Jane Davidson

Jane Davidson AM
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Pontypridd
In office 6 May 1999 – 6 May 2011
Preceded by	New Assembly
Succeeded by	Mick Antoniw
Personal details
Born	19 March 1957 (1957-03-19) Birmingham, England
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Birmingham, University of Wales

Jane Davidson, AM (born 19 March 1957) was the Labour Assembly Member for Pontypridd and the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. She lives in Gwaelod-y-Garth with her husband and three children. She was also the Welsh Vice-President of the Ramblers' Association, stepping down when appointed Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in 2007. She announced in 2008 that she would not be seeking re-election to the Assembly in 2011.

Early life and educational background

Davidson was born in Birmingham. She studied at Malvern Girls' College; the University of Birmingham (BA Hons English); and then took a PGCE at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Professional career

Formerly a teacher (1981–84), Davidson taught English, Drama and PE, firstly in Cardigan County Secondary School, then Pontypridd.

She has spent much of her life working with young people in the voluntary sector, both as Development Officer for the Youth Hostel Association in Wales (1984–87) and as a Youth and Community Worker (1987–90). Davidson was also a Researcher to Rhodri Morgan MP (1991–96); and Welsh Co-ordinator, National Local Government Forum Against Poverty (1994–96).

She was Minister for Environment and Sustainability in Wales from 2007 to 2011 where she was responsible for the Welsh Government agreeing to make sustainable development its central organising principle. Prior to that she was Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning where she introduced a new Foundation Phase for 3-7 year olds, the Welsh Baccalaureate and Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) into the Welsh curriculum.

In 2011, following her ministerial career and subsequent move to West Wales as planned, Davidson took up employment as Director of the Wales Institute for Sustainability at the local Trinity St David University shortly afterwards, which intends to introduce sustainability content into every student's experience from 2013. Questions were made over the appointment, such as why Davidson did not notify the committee that regulates the appointments of former ministers to ensure fair play

Political career

Local Government

Davidson spent 10 years as Labour city councillor in Cardiff (1987–96), was Welsh Co-ordinator for the National Local Government Forum followed by being Head of Social Affairs for the Welsh Local Government Association, before becoming Assembly Member for Pontypridd in 1999.

National Assembly

Was Deputy Presiding Officer before being appointed to the Cabinet of the Welsh Assembly Government on 16 October 2000 as Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning & Skills, where she was said to have replied to letters in "virtually incomprehensible jargon" . In the first Cabinet of the Third Assembly she was appointed Minister for Sustainability and Rural Development (31 May 2007) until a coalition cabinet was agreed with Plaid Cymru, and she became instead Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing (19 July 2007).

Contributions to Public Policy

Davidson has been given a number of accolades for her work. She was the third most influential environmentalist in the UK for the Independent on Sunday in 2009^{[citation needed]} and has been Resource magazine's no 1 and 2 in 2009 and 2010 for her work on waste which has seen Wales come from behind the rest of the UK to be the lead recycling country in Britain and the first UK country to charge for single use carrier bags^{[citation needed]} . She holds honorary fellowships from CIW (Chartered Institute of Waste) and CIWEM (Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management) and has recently joined WWF's UK Council of Global Ambassadors^{[citation needed]}. Davidson was a judge on this year's Green Awards and is a member of the Telegraph's summit team writing about the green economy in the run up to Rio+20. She has recently been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Glamorgan for her work^{[citation needed]}.

Her public policy agenda was significant, though not always popular, with her significantly influencing education, animal welfare and environmental policy agendas.

Education and Employment Policy

Davidson's education policy followed a different path to the decentralising and individualist policies taken in England by her Labour colleagues, where there are a number of faith schools open to the public.

School and Factory Closures

She closed St David Lewis Roman Catholic school because of claimed 'falling pupil numbers', saying it was 'no longer financially or educationally viable' . Other schools Davidson closed included Mynyddcerrig School in 2007 and Pentrebach Infants in 2001 , the latter of which was kept open by Conservative Welsh Secretary William Hague as part of his Government's policy of parental choice and individualistic education in 1995. In January 2011, Davidson's lack of initiative led to the writing off of the Remploy factory in Treforest with Davidson categorically saying, "Remploy has continued to demonstrate an unwillingness to co-operate."

School Standards

In July the Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns called Davidson's successors at the Welsh Government to shoulder the blame for the nation's slide in school standards. She said 10 years is "a long time to watch something go down the pan" and that Davidson had not done enough to "stop the rot". Davidson was, however, responsible for developing the flagship early years Foundation Phase programme during her seven-year stint as Wales' Education Minister, and was recognised by the University of Glamorgan for this work with an honorary doctorate in 2011 .

University Reforms

As Education Secretary Davidson increased funding to Trinity College, where she later became Director of the Wales Institute for Sustainability in 2011, by £6,000 per student. Tutor Shon Hughes said: "This is good news indeed. We have already experienced the effect of the financial incentive given to students in England in that the number of applicants have decreased this year.. Speaking after being appointed to Director of Inspire at Trinity 11 years after awarding this funding, Davidson said, "Sustainability needs to be at the heart of how we do business. I am privileged to have been invited to lead this new phase of the work at the university."

Animal Welfare Policies

While originally joining the Labour Party due to opposition to fox hunting, Davidson’s animal welfare policies appeared to reflect a more dehumanised approach to animal welfare. In 2007 she executed Shambo, a sacred cow from a monk’s temple, after lesions in the cow made her take the decision to end its life . In 2002 she was criticised by the RSPCA for not taking animal rights seriously enough.

Environmental and Transport Policies

Prominent in Davidson's election agenda since 1999 was her commitment to creating the Church Village Bypass. The project, which involved the felling of many trees and building over greenfield sites was not welcomed by all. According to the haymarket.com website, Taxpayers Alliance spokeswoman Fiona McEvoy attacked the project saying about Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council who implemented the scheme, "The council may have good intentions but this bill is unjustifiably large." The installation of walkways for Dormice was also attacked for its lack of effectiveness, including as a " convenient 'snack bar' for birds of prey." Nichola Thomas, 34, a Llantrisant resident living near the bypass said, "There are more pressing issues that the council could be spending money on. I find it absurd that they have spent such an obscene amount of cash on this." Davidson's approach to environmental policy was criticized by her successor John Griffiths, saying he would take a "a far more local focus" to the ministerial position.

References

National Assembly for Wales
Preceded by (new post)	Assembly Member for Pontypridd 1999–2011	Succeeded by Mick Antoniw
Preceded by (new post)	Deputy Presiding Officer 1999–2000	Succeeded by John Marek
Political offices
Preceded by (new post)	Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills 2000–2007	Succeeded by Carwyn Jones
Preceded by (new post)	Minister for Sustainability and Rural Development 2007 (31 May to 19 July)	Succeeded by (post reorganised)
Preceded by Carwyn Jones	Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing 2007–2011	Succeeded by John Griffiths