Looks great, but how much does it cost?

Welsh Devolution

Part 3. At what cost?
The cost of an Assembly

According to an independent report by Jane Bryan and Stephen Hill on behalf of the "Welsh Economic Review", the cost of setting up an Assembly would be "around £13 million", less than £5 a head of the Welsh population or 0.02% of Welsh Office spending in 1995-96.

The authors point out that it would be the equivalent of spending on a road by-pass or a medium-sized school. According to the authors "the cost of building the Conwy tunnel (on the A55 North Wales coast road) would pay for an Assembly for 15 years". The main findings of this report show the costs as follows:

EXPENDITURE		COST IN MILLIONS
Property costs		0.70
Upkeep		0.96
MEMBERS' EXPENSES
60 members at £35,000 per annum		2.10
Non-wage costs at 15% of wage costs		0.53
Office Expenses		2.50
Travel Expenses		0.50
Subsistence		0.50
ASSEMBLY ADMINISTRATION
100 staff at £25,000		2.50
Non-wage costs at 15% of wage costs		0.37
Overheads at 20% direct staff costs		0.50
Consumables/equipment		0.25
Translation/20 staff at £25,000 salary		0.50
Non-wages cost of 20 staff		0.20
ELECTION COSTS
Calculated on costs of 1992 General Election in Wales		0.85
GRAND TOTAL		12.11

"YES FOR WALES"
According to the "Yes for Wales" campaign, the cost of setting up an Assembly in Wales would be between £10 and £11.5 million. In the report "Democratic Values: The Cost of the Welsh Assembly", the costs made in separate studies by the Cardiff Business School and the Conservative Party were examined. The costs of the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 1970s were also assessed (the only example of a devolved Assembly within the UK). The conclusion was made that an Assembly would cost between £10 and £15 million.

"JUST SAY NO"
According to "Just Say No", the Assembly could cost in the region of £50 million pounds per annum - a figure first advanced by William Hague in his period at the Welsh Office. This assessment is based on a forward projection of the figures used in 1979 and the cost of the Stormont Parliament of the 1960s.

• Introduction
• 1. 1979 and all that
  A comparison of the 1979 and 1997 proposals and campaigns
• 2. Wales and Westminster
  The relationship of the Assembly to Westminster and possible future conflicts
• 3. At what cost?
  The cost of an Assembly
• 4. You decide
  The Referendum
• 5. Yeah or Nay
  The two campaigns
• 6. What if?
  Post-referendum scenarios