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Government of Wales Bill

I am extremely grateful to all those who have contributed to the debate. I was not sure that I had triggered such a variety of conundrums and discussions. It is important, because this is a novel device and use of an Order in Council to achieve a perfectly proper purpose: an enhancement of the legislative competence of the Assembly in specific areas. If I may respond to my noble friend and to the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, I do not think that the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, is right. I do not think that it would be possible to bring forward an Order in Council in a vacuum; that is, without the Assembly having already determined in general terms what it intends to do with the power that it seeks through the Order in Council. Let us go back to the two mock orders and take not only them but also the accompanying document. There would be a two or three page memorandum from the Welsh Assembly Government on the proposed legislative competence in the field of public administration. It would describe the purpose of the order and would set out what the Welsh Assembly Government were seeking; for example, to have the legislative competence to wind-up the various ombudsmen to have one ombudsman. That memorandum would be attached to any draft Order in Council. That is the process. An Order in Council will not just seek competence in areas of public administration; it will be tied to a specific proposal. These two mock orders make that clear.