Government of Wales Bill

It is 18 years ago almost to the day when I was squeezed into such a debate, with two and a half minutes left at the end of business on Welsh questions. I hope that the rules of the House will permit me to continue my remarks when we return on Monday to discuss this important business. I sometimes look at legislation and apply what a very good friend of mine calls the Splott market test, which is: what would the people of Cardiff who go to the market in Splott on a Saturday morning think of the legislation that we are producing? I suspect that they would not think an awful lot about some of the constitutional issues that we have debated. I am not underestimating the significance of those issues, but we have to understand that, at the end of the day, the Welsh people want to consider how devolution affects their lives. Are their hospitals any better? Are their schools any better? Has the system of local government or planning been improved by the existence of the Assembly? The answer, probably, is yes, because the Assembly has given accessibility to Ministers and the accountability of Ministers to the people of Wales in a way that was never there when we had the old Wales Office. The amendment that my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas)— It being Ten o’clock, The Chairman left the Chair to report progress and askleave to sit again, pursuant to Order [9 January]. Committee report progress; to sit again tomorrow.