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Government of Wales Bill

I think that that is right, but the Secretary of State has responsibilities. Therefore it is entirely appropriate for the Secretary of State to exercise a limited area of discrete powers, as the noble Lord indicated, before the decision of the Assembly is implemented. That is all that is being proposed in the Bill. The noble Lord, Lord Livsey, has tabled an amendment under which a formal resolution of the Assembly proposing a referendum would not be moved by the First Minister or one of the Welsh Ministers, but would simply be a decision for the Assembly. The restriction in the Bill is there for a good reason. A formal resolution of the Assembly proposing a referendum on primary powers would be a serious step. The Government believe that such a step should not be taken unless there is consensus across the political parties—including the party or parties in government in the Assembly—that the time is right for a referendum. A proposal made formally by Welsh Ministers will carry much more weight than one which is not. Any referendum would have to be proposed against an expectation of a considerable likelihood of success, in case the Assembly was damaged. Achieving that means that we should have in place proposals that guarantee the broadest level of support in the Assembly and in Parliament for such a development. That is why I can accept neither the Liberal Democrat amendment in its more limited form nor the amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, which others have suggested might be devolution wrecking—I shall content myself by saying that they would do substantial damage to the cause.