On 4 March, the Senedd will debate the general principles of the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill. The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee has been leading scrutiny of the Bill.
The Bill does four things. It:
- Codifies the procedures for Senedd scrutiny of secondary legislation;
- Formalises the way in which Welsh legislation is published;
- Repeals laws that are no longer of “practical utility or benefit”; and
- Makes minor amendments to the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019.
This InBrief looks at some of the issues raised by stakeholders during scrutiny, as well as some of the Committee’s conclusions in its report. For a more in-depth look at the Bill’s provisions, see our resources page.
Is the Bill needed?
- The Committee concluded that “there is a need for this Bill in the wider context of ensuring the accessibility of Welsh law”. It recommended that the Senedd should agree to the Bill’s general principles.
- Other stakeholders voiced similar opinions. Dr Ruth Fox of the Hansard Society said that while there are always arguments that “legislative clarification” shouldn’t have priority over other issues, such clarification is important. The University of Liverpool’s Dr Adam Tucker added that the Bill is a “a good and coherent way of pursuing a sensible policy”.
Secondary legislation scrutiny procedures
- Part 1 of the Bill restates the existing scrutiny procedures for secondary legislation, while giving them new labels:
- Senedd Approval Procedure
- Senedd Confirmation Procedure
- Senedd Annulment Procedure
- Our previous article outlines these procedures in further detail.
- The Committee concluded that the new labels “strike an appropriate balance between providing an accurate description and making them easy to understand”.
The King’s Printer for Wales
- While the King’s Printer of Acts of Parliament currently publishes and preserves Welsh legislation, there is no statutory requirement for it to do so.
- Part 2 of the Bill would introduce this requirement and rename the King’s Printer as the King’s Printer for Wales when it carries out functions related to Welsh legislation.
- This would differ from the situation in Scotland, where the King’s Printer for Scotland exists as a separate office (though the same person currently serves in both roles)
- The Committee believes that there should be parity with legal arrangements elsewhere in the UK and recommended that the Welsh Government explains why the Bill does not propose to mirror arrangements in Scotland.
Repeals
- Part 3 of the Bill provides for the repeal and amendment of enactments (sections or whole Acts) considered to be no longer of practical utility or benefit.
- The Welsh Government set itself criteria for determining which enactments could be included for repeal. Whilst the Committee considered some of the repeals in more detail, it was satisfied that the provisions included in the Bill meet the criteria set out by the Welsh Government for inclusion.
Could the Bill go further?
- The Committee also looked at ways that the scrutiny of secondary legislation could be strengthened, including:
- the possibility of a ‘sifting committee’ that would be responsible for determining the appropriate level of scrutiny for each piece of secondary legislation; and
- whether a mechanism should be introduced to enable secondary legislation to be amended during scrutiny.
- The Committee concluded that both of these ideas merit further consideration.
The Senedd will debate the general principles of the Bill on 4 March 2025. Follow the debate live on senedd.tv
Article by Adam Cooke, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
