Assembly Powers

The Government of Wales Act 2006 - new law making powers for the Assembly

The Government of Wales Act 2006 has introduced the ability of the National Assembly for Wales to make its own legislation on devolved matters such as health, education, social services, local government. These will be a new category of Welsh laws called Assembly Measures.

Before making Measures in relation to a particular area of devolved government, the National Assembly for Wales will need to obtain ‘legislative competence’ – the legal authority to pass Measures – on a case by case basis by the UK Parliament.

Legislative competence can be granted either in Acts of Parliament or using the new route of “Legislative Competence Orders” (LCO), and once the National Assembly for Wales is granted legislative competence on a topic by the UK Parliament, it can begin the process of passing Assembly Measures.

This should speed up the time it takes to make laws for Wales, as the National Assembly for Wales will be able to scrutinise and approve Welsh laws itself, rather than competing for space in the UK Parliamentary programme.

External website link - Government of Wales Act 2006