Constitutional Developments

This page contains information on the latest constitutional developments in Wales.

Following the publication of the Silk Commission report on legislative powers for Wales, the UK Government began a process of reviewing the Welsh devolution settlement in 2015. This included the publication of the Powers for a Purpose command paper in March 2015, and the draft Wales Bill in autumn 2015, and the Wales Bill in June 2016, which proposed changes to the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales at the time.

This page provides links to the main publications and proceedings relating to the Powers for a Purpose Command Paper, the draft Wales Bill (2015), and Wales Act 2017.

It also refers to subsequent ongoing developments relating to the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 which renamed the Assembly as Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament, lowered the voting age in Senedd elections to 16 and led to further discussions about electoral reform in the Senedd.It includes relevant publications from Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Welsh Government and UK Government. It includes relevant publications from Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Welsh Government and UK Government.

On 6 May 2020, the National Assembly for Wales became the Welsh Parliament. As a result, references on this page reflect the change of name, referring to the institution as the 'Assembly' in a historic context (prior to 6 May 2020) and 'Senedd' thereafter.

For information on earlier developments including further information on the work of the Silk Commission, see our Silk Commission, Wales Act 2014 page.