Written question asked by Alun Michael (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 November 2009. It was answered by Lord Hain (Labour) on Thursday, 12 November 2009 on behalf of the Wales Office.

Devolution

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment he has made of the processes for the transfer of powers to the National Assembly for Wales via (a) the Government of Wales Act 2006, (b) legislative competence orders and (c) secondary legislation; and what powers have been transferred by each such means since 2006.

Answer: The devolution settlement put in place by the Government of Wales Act 2006 is working well. I ensure that the processes for transferring powers to the National Assembly for Wales are subject to continuous review and improvement.Under the settlement, powers are transferred to the National Assembly via framework powers in Acts of Parliament and through Orders in Council (Legislative Competence Orders). Powers have been transferred in a total of 45 different areas to date, in seven Acts of Parliament and four Legislative Competence Orders. These are set out in the following list.Powers transferred to the National Assembly for WalesFramework Powers"Government of Wales Act 2006: Matters 13.1-13.6""NHS Redress Act 2006: Matter 9.1""Education and Inspections Act 2006: Matters 5.1-5.10""Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007: Matters 12.1-12.5""Further Education and Training Act 2007: Matters 5.11-5.16""Planning Act 2008: Matters 18.1-18.3""Local Transport Act 2008: Matters 10.1"Legislative Competence Orders"Additional Learning Needs: Matter 5.17""Vulnerable Children: Matters 5.18; 15.2-15.8; and 16.1""Domiciliary Care: Matter 15.1""Red Meat Industry: Matter 1.1."

Secondary information