SIR,

Three weeks ago I argued that the Welsh Assembly has failed Monmouth. Last week, a gentleman or lady (their name was not made public) pointed out that they were offended by my assertion.

Firstly, he or she argued that "the Welsh Assembly has at last given us a certain degree of freedom from the Westminster parliament".

In reality, it is the Welsh Government which has legal and policy-making powers which decides on the laws which are passed, and how the budget is spent.

The Welsh Assembly cannot be considered this way anymore, and is made up of 60 Assembly members.

Since 30 of those AMs are neither in the ruling party nor in ministerial roles, it is fair to say that their job is to scrutinise the Welsh Government's policies and laws.

This can be achieved in various committees such as the Health and Petitions committee.

For more than two years I have released statistics by means of the Freedom of Information Act, conducted many interviews with trade unions, health practitioners, politicians and the general public.

I have also responded to dozens of individual cases in Monmouth. Most people I speak to agree that the official channels have operated with neither speed nor effectiveness.

Secondly, the writer said that it was quite wrong "to blame the Assembly as a whole for the faults of individuals".

I think it is obvious that I am talking about ambulatory care, and not about every service in Wales.

I have always argued that the people working within the service are hard-working, virtuous people. If you trace my letters back you will see that I always said they needed the tools to do their job – and a change in management structure.

Finally, three town councils in Monmouthshire supported the campaign calling for a scrutiny inquiry because they recognise the importance of accountability, and they agreed with me that management within the service was inadequate. Indeed, a ministerial review reinforced that view.

The Assembly has failed Monmouth.

Mat Davies

(Monmouth)