So – a week after the Senedd were expected to vote on applying key clauses of the CWS Bill to Wales, only 3 weeks till the deferred date for this vote, 

And – no impact assessments of any kind are available on how these measures would impact the children of Wales. 

Nor on how it would impact local authorities and their use of resources, on how these measures would be costed and funded. 

Even the Children’s Commissioner for Wales has highlighted the lack of a full Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of the bill’s implications for Wales, with the Welsh Government having considered it acceptable to ask the Senedd to vote to agree to these clauses of the CWS Bill without any such assessment when setting the date for the vote for 3rd February. More info here.

If the Welsh Government are considering preparing one in haste for the adjourned date of a few weeks’ time, they will need to bear in mind that the English version has been said to be “not fit for purpose”.
So, producing a full, appropriate, accurate, fully costed and meaningful Children’s Rights Impact Assessment, that involves the input of the community, within the next three weeks would be a quite remarkable challenge.   

Even more so given the frequently changing nature of the Bill which is still progressing through Westminster. How can accurate and up to date impact assessments be available and provided to Senedd members with sufficient time for Senedd members to evaluate before voting on the 3^rd of March, when the Bill will still be in the “ping-pong” stage of its progression at Westminster? 

So very close to the vote at the Senedd, how can these impact assessments possibly be prepared and circulated: 

• Not only in a sufficiently accurately and reflectively way following engagement with concerned parties and the community.
• Not only with sufficient time for Senedd Members to evaluate these and ask further questions where required.
• But crucially, with sufficient time for concerned stakeholders, for members of the community, for the very people that the impact assessment is about, to be able to engage with their elected representatives about any omissions, oversights, errors, concerns?

Why is the lack of impact assessments important?

Well, if you’re going to vote on something, you need to fully understand the impacts of what you are voting on. 

Positive or negative impacts. 

Will it do more harm than good? 

Are there unintended consequences that you may not have considered? 

Costings – how much will the measures cost in terms of money, time and resources? are the measures an appropriate use of resources or could  these be better used in other ways?

All questions that are unanswered – which is partly why we as concerned families find ourselves here instead, trying to encourage Senedd members to consider these impacts and consequences, intentional and unintentional, trying to provide the information to inform such considerations. 

The lack of impact assessments is important as it contradicts what the Welsh Government have said and claimed. The lack of impact assessments is important because Welsh government have said that impact assessments are important. 

Even the present Cabinet Secretary for Education in Wales seems to appreciate the necessity and importance of impact assessments, telling the CYPEC (Children’s Young People and Education Committee) at the Senedd only 2 days after the vote on the LCM was meant to be held that CRIAs so important to hear voices and to “make sure their needs get to the top of the list”.

The lack of impact assessments is also significant in terms of due process at the Senedd, and in terms of accountability. 

Legislative Consent Motions (LCMs) – the type of motion that the Welsh Government are asking the Senedd to vote on to approve these CWS Bill clauses – are meant to “present the rationale and impact of the Bill”.

So, how can there be a vote on an LCM that has not presented the impacts? 

It has been acknowledged by key members of the Senedd, including the LJCC and Ms Neagle herself, that “secondary legislation (is)inadequate for proper scrutiny of legislation”. So, at least attempting to offer some gesture towards scrutiny at this stage of the process would seem even more important. Further details here.

The lack of impact assessments so close to the vote on the LCM is important as it is further evidence of the rushed nature of the attempts to push this legislation through. 

In that same committee meeting, Ms Neagle gave the reason for “piggybacking” onto this Westminster Bill rather than using devolved Senedd powers to be lack of time because of so much legislation that the Welsh Government are trying to push through before the imminent next Senedd election. 

The lack of impact assessments is a further revelation and demonstration of the lack of involvement of the community, of those with lived experience and those who would be impacted by the measures. 

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales also had to remind the Welsh Government that they are meant to be engaging with the community (even if she only mentioned doing this “after the fact”).
But, crucially, the community are meant to be involved in impact assessments from the start. 

So, the community should have been involved in evaluating the impacts LONG BEFORE voting on an LCM. 

According to the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, in Wales impact assessments are integrated into decision making processes to ensure that the wellbeing of future generations is considered, that this includes community engagement and involvement in the assessment process. 

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 mandates public bodies to consider and involve people of all ages and diversity in decision-making processes. It is claimed by the Welsh Government that “community involvement is a core aspect of impact assessments as it helps decision-makes understand potential risks, reduce negative impacts and maximise positive impacts”. According to the Welsh Government, “stakeholder engagement is essential to ensure that the assessment reflects the views and concerns of the community, leading to more informed decision making and better outcomes for the population”. 

Yet, when it comes to trying to apply these clauses of the CWS Bill to Wales, not only are there no impact assessments available for evaluation or discussion so close to the vote in the Senedd, there is also no hint of any engagement with the community in the development of these. 

Welsh Government’s previous attempts at impact assessments on issues relating to home education do not inspire hope for productive, representative and fully evaluated ones in this case too. 

For example, there were considerable issues with the impact assessments for the CME database proposals, impact assessments which were only produced AFTER the consultation phase was completed. 

An article evaluating the problems and omissions with the impact assessments for the CME database mechanisms will be available on this page and website very soon. 

So, just how does this lack of impact assessments appear to the public watching how the Senedd are handling this attempt to request that Westminster legislate for us on an important and devolved matter, on the wellbeing and the education of children in Wales?