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Government of Wales Bill

moved Amendment No. 46:"Page 36, line 39, after ““Ministers”” insert ““, or the Senedd by resolution with a simple majority of those voting,””" The noble Lord said: I shall be fairly brief. Amendment No. 46 relates to Clause 63 on a consultation about cross-border bodies. It would, if accepted, go at the foot of the page and would add to Clause 64 the words,"““, or the Senedd by resolution with a simple majority of those voting,””." The Assembly could then give an opinion on a consultation, which seems eminently sensible to us because it could then sound out the public’s views on some of these issues. It depends on what part of Wales you are in, but some of the cross-border bodies are pretty important in this respect. The ones about which I am very well briefed are the flood defence committees, which tend to cross the border, following the river systems. The one on the Wye, for example, is a conglomerate of representatives in both Wales and England and ensures that the management of the Wye is good and that there is no excessive flooding. It is a highly co-operative operation run on a river-basin basis. All we really want is to enable the Assembly to express its opinion through a simple majority of those voting. I beg to move.