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National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 2006

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 24 April be approved [25th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: My Lords, the draft National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 2006 must be made by Order in Council following approval of the draft order by both Houses of Parliament. Section 22 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 enables a function of a Minister of the Crown to be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales upon receipt of this approval. That is why this short and, I hope, uncontentious order is before the House today. The Wales Office has worked closely with all relevant departments: the Department for Communities and Local Government—formerly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister—the Department for Education and Skills and of course the National Assembly for Wales. Policy on these issues has been agreed by all parties in the Assembly. Turning to the draft order, two transfers will be effected or facilitated by the House approving this order. First, the most significant transfer to be effected by this order is the transfer to the Assembly of those fire safety functions, which at present remain with the UK Government. The case for this transfer has its genesis in the making of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which is a reform of all the current fire safety law that is contained in more than 100 separate pieces of fire safety legislation. The main substance of the RRO comes into force on 1 October 2006. The main emphasis of the reform will be towards fire prevention and a regime of fire risk assessment by the person responsible for their non-domestic premises, to identify, mitigate or remove any risk from fire to persons in or around the premises. The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 came into force in Wales in November 2004. Matters relating to fire and rescue authorities in Wales were conferred on the National Assembly for Wales by that Act. This transfer of functions order is consistent with that policy of devolution and will enable the National Assembly for Wales to act across the range of the regulatory reform order provisions; and thus give the National Assembly for Wales a comparable level of responsibility as will exist in England from 1 October 2006. The other function included in this omnibus order is the transfer of powers under Section 1 of the Education (Fees and Awards) Act 1983. This section currently enables the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to make regulations that allow certain institutions to charge higher fees to those students who cannot demonstrate a connection with the UK than to those who can. This change will enable the Assembly to make regulations regarding the charging of fees at universities and further education establishments in relation to Wales. The functions under Section 2 of the 1983 Act were previously devolved to the Assembly in 1999 and make similar provision for post-compulsory education awards by local education authorities. This split in responsibilities has made it increasingly complex to draft regulations under the 1983 Act, with some elements being made by the Assembly and others by the Secretary of State. Given the devolution of student support policy to the Assembly from the 2006–07 academic year, it is no longer appropriate for these powers to remain with the Secretary of State. The transfer will facilitate the creation of future policy and improve accountability for both the Assembly and the DfES. I commend the order to the House and I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 24 April be approved [25th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Evans of Temple Guiting.)