The Financial Guidance and Claims Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 22 June 2017.  It was a UK Government Bill sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. Its stated policy objectives were to:

• create a single body – the Single Financial Guidance Body – responsible for all public financial guidance, to enable members of the public to access good-quality, free-to-client, impartial financial guidance and debt advice;
• make changes to the regulation of Claims Management Companies (CMCs), transferring regulatory responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority in order to protect consumers from widespread malpractice across the sector, such as nuisance calls and encouragement of fraudulent claims.

The Bill was subject to the legislative consent process under Standing Order 29. This process is followed in cases where the consent of the National Assembly for Wales is sought by the UK Government to legislate on an issue which could normally fall within the competence of the Assembly.

The Welsh Government laid a Legislative Consent Memorandum in relation to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill (PDF, 92KB) on 5 July 2017. 

The Legislative Consent Memorandum was referred by the Business Committee on 18 July 2017 (PDF, 51KB) to the Children, Young People and Education Committee and the Equalities, Local Government and Communities Committee , with a reporting deadline of 5 October 2017.

The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee published its report on the LCM on 8 February 2018.

The Children, Young People and Education Committee published its report on the LCM on 8 February 2018.

The Senedd voted to give consent to the Bill on 13 February 2018.