Ö÷²¥´óÐã

It's fair to say there's not been too much of an outcry over the lack of a departmental business plan from the Wales Office.

Most other Whitehall departments have plans setting out what they plan to do and when they hope to do it. You can read them on the Downing Street .

The Wales Office, along with other territorial departments, is conspicuous by its absence yet I have not heard even the murmur of "a snub to Wales" or "a slap in the face to Wales" from even the usual quarters.

The Wales Office does feature in the Cabinet Office plan - the WO is named as the lead department delivering the referendum on the Welsh assembly's powers next March.

But in the absence of a distinctive plan, and six months to the day since the change of government, let's have a look at the Wales Office record so far.

Secretary of State Cheryl Gillan has taken a fair amount of flak over various announcements affecting Wales - the scrapping of the defence training college at St Athan, cuts in the public sector, the severe downgrading of Newport's passport office, and cuts in S4C.

But how is she doing based on the Conservatives' own election and pre-election promises?

Manifesto pledge: "We will stop the practice of 'double-jobbing', whereby elected
representatives sit in both Westminster and Stormont and this change will also apply to
the Welsh Assembly."

The only Welsh MP "double-jobbing" is a Conservative, Alun Cairns, who remains - until next May - an AM. The Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson told the party conference last month: "We will end the practice of double jobbing 'by consent if possible, by law if necessary".

In opposition, Wales Office Minister David Jones to set up a committee of Welsh and English MPs to look at cross-border issues. Progress? "The Minister has spoken to a number of colleagues and bodies regarding cross-border issues. The Wales Office is exploring how we can put in place more formal arrangements."

Manifesto promise: "We support Crossrail and the electrification of the Great Western line to South Wales." Crossrail is going ahead; we're still waiting to hear whether electrification will.

Cheryl Gillan said she would answer questions from AMs in Cardiff Bay four times a year. Progress? "Cheryl has already addressed the Assembly once since taking office and we hope she will do so again (subject to discussions with the Assembly). We are also keen to ensure other ministers visit Wales regularly and have a productive relationship with the assembly and WAG."

"Productive" may not be the way WAG and the assembly see it but that is the Wales Office view.

In opposition, the Conservatives promised to hold more meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee in Wales. In government, just one meeting has been held - in Westminster. Wales Office response: "We are looking at holding further meetings, and examining the cost implications for doing so in Wales (given the state of the country's finances)."

Cheryl Gillan almost one year ago: "I want to ensure that in every department of state there is a minister responsible for Wales to look at each and every policy in a Welsh context so that Wales gets the most from any policy."

Six months on, we are still waiting to discover which Ministers will be looking after Welsh interests in the Foreign Office, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Office, Treasury and other departments of state, although I'm told that an announcement is due shortly.

Finally, let's not forget this promise from the Tories' manifesto for the last Welsh assembly elections in 2007: "Welsh Conservatives would seek to establish St. David's Day as a national holiday."

Bank holidays are decided at Westminster, not Cardiff Bay, but even though the Tories are in power don't hold your breath on that one.

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