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Government of Wales Bill

The noble Lord asks me a specific point that I shall have trouble answering directly. He will recognise that here we are seeking to protect against the accordance of normal privileges when an Assembly measure has been duly passed but where there may have been administrative irregularities. I refer to the small details which no one would suggest would have affected anyone’s perspective on the Bill but which might render it invalid because of such irregularities. We seek that protection. That is the purpose of this part of the clause. I hear what the noble Lord says. I understand that the relevant paragraph in the Explanatory Notes contains the word ““thought””. The noble Lord wants to know why that is not expressed in definitive terms. I believe that in that paragraph we are being extremely careful and guarded about the position. However, the way in which the legislation deals with those points is clear. I shall write to the noble Lord because this answer is probably not entirely to his satisfaction and I do not have the resources to deal with the point at the moment.