WESTMINSTER REJECTS BID FOR ST DAVID’S DAY HOLIDAY
DECISION ‘SHOWS LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF DEVOLUTION AND OF WALES’
THE UK Government has rejected calls for a St David’s Day Bank Holiday after claiming too many people commute across the Welsh and English border to make the idea feasible.
October saw Gwynedd Council send a letter to ministers calling for an end to the “embarrassing” anomaly of the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments being able to designate their national days while no such powers are currently devolved to Cardiff Bay.
Celebrated on March 1, Dydd Gwyl Dewi is not an official national holiday despite strong historic support in Wales, sparking Cllr Elwyn Edwards’ motion which garnered unanimous support from Gwynedd’s councillors.
St Andrew’s Day has been a public holiday in Scotland since the passing of the St. Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, although remaining at the discretion of employers, with St Patrick’s
Day a public holiday on the island of Ireland.
But in a letter Paul Scully MP, the Minster for Small Business, has poured cold water on any additional holiday for Wales.
Writing in response to the council’s request, Mr Scully noted: “While we appreciate the people of Wales want to celebrate their patron saint, more people work across the English/Welsh border than across the English/Scottish border.
“This closer degree of integration could cause greater business disruption. If we had separate bank holidays in England and Wales, the impact on both employees and businesses is difficult to predict.”
Acknowledging that an extra bank holiday “may benefit some communities and sectors,” he added that an assessment of the additional day off for the 2012 Diamond Jubilee found it cost the economy around £1.2bn.
Noting that the UK Government “remains committed to working together with all the devolved administrations to ensure that the UK’s institutions are working collectively as one United Kingdom,” Mr Scully confirmed that the UK Government had “no current plans” to change the “wellestablished and accepted arrangements” for bank holidays in Wales.
But the response has been slammed by a council cabinet member, accusing the UK Government of “lacking understanding of devolution and of Wales.”
Plaid Cymru councillor Nia Jeffreys, who holds the portfolio for corporate support, said: “I am very disappointed by this, and I know people across Gwynedd will feel the same.
“St David’s Day is an important date in our calendar and our hearts in Wales.
“We should be able to celebrate it as a national holiday.
“The response shows a lack of understanding of devolution and of Wales, but sadly this is what we have come to expect from Boris Johnson’s UK Government.”