Government of Wales Bill

Referring to paragraph 336 of the explanatory notes, the hon. Gentleman seeks further information and clarification of how the provision would work and why it is necessary. May I give him an example? If an Assembly Measure relating to a matter in part 1 of schedule 5 were enacted, and it later transpired that the matter was not clear and needed amendment, although everybody agreed that the Measure was rightly within the Assembly’s legal competence, an Order in Council could amend the wording concerning the matter in part 1 of the schedule to give that clarification. It could also, as far as was necessary, amend the citations in the Assembly Measure to put the whole thing on a clearer basis. Parliament would have to approve the Order in Council and the Secretary of State must act compatibly with section 6 of the Human Rights Act. I reassure the House that the power would be used very rarely, and not without careful consideration of the grounds for using it. In the example that I cited, its use is limited to cases in which it had always been intended that the Assembly would be able to legislate by Assembly Measure on the matter concerned, and Parliament would be able to ensure that that was the case through its approval of the Order in Council.