Government of Wales Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. It is not quite eight years since this House debated the Bill to establish the National Assembly for Wales. It is very sad that Lord Williams of Mostyn, who opened that debate, is no longer with us. He is still greatly missed. On a happier note, many noble Lords who contributed then are here today. I am glad that from all sides of the House immense experience is being brought to bear in the consideration of this Bill. Since the first meeting of the Assembly in Cardiff in May 1999, a great deal has been achieved. The National Assembly for Wales owes its existence to a narrow referendum victory, but it has earned acceptance among the public and public opinion in Wales. The present and the future for democracy in Wales—close to the people, open, forward-looking—is given architectural expression in the new Assembly building. I congratulate our noble friend Lord Rogers of Riverside who has given us a modern Welsh icon. The identity of Wales itself has been strengthened by devolution. Institutions of all kinds have recognised the distinctiveness of Welsh structures and policies and have adapted their own organisations in response. In 1998, fears were expressed that Wales would lose out economically as a result of devolution. Quite the reverse has happened. Over 100,000 more people in Wales are in employment now than in 1999. Exports have increased faster than in the UK as a whole. Fears were also expressed that the Assembly would lack policy ideas. In fact, it was in Wales that children first had a Children’s Commissioner and it is in Wales that they will have their first Commissioner for Older People. In every field the Welsh Assembly Government can evidence their own made-for-Wales strategies. Above all, perhaps, fears were expressed that devolution would weaken Wales’s ties with the rest of the UK and damage the Union. Those fears have proved groundless. More young people see themselves as Welsh first and foremost, but support for independence for Wales has dwindled. Indeed, a recent ICM poll showed that only 16 per cent of the population of Wales now favours independence, while opposition to the Assembly has slumped to a mere 20 per cent. Devolution is now integral to Welsh public life. At the same time, experience has shown what is needed to enable the Assembly to build on the firm foundations laid since it was established. That is why the Government’s 2005 general election manifesto promised that we would develop democratic devolution by way of three specific commitments: first, to legislate for a stronger Assembly with enhanced legislative powers; secondly, to improve the accountability of Ministers by ending the confusing corporate status of the Assembly; and thirdly, to prevent candidates standing on both the list and in a constituency, in order to make all candidates genuinely accountable to the electorate.