The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely important point that demonstrates the maturity of the debate and the acceptance of the language.
Clause 8 also provides for the Counsel General or the Attorney General to be able to refer the question of whether a provision of an Assembly Bill relates to a protected matter to the Supreme Court for a decision. The Counsel General or the Attorney General may make such a reference to the Supreme Court at any time during a period of four weeks from either the Assembly rejecting the Assembly Bill or its being passed.
There is precedent for a requirement for a super-majority on matters of constitutional importance. Under the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Assembly vote that triggered the 2011 referendum on Assembly powers required two thirds of Assembly Members to vote in favour. The Government believe that the safeguards in the Bill are sensible and command broad support across Wales.
Supplementing clause 8, clause 9 amends requirements for the Assembly Standing Orders on Assembly Bill proceedings, to reflect the new processes required as a result of a reference to the Supreme Court. The clause provides for Assembly Bills to be reconsidered by the Assembly in the event that the Supreme Court rules against the Presiding Officer’s decision on whether the Bill relates to a protected subject matter. That is in line with procedures put in place for the Scottish Parliament in the Scotland Act 2016, which has been passed by both Houses.
Clause 10 relates to justice impact assessments, on which there was considerable debate. The UK Government and Welsh Government have a number of well-established processes for assessing the impact of legislation on matters ranging from regulation to equalities. Indeed, on Second Reading I discussed the fact that Assembly Bills are assessed against their likely impact on the Welsh language and on equalities. It is also important to recognise that, through the Treasury and a range of other Departments, Her Majesty’s Government issue guidance and requirements relating to expectations of how public spending will be conducted and how public interests will be guarded. That is the principle under which the justice impact assessment should be considered, rather than how it has been interpreted by many.
Within the UK Government, Departments bringing legislation forward to this House are required to assess its likely impact on the justice system. The importance
of that assessment is self-evident: for legislation to be effective it must be enforceable. It is vital that that enforcement process is ready and resourced sufficiently to cope with new demands placed upon it.
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We recognise the need for Assembly legislation to make effective enforcement provision, and we are putting that beyond doubt in the Bill. Schedule 2 introduces new schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006, to make it clear that the Assembly may modify private law for a devolved purpose, and that only certain core elements of criminal law are outside its competence. The Assembly will be able to create and modify offences for the purpose of enforcing devolved provisions. It has the power to create civil or criminal sanctions against wrongdoing, defer decision making to the courts, or provide for appeals on a range of devolved matters—indeed, it does so already.
The England and Wales justice system shoulders a significant portion of the burden of enforcement regimes. Impacts are felt across the justice system, including by the courts, the judiciary and lawyers—many of those points have been rehearsed in this debate and on Second Reading. I underline the need for proper consideration of any new legislation, so that the Ministry of Justice and the justice system can adjust their working practices to cope with those necessary changes.
Clause 11 makes a minor change to Assembly procedure to enable the Presiding Officer to submit Bills for Royal Assent. As the Silk commission recommended, and as we set out in the St David’s day agreement, we are aligning Royal Assent processes for the Assembly with those in Scotland. That means that in future the Presiding Officer, rather than the Clerk of the Assembly, will submit Bills for Royal Assent and deal with other related processes.
Clause 12 allows the National Assembly for Wales to design and put in place accounting and audit arrangements for devolved bodies. Taking on those responsibilities is a natural next step in the progress of devolution to the Assembly. Under the Scotland Acts, the Scottish Parliament has similar arrangements. The Government of Wales Act 2006 is extremely prescriptive about the budgeting process of the National Assembly for Wales, but the Government believe that such arrangements are outdated and no longer appropriate for a mature legislature. Clause 12 therefore allows the Assembly to legislate for comprehensive accountancy arrangements, including the preparation and publication of accounts, and the functions of the Auditor General for Wales. That replaces previous arrangements for financial controls in the 2006 Act. Given the significant powers now devolved to the Assembly, the Government believe that the time is right to update those arrangements.
Amendment 33 would add to clause 12, but I believe that it goes further than is necessary. Clause 12 concerns what the Assembly must legislate for to ensure that its practices fit with international best practice and what the people of Wales want. I do not believe that we should change that arrangement in the way proposed in the amendment. Under clause 12, the Assembly will have significant control over its own affairs, but it would not be in line with international best practice or arrangements in other devolved Administrations to give the Assembly the extra responsibility that amendment 33
would provide. Clause 12 already devolves significant responsibility to the Assembly, and amendment 33 is not the right way to do that.
Clause 13 relates to the composition of Assembly Committees, and clause 14 relates to the Secretary of State addressing the National Assembly for Wales, as I will be doing tomorrow with pleasure. However, those clauses are out of date and undermine the maturity of the Assembly, because it is not for this place to dictate the composition of Assembly Committees, or to say that the Secretary of State should have the right to address the Assembly once a year. I am therefore pleased that we are acting to remove those clauses.
Clause 15 makes consequential changes that arise from the Assembly changing its name in an Act. The Bill will empower the Assembly to manage its own affairs, including changing its name if it wishes. The Assembly will be able to change its name to the Welsh Parliament or the Welsh Senedd, or whatever it deems appropriate, and the clause will ensure that any change of name in law is reflected throughout the statute book.
Amendments 38 to 45, tabled by the hon. Members for Arfon, for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) and for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), seek to amend clause 15. The amendments would ensure that if the Assembly changes its name, any Welsh language references in the statute book to the National Assembly for Wales, the National Assembly for Wales Commission and other related bodies would reflect the change. The amendments seek to change these references across the statute book in the same way that the clause currently provides for changes to the Assembly’s name in the English language. Amendment 38 also seeks to change the title of the clause, presumably because references to translation could be misinterpreted in the context of the other amendments proposed.
As I have already said, the Government are fully committed to the Welsh language. It is our greatest inheritance as a nation and we have a responsibility to continue to develop it. On the face of it, the amendments would make sensible changes to the clause to ensure changes to the statute book, as a result of the Assembly changing its name, would be reflected elsewhere in legislation. I would like to reflect on the amendment, consult Opposition parties, and return to this subject on Report.
Clause 16 and amendment 11 dominated much of the debate. Clause 16 removes the need for a referendum before Welsh rates of income tax are introduced. Back in 2012, the Silk commission’s first report recommended a referendum before a Welsh rate of income tax could be implemented. The Government agreed to the recommendation and the Wales Act 2014 provided for a referendum if the Assembly voted, by a two-thirds majority, to trigger one.
The debate, however, has moved on substantially since that time. There is clearly a strong consensus that Welsh devolution has moved on since the 2014 Act and the Welsh Government should not have to call a referendum before assuming the power to raise, vary or even reduce a portion of income tax. The Welsh Government cannot carry on being akin to a large UK spending Department. That does not create a positive environment for political debate, with a healthy level of accountability. There is already a precedent for devolving tax-varying powers without the need for a referendum.