Decision details
Consideration of draft letter to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee in relation to the Wales Bill
Decision Maker: Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee - Fifth Senedd, Finance Committee - Fifth Senedd, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee - Fifth Senedd
Status: Recommendations approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Purpose:
The
Wales
Bill was published by the UK Government on 7 June 2016. Its principal
purpose was to amend the Government of
Wales Act 2006 to move to a reserved powers model of law-making for the
National Assembly for Wales. The Bill received Royal Assent as the Wales Act
2017 on 31 January 2017.
The
Constitutional and Legislative Affairs
Committee* agreed to undertake scrutiny of the Bill and to consider and
report on any matter relevant to the UK Government’s Wales Bill introduced into
the House of Commons on 7 June 2016 and in particular the extent to which:
(i)
the draft Wales Bill had been
amended following pre-legislative scrutiny to contain the following:
- the removal of the necessity
test or its replacement by a test based on appropriateness;
- a system for requiring Minister
of the Crown consents that reflects the model in the Scotland Act 1998;
- a significant reduction in the
number and extent of specific reservations and restrictions consistent
with a mature, effective and accountable legislature;
- a distinct jurisdiction in which
Welsh Acts extend only to Wales;
- a system in which Welsh Acts modify
criminal and private law as appropriate for reasonable enforcement;
- a clear commitment that a
bilingual consolidation
be carried out during the current Parliament.
(ii)
the proposed reserved powers
model of legislative competence is clear, coherent and workable, and will
provide a durable framework within which the Assembly can legislate.
The
Fourth Assembly’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee reported
(PDF, 546KB) on the UK
Government’s draft Wales Bill in December 2015.
Evidence from the Public
The Committee held a public
consultation to gather evidence and to
hear your
views.
On 11 July 2016 the Committee launched a live debate on Loomio. This
platform was an opportunity to gather the Committee and stakeholders together to
discuss, debate and share ideas on the Bill as it progressed through the UK
Parliament.
The Committee’s report
The
Committee reported
(PDF, 1MB) in October 2016. A supplementary
booklet (PDF, 11MB) containing all consultation responses was also made
available. You can also read a summary version of our
report.
The
Committee met with the House of Lords Constitution Committee on 12 October to
discuss the Bill.
Plenary debate
The
Plenary debate on the Committee’s report took place on Wednesday 19 October.
You can watch the debate again on Senedd.tv
and you can also access the Record
of Proceedings.
Legislative Consent
Memorandum
The
Welsh Government tabled a Legislative
Consent Memorandum on the Wales Bill [PDF, 240KB] and accompanying written
statement [PDF, 44KB] on Monday 21 November 2016. The Legislative Consent
Memorandum was referred to the Constitutional and
Legislative Affairs Committee by
the Business
Committee on 22 November 2016 with a reporting deadline of 12
January 2017.
The
Committee reported
[PDF, 128KB] on 13 December 2016.
The
Welsh Government subsequently tabled a Supplementary
Legislative Consent Memorandum [PDF, 116KB] and
accompanying written
statement [PDF, 163KB] on 10 January 2017 and a Revised
Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum [PDF, 32KB] on 13
January 2017 which was withdrawn and re-tabled
[PDF, 119KB] on 16 January 2017. These supplementary legislative consent
memoranda were not considered by the Committee.
The
Assembly considered a Legislative Consent Motion for the Bill during Plenary on
17 January 2017.
The
Bill received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017.
Decisions:
9.1
The Committee agreed the letter to the Chair of the Constitutional and
Legislative Affairs Committee.
Publication date: 15/07/2016
Date of decision: 14/07/2016
Decided at meeting: 14/07/2016 - Finance Committee - Fifth Senedd
Accompanying Documents:
- Restricted enclosure View reasons restricted