Priority area of work within BIC : Social Inclusion (jointly with Scotland)

Capital City : Cardiff

Government: Wales is part of the UK and the UK Parliament continues to legislate for Wales. Following the September 1997 Referendum in favour of devolution to Wales, the Government of Wales Act was passed in July 1998 setting out the powers and functions of the National Assembly for Wales.

The first Assembly elections were held in May 1999.The Assembly consists of 60 Assembly Members (AMs). AMs are elected under a proportional electoral system: 40 each represent a particular constituency and 20 represent the 5 electoral regions (4 AMs per region). Elections are held every four years.


The Assembly has responsibility for
• Agriculture
• ancient monuments and historic buildings
• culture
• economic development
• education and training
• the environment
• health and health services
• highways
• housing
• industry
• local government
• social services
• sport and leisure
• tourism
• town and country planning
• transport and roads
• the Welsh language
UK Ministers continue to be responsible for matters not devolved to the Assembly, such as foreign policy, taxation and social security


Contact details : If you would like to know more about Wales, please go to www.wales.gov.uk