Book Description

Due to the compressed nature of pre-legislative scrutiny, the Committee was not able to cover all provisions in the draft Bill in detail. Evidence covered a number of areas, but the three main aspects of the draft Bill that were raised, and on which this Report focuses, are: the transition to a reserved powers model; the reservation of criminal and private law and the necessity tests; and the consenting arrangements. The majority of witnesses have suggested improvements to the draft Bill. Some of these, such as replacing the "necessity" test with a test that is clearer and has a lower threshold, and that in relation to Ministerial consent, that the UK Government transfers to the Welsh Ministers all Ministerial functions in areas of devolved legislative competence, the Committee have been able to agree upon. Some of the evidence received raised other important and relevant issues; in particular many witnesses proposed a form of distinct legal jurisdiction. This issue may not have been apparent to all potential witnesses at the outset of the inquiry, so the Committee cannot be confident they received all relevant evidence on this important subject. They now ask the Secretary of State to reflect on the recommendations. There is a growing body of Welsh law that differs from that which applies in England, but the implications of this requires careful scrutiny. The Committee shares the view of the Silk Commission, that the UK and Welsh governments will need to continue to review the issue of a separate or distinct Welsh jurisdiction