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Government of Wales Bill

What the noble Lord is referring to in his mention of Clause 94(3) is implicit also in the approach of the amendments tabled in his name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Roberts. In the Government’s view, the Opposition Benches are arguing for proposals that set things back to front. The draft measure attached to the draft Order in Council would be one that the Assembly had had the opportunity to scrutinise. It would be odd if the Assembly was to spend time scrutinising legislation that it did not have the legislative competence to make a decision on. We have got it the right way round; the noble Lord is arguing the case back to front. He is suggesting to the Welsh Assembly that it may be encouraged to propose measures in circumstances where it was not clear whether it had the legislative competence to do so. We are arguing the exact opposite. We recognise that the Order in Council must be precise, narrowly defined and clear, because that is how Orders in Council operate, and they are usually brief, succinct and to the point. We also recognise that Parliament will not assent to Orders in Council until it has the information necessary to understand the power that is being sought. Parliament has the right to make those demands. All those issues will be identified in the pre-legislative provisions, so the competence that the Assembly is seeking will be defined first in the documents put before Parliament. Demands for any further information and debate in the pre-legislative scrutiny stage will clearly identify the areas where the Order in Council will obtain.