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Government of Wales Bill

I hope that I can help the hon. Gentleman. As he says, there is nothing unusual about this. It is designed to help resolve any doubts about whether a particular provision in an Assembly Measure is within the Assembly’s legislative competence. If a question arises as to whether a provision in a Measure relates to a matter in schedule 5, the question is to be decided by considering the purpose of the Assembly Measure. My brief suggests that at this point I use the terms ““the pith and substance”” and ““the true nature and character”” of the provision. Perhaps I can give the hon. Gentleman an example. We will soon be debating the Health Bill, which deals with, among many other things, a ban on smoking in public places. Within that Bill there are provisions to give the Assembly secondary legislation powers. Some may argue that that is a licensing issue rather than a health issue, but the purpose of the regulations that will ban smoking in public places is clearly health-related. I hope that that illustration helps the hon. Gentleman and that he will withdraw his amendment.