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

We are in the Moses Room and heavenly thunder fills this biblical room. The Minister gave a felicitous introduction and I, too, congratulate him on his reappointment. I am very glad to follow the informed comments of my noble friend Lord Livsey of Talgarth and to see in his place the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy, who I calculate has spoken on Welsh affairs for more than a generation. He and I entered the mother of Parliaments together. He always put the interests of Wales first and today he was on his best and well known biblical form when he alluded to the apples hidden by the leaves, followed by a crooning reference to Bing Crosby. That was 5,000 years beautifully encapsulated. I remember his serious contributions to the establishment of the Welsh Language Act and of Channel 4, which was quite an important development in the history of Wales. The relevance and topicality of this statutory instrument could not be greater because the Welsh general election was in the first week of May. Even now, the First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, is still negotiating with other political parties for an agreement that would safeguard the existence of his Cabinet and its measures and proposals. So the words ““legislative competence”” are the very issue for the Wales Assembly. The words ““law-making powers”” and ““referendum”” are at the heart of the political drama being played out at Cardiff Bay more or less at this very moment. Noble Lords have referred to the referendum. When it comes, as it surely will, it will be won, whether for good or bad—of that I am certain. I acknowledge the success of the Welsh Assembly, which is not yet 10 years old. The miracle was how powers were transferred from Westminster to Cardiff Bay and how legislative competence was planned for, and how the changes were administratively seamless, without any major dysfunctions. On establishment, the public services continued miraculously as before and were delivered, literally overnight, most efficiently by the new Assembly. It said a lot for the Whitehall mandarinate and even more for the old Welsh Office Civil Service, which served my noble friend Lord Rowlands and myself in the Wilson and Callaghan Administrations in the 1970s and late 1960s. The statutory instrument is an indirect compliment to the Welsh Assembly Government, their First Minister and their Cabinet—a compliment that they truly deserve. It is an important proposal, concerning the future governance of Wales. Can my noble friend the Minister state that it has been prepared carefully in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s Statement in another place today? Does the Prime Minister’s Statement in any way enhance or diminish the impact of this statutory instrument on the governance of Wales? Has my noble friend the Minister, in the process of reading himself in, had access to, seen, looked at or truly contemplated that before introducing this statutory instrument? I hope that he has—surely he has—for the relevance of the SI is then much greater. Very briefly, Article 4 proposes pension matters under the heading, "““Economic development—(a) after the eighth exception””." That enables me to ask, as the Liberal Democrats asked, what connection if any is there with the recent merging of the Welsh Development Agency into the machinery of the Welsh Assembly Government? Were the pensions of the excellent WDA employees safeguarded? Does the proposed amendment in any way safeguard or enhance the position of those excellent employees? The agency was a great success and delivered the goods on inward investment, expansion and rejuvenation across Wales, and for regeneration. It enabled Wales to cope with the loss of her manufacturing industries, specifically in the late 1970s and early 1980s. What assurances can the Minister give on that? Similarly, I want to refer to nuclear energy. At Article 4(c), after the 15th exception, a reference is proposed to nuclear energy and nuclear installations. This leads me to pose a question which has already been put from a different angle. What effect does this have on the future of the Trawsfynydd plant, which is now dormant and unused? Also, what is the future of the Anglesey plant at Wylfa? It currently has massive economic and employment implications for the whole island and the sub-region. Can the Minister throw any light on plans to build a new plant at Wylfa? My last point of detail concerns Article 11, referring to the heading ““Water and flood defence””. Can the Minister list the water undertakings that are, as it were, half in and half out, as was referred to in relation to Severn Trent? I think that the Committee would be pleased to have a response on those matters.