Government of Wales Bill

I strongly support devolution. I voted for it in 1979 and was disappointed when it was so overwhelmingly defeated in the first referendum. When I became a Member here, I was pleased to take part in a debate on the Government of Wales Act 1998. That was a great experience for a new Welsh Member. However, some of the confusion that arose during the passage of the Act is only now being corrected. I am pleased that there is almost universal support for getting rid of the corporate body status and for moving to a clearer division between the executive and the legislative functions. I support the moves to enhance the Assembly’s powers and the methods in the Bill bring about the maximum change possible in terms of law-making powers with the minimal constitutional disruption. I support primary legislative powers for the Assembly but what is proposed in the Bill is the best way forward at the moment with the option of a referendum in the future. I do not know whether a referendum could be won on the issue if it were held today. I could not hazard a guess. But if we have a referendum, we will spend time and effort arguing the issues, time and effort that could be better used to improve things for the people of Wales. Richard made the case for 80 Assembly Members and I supported most of the report, but the Bill is a practical way forward. It is, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Caton) said, a compromise but one around which I hope all pro-devolution parties can unite. The Bill’s mechanism whereby powers can be conferred upon the Assembly on a case-by-case basis certainly maintains the involvement of Members of Parliament. The Conservatives are trying to make a case for opposing the Bill, but there is no reason at all for a referendum on these modest proposals. If we had had those Orders in Council already, there are many instances in which we could have moved quickly ahead in Wales when policies different from those here in Westminster were advocated. I am thinking particularly about smoking. I had a private Member’s Bill on smoking and I know that the Welsh Assembly has supported in principle a total ban on smoking in all workplaces and public places. It voted in January 2003 to set up an all-party working party, and voted on 25 May 2005 for a ban. Yet as things stand, we are totally dependent on the health legislation going through this House before we are able to use the powers available to us in Wales that would result in a total ban. That is a good illustration of the practical way in which the Orders in Council procedure would enable us to do things in Wales without that being subject to a blocking process here and without taking up time on the Floor of the House. It is an example of the way in which Orders in Council could be used to ensure that what the Assembly and the people of Wales want to happen does take place. There are many similar practical examples. I am pleased to press for more powers for the Assembly, but I have been surprised at what it has been able to do with its existing powers. It is interesting to note that some trailblazing schemes that have been followed by the rest of the country were introduced without any legislative powers at all, such as free bus passes for pensioners. That scheme was introduced by my Assembly colleague, the Minister Sue Essex, and it is now being followed in England. Free prescriptions will have come in by the next Assembly elections, and I would not be surprised if that scheme were followed in other parts of the UK. The Scottish Executive are looking into it, and interest has been expressed in England. Many of these policies were introduced in the Assembly without the need for such legislative powers. It is disappointing that so many Opposition Members have failed to point out the Assembly’s great achievements, a couple of which I have just mentioned. We needed primary legislation for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, and we need it for the commissioner for older people. That legislation, which is a world first, is going through the House of Lords at the moment and will shortly come to us. All such initiatives need primary legislation, but if the Bill had already been passed, we could have got this measure through without taking up time on the Floor of the House of Commons, thereby enabling other legislation to go through. In conclusion, as I said, I have always been a strong devolutionist and have always pressed for more powers for the Assembly. I believe that that is the right thing to do and that it is in the interests of the people of Wales. My constituents voted against an Assembly at the second referendum. I am not sure what they would do now if they could vote at a referendum, but I think that many more would vote for an Assembly now than did during the second referendum. There is a big job ahead in terms of showing what devolution can do, and has done, for Wales, but the case has been made for increased powers for the Assembly and the Bill is the best way of proceeding.