Lorraine Barrett - Welsh Assembly Commissioner

Welsh Assembly Commissioner

Barrett was elected to the Welsh National Assembly as the member for Penarth and Cardiff South in May 1999 and has subsequently been re-elected twice. Her period as an Assembly member ended in 2011.

Barrett, in her new capacity as Assembly Commissioner for a Sustainable Environment, was involved in a 2007 row over genetically modified foods in the Welsh Assembly Canteen. The Assembly had earlier signed a document committing to "maximum restrictions on GM crops" when it later became apparent that the Assembly canteen was serving items containing GM ingredients. Barrett explained the situation saying "We have discussed this with our in-house caterers, Charlton House. They do not deliberately source GM foods and in fact make every effort to avoid using GM products."

Barrett was critical of the planned Cardiff Bay expansion of "something like 1,250 apartments a year". Barrett suggested this might cause future problems with community cohesion and lack of affordable housing.

Barrett pressed for the Cardiff Bay Barrage to be opened up for pedestrian and cycle traffic. The pedestrian and cyclist short cut to Cardiff across the barrage finally opened to the public on Friday 27 June 2008. Barratt was one of the first to cross, walking to work at the Assembly and she described the experience as "invigorating".