Assembly, Governance and Constitution

Quick Guides

Quick guides look at complex or technical topics, and provide easily understood guides to these topics.

• The British-Irish Council
  
  January 2012
  The British-Irish Council was established as part of the1999 Good Friday Agreement. It involves the Governments of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the devolved Governments and the Governments of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

• The Constitution Series: 1 – Wales in the United Kingdom
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a brief historical background to Wales, its development within the UK, and contrasts this with the other devolved administrations.

• The Constitution Series: 2 – The Presiding Officer and the Deputy Presiding Officer
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the role of Presiding officer and Deputy Presiding Officer, their functions and how they are appointed.

• The Constitution Series: 3 – The Assembly Commission
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the function and purpose of the Assembly Commission.

• The Constitution Series: 4 – The First Minister and Welsh Ministers
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the roles of the First Minister and Welsh Ministers, including their development across the Assemblies, and purpose.

• The Constitution Series: 5 – The Counsel General
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a short explanation to the purpose of the Counsel General, how the position is appointed and how the position has changed since the Government of Wales Act 2006.

• The Constitution Series: 6 – Legislative Consent Motions
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides background information on Legislative Consent Motions, the scrutiny processes to which they are subject in the Welsh context and a summary of their use in the National Assembly since the enactment of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

• The Constitution Series: 7 – Subordinate Legislation
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides a general overview of how the National Assembly deals with subordinate legislation made by Welsh Ministers and includes explanations of the various procedures subordinate legislation can be subject to.

• The Constitution Series: 8 – The Welsh Seal and Letters Patent
  
  December 2011
  This quick guide explains how Assembly Bills will receive Royal Assent by Letters Patent made under the Welsh Seal.

• The Constitution Series: 9 – Assembly Acts and the Legislative Process
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide includes information about the rules and requirements surrounding the introduction of Bills in the National Assembly and provides information about the legislative and scrutiny processes required during a Bill’s passage.

• The Constitution Series: 10 – Legislative powers of the National Assembly
  
  July 2011
  This quick guide provides an overview of the areas in which the National Assembly has powers to pass Acts and outlines the exceptions and restrictions which apply to the National Assembly’s legislative competence.

• The Constitution Series: Glossary
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a brief glossary of terms to accompany the Constitution series.

• Local government settlement
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides an overview of the Local Government Settlement process, including how the final amounts are calculated.

• The Joint Ministerial Council
  
  January 2012
  The Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) is part of the machinery of inter-governmental relations (IGR) in the UK following devolution. It is established by the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved governments in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Its purpose is to provide central coordination of the overall relationship between the governments. This Quick guide provides a short history of the JMC and explains its work.

• The Statistics and Registration Services Act and the UK Statistics Authority
  
  March 2008
  This quick guide provides a short overview of the changes made to the Official statistics arrangements after the Statistics & Registration Services Act.