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Government of Wales Bill

moved Amendment No. 111:"Page 172, leave out line 30 and insert ““affirmative resolution by both Houses of Parliament””" The noble Lord said: This schedule relates to transitional provisions as outlined in Clause 161 of Part 6. Again, we are indebted to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee for drawing our attention to the importance of the clause and its related schedule, a fact that I noted in our opening debate in Committee. Schedule 11 gives the National Assembly’s existing functions of making subordinate legislation to Welsh Ministers in the new Assembly. The Delegated Powers Committee concludes:"““we consider that the transitional provisions are more significant than in most other bills and that the affirmative procedure should apply to orders which modify Schedule 11””." It seemed to me when I tabled my amendments that the affirmative procedure was missing or qualified in much of paragraph 29 of the schedule. Our amendments sought to probe that. My understanding is that an Order in Council, under sub-paragraph (2), is allowed to amend Part 1 of Schedule 5 and so,"““enable the Assembly to . . . pass Assembly Measures in relation to that matter””." The order would be subject to Assembly approval. The SI containing the order would be,"““subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament””," under sub-paragraph (6), which is the negative rather than the affirmative procedure. Here, of course, we are dealing with the legislative competence of the new Assembly. The Delegated Powers Committee accepts the negative procedure before the UK Parliament, coupled with the affirmative procedure before the National Assembly in this case, on the grounds that it concerns functions already exercised by the National Assembly for Wales. But I revert to the principle that the affirmative procedure is needed where legislative competence is transferred. The Government have gone some way towards meeting this requirement with their amendment to sub-paragraph (7), which makes it clear that Orders in Council under sub-paragraphs (1) or (3) are subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure. It is only orders under sub-paragraph (2) that are not so subject and for which, in the opinion of the Delegated Powers Committee, the negative procedure is sufficient. I beg to move.