Government of Wales Bill

My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Lord for his reply. He has suggested an approach upon which we might find a degree of consensus. He will notice that our amendment lays obligations on the Secretary of State. In his dilation, the noble Lord talked about the importance of Parliament getting an early sight of the process of negotiation that had been taking place between the Secretary of State and the Welsh Assembly. It occurred to me, therefore, that since the Secretary of State is a Minister who is, after all, accountable to Parliament, he might bring to the Welsh Affairs Committee or the Welsh Grand Committee—or some other forum—his approach to the formulation of the draft order so that he can share it with parliamentarians. That will enable him to get wind of whether what is being proposed will, at the end of the day, be acceptable to Parliament. By suggesting to your Lordships’ House that an early and close relationship between the Secretary of State and your Lordships’ House and another place is desirable, the noble Lord has captured the spirit of my amendment, which I greatly welcome. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 48 to 52 not moved.] Clause 95 [Scrutiny of proposed Orders in Council]: [Amendment No. 53 not moved.] Clause 96 [Introduction of proposed Assembly measures]: