Welfare Reform Bill

I shall also speak to the other government amendments in the group. Since introducing the Bill my ministerial colleagues and officials have continued to work with the devolved Administrations. Amendments 170 to 174 will ensure that Welsh Ministers will have the power to make secondary legislation to bring devolved funding streams and services within the scope of the right to control. The right to control could impact on a number of devolved areas given the breadth of the definition of "relevant service" in Clause 31. These could include further education, higher education, training and skills programmes, housing in relation to living independently and services that enable disabled people to overcome barriers to participation in society. It has always been our intention that the provisions in the Bill reflect the devolution settlement. These amendments are therefore technical to ensure that this intention is accurately reflected in the Bill. At present, the drafting of Clause 37 would mean that Welsh Ministers will have power to make regulations under Clause 33 only if the National Assembly for Wales has legislative competence in that policy area. The provision is inconsistent with the current devolution settlement in Wales. The National Assembly’s legislative competence is being increased incrementally and it currently does not have competence to legislate in a number of areas where Welsh Ministers have executive competence. When both Ministers of the Crown and Welsh Ministers have functions in relation to a particular service, both will be in a position to make right-to-control regulations. The amendments are therefore necessary to ensure that regulation-making powers are afforded to Welsh Ministers that relate to their executive competence and therefore reflect the devolution settlement. I beg to move.