Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales

The Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales is an executive non-departmental public body of the Welsh Government which regulates wages for farm workers within Wales.

History

Initially, the Agricultural Wages Board was responsible for setting minimum wage for farm workers in both England and Wales. however, during the so-called "bonfire of the quangos" by the Cameron–Clegg government, the AWB was one of many governmental bodies abolished by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.
In August 2013, the Welsh Assembly responded by passing the Agricultural Sector Bill in an attempt to maintain a regulatory body within Wales for agricultural wages. Despite the bill passing in the Assembly, it was blocked by then UK Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, who claimed it was not a devolved matter. The dispute went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the Welsh Assembly. The bill entered into law as the Agricultural Sector (Wales) Act 2014, and resulted in the creation of the Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales

Board composition

The Agricultural Wages Board consisted of seven members and was appointed as such:

2 nominated by Unite the Union to represent agricultural workers
2 nominated by National Farmers' Union and Farmers' Union of Wales to represent employers
3 independent members appointed by the Welsh Government

Counterparts

Each of the devolved countries in the United Kingdom currently maintains a counterpart to the AAPW:

the Scottish Government maintains the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board
the Northern Ireland Executive's DAERA maintains the Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland