take this opportunity to be unique by adopting an official Welsh name for our Senedd” .
She said some politicians wish to retain the name National Assembly, but added Senedd is already used widely on the ground.
UKIP took the opposite view however.
Gareth Bennett, UKIP AM for South Wales Central, called for the term Senedd to be “kicked into the long grass” and said it would distance the assembly “from the majority of the people of Wales”.
He added: “In the Wetherspoons pub in Canton (Cardiff) few people would know what I was talking about if I started talking about the Senedd, and I can tell you that from experience.”
Yet AMs unanimously approved, without a vote, a motion which said the Welsh assembly “should change its name to reflect its constitutional status as a national parliament”.
The assembly yesterday backed the UK Government’s Wales Bill in a vote in the chamber — meaning the next stage of devolution can become law.
First Minister Carwyn Jones recommended AMs vote for the bill, saying it could be improved but “takes Wales forward”.
The vote was 38–17 in favour of the bill.
The vote means the bill will now return to Parliament for the final stages of the legislative process.
A decision to rename the assembly, with the agreement of two thirds of the chamber, comes amid calls for the name change to reflect its growing powers.
But a survey on social media to gauge the views of voters has been greeted with scorn.
One said it will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, while another ironically suggested the “Waste of Money Assembly”.
A critic of the exercise said there were “bigger issues to consider”.
Another said it was all an ego trip.
The FOIA request also demanded the assembly say: “how much will be spent on specific expenditure such as design, advertising, the including the cost of write off of the current name in official use (destruction of all old paperwork, signs etc)”.
Advertising the derision of some voters at the planned name change is unlikely to happen.
