6.2 The Silk Commission

In May 2010, the Coalition UK Government formed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats made a commitment to reviewing the Welsh devolution settlement following the referendum on more powers in its programme for government.

On 11 October 2011, then Secretary of State, Cheryl Gillan announced a new Commission on Devolution in Wales to consider the case for devolving fiscal powers and review the powers of the Assembly in general. The review was chaired by former Clerk of the National Assembly for Wales, Paul Silk.

The Commission reported in two parts:

Firstly, on funding, where it recommended the devolution of some minor taxes, some powers over income tax and enhanced borrowing powers.

Secondly, on powers of the Assembly, where it recommended increasing the size of the Assembly, devolving more areas of responsibility and moving to a ‘reserved powers model’.