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National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Amendment of Schedule 7 to the Government of Wales Act 2006) Order 2007

I am grateful to the Minister for his exposition of the statutory instrument and for setting it in the context of the Government of Wales Act 2006. The contents of the SI, a refinement of the terms of Part 1 of Schedule 7, were promised, as the Minister said, by the Secretary of State on 18 July last year, during the passage of the Act. Schedule 7 only becomes operative in the event that a referendum is held in accordance with Part 4 of the Act and the National Assembly is empowered to make laws, as Section 107 has it, "““to be known as Acts of the National Assembly for Wales or Deddfau Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru (referred to in this Act as ‘Acts of the Assembly’)””." The SI amplifies the areas where the Assembly may not legislate. It points out the forbidden apples in this Garden of Eden, even those hidden by the leaves. The first question that occurs to the casual observer of this charming corner of the political scene is why the hurry to get parliamentary approval? Are we not very far—years away—from a referendum? I remind the Committee that that can only result from an order laid by the Secretary of State after such consultation as he considers appropriate and approved by two-thirds of the membership of the Assembly and by both Houses of this Parliament. I supposed until last week that the possibility of a rainbow coalition of Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats governing in place of the minority Labour Government who now control the Assembly had suddenly brought nearer the possibility of a referendum and concentrated the minds of the United Kingdom Government on the need to safeguard what are commonly called reserved areas against infringement by poacher legislators. Well, how wrong I was. It was not the possibility of a rainbow coalition that had brought the referendum nearer, but the agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru that Plaid Cymru would support a minority Labour government on condition that Labour would give a joint commitment, "““to use the Government of Wales Act 2006 provisions to the full under Part III and to proceed to a successful outcome of a referendum for full lawmaking powers under Part IV as soon as practicable, at or before the end of the Assembly term””," as the press account of the coalition document reports. So there we have it: the price exacted by Plaid Cymru for its support is clearly a referendum on full legislative powers. I cannot but wonder what the Secretary of State, Mr Peter Hain, thinks of that agreement. After all, he has spoken about his doubts about, and almost antipathy to, such a referendum. Of course, he has a powerful say in whether the referendum goes ahead. However, the story continues. Both political parties, the Welsh Labour Party and Plaid Cymru, have to approve the coalition document over the coming weekend. We shall therefore watch that space carefully. All the articles in the SI deal with what are described as ““exceptions”” to the areas where the Assembly may legislate. Articles 7 and 8 do not, but they, too, trim and curtail the permitted legislative area: Article 7 defines housing finance more narrowly and Article 8, under the heading ““Public administration”” defines inquiries more narrowly. I have no criticism of the tighter definitions inserted by the SI; indeed, I welcome them. The SI makes it clear time and again that the Assembly’s legislative power is confined to the areas where it has functional duties and responsibilities and that it is excluded from areas that are the prime responsibility of other departments of state. Nevertheless, the public would be surprised at some of the subjects that are excluded from the Assembly’s legislative remit, particularly nuclear energy and nuclear installations, of which Wales has substantial experience through the nuclear power stations at Trawsfynydd and Wylfa. The latter is a candidate for an extended life and possible renewal. Local people and their representatives will wish to have their say, and there will be a great deal of discontent if the matter is completely out of their hands. This is a fresh addition to the exceptions listed under ““Economic development”” and will undoubtedly be controversial in Wales. Arguably, some aspects of nuclear developments are covered by subject 6, the environment, in Part 1 of the schedule, which covers environmental protection, pollution, nuisances and hazardous substances. The Assembly has legislative competence in those areas. There are obviously nuclear aspects to those matters. What happens in the event of a conflict of views on whether it is permissible for the Assembly to legislate? I presume that it becomes a matter for the Counsel General or the Supreme Court. It is also surprising to note that the registration of local bus services and traffic regulation conditions related to those services are beyond the legislative reach of the Assembly, as is transport security generally, as opposed to rail transport. The Assembly Government surely decides matters relating to bus service subsidies and, with its responsibility for the building and maintenance of roads in Wales, must have concern for security on those matters. I would be grateful if the Minister could enlighten us further on these points. I am not surprised by the exclusion of occupational and personal pensions, social security payments and various benefits from the scope of Assembly legislation. These matters require parity of treatment and a uniform UK approach. The rewriting of the section on water and flood defence is a welcome improvement and clarification. There are no fewer than seven references to fish—fish products, fish feedstuffs or fish health—in this SI. All are intended to ensure verbal consistency with various other references in legislation which clearly distinguish between fish and other animals. It is a pity that the original draftsman was not familiar with the late Bing Crosby’s rendering of ““Swinging on a Star””, which clearly defines a fish: "““A fish won’t do anything but swim in a brook, He can’t write his name or read a book””." However, I have no objection to the amendments, or to the SI as a whole. It is interesting that this is the only occasion when the schedule can be amended by order by this Parliament on its own. If the schedule is to be changed again by order, it must be done, as the Minister explained, by resolution of the National Assembly, as laid down in Section 109. We are grateful to the Minister for his comments on this unique aspect of the SI, and trust that the Government have included all the necessary amendments to the schedule. This may well be my last speech as a Conservative Front-Bencher since I have asked to be retired from that position and my request has been granted. However, I have also agreed to carry on until my successor is appointed, and I do not know when that will be. I have enjoyed my decade on the Front Bench, and I thank colleagues of all parties for their kindness, which has helped to make these 10 years so eximious a part of my life. I particularly thank the Minister on this occasion. We have always had a very amiable, amicable working relationship. As far as I am concerned, he certainly well deserved to survive into the new Government.