I propose to write a longer piece shortly on the implications of the new UK government for the services, benefits and legal framework which affect people with a serious mental illness in Wales. Meanwhile we all need to note two big changes:-
First, the four main parties in Wales are all both in government and in opposition (curious but not an anomaly – that would be to misunderstand devolution). . .
The other big change is that, for the first time since devolution, we are about to face significant decreases in public expenditure in place of significant increases. I hasten to say that this is not a consequence of the change of government in London, except to some extent in timing, because all parties agreed that cuts were on the way.
These two big changes will require a new sharpness on the part of consumers of public services in Wales (that’s all of us, but especially people who rely heavily on services such as people with a serious mental illness). We will need to distinguish carefully whom to hold responsible for changes in front-line services – not an easy task in the context of a global budget for Wales determined by the UK Conservative-LibDem coalition and then management and distribution of that budget by the Welsh Labour-Plaid coalition. We will need to scrutinise carefully both the global settlement and the Welsh budget to check out who is responsible. Of one thing we can be sure - whatever the genuine intentions of both governments to have a businesslike relationship they will be blaming each other when things go wrong. More on this soon . . .
