Government of Wales Act 2006
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make provision about the government of Wales. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2006 c. 32 |
| Introduced by | Peter Hain MP (Commons) Lord Evans of Temple Guiting (Lords) |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom[b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 July 2006 |
| Commencement | various[c] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends |
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| Amended by |
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| Relates to |
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Status: Amended | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
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| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
| Politics of Wales |
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The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The act creates a system of government with a separate executive drawn from and accountable to the legislature.[1][2] It is part of a series of laws legislating for Welsh devolution.[2]
Background
The legislation came about because of proposals from the Richard Commission, which were supported in a special party conference in 2004.[3]
The specific details of the legislation were negotiated by First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain.[3]
Provisions
The act has the following provisions:
- creates an executive body—the Welsh Assembly Government (known since May 2011 as the Welsh Government)—that is separate from the legislative body, that is, the National Assembly for Wales.[4] The Welsh Government is therefore altered from being a committee of the National Assembly to being a distinct body[2]
- forbids candidates both contesting constituencies and being on a regional list[5][6]
- provides a mechanism for Orders in Council to delegate power from Parliament to the Assembly,[7] which will give the Assembly powers to make "Measures" (Welsh Laws).[8] Schedule 5 of the Act describes the fields in which the assembly has Measure making powers.[2][9]
- provides for a referendum for further legislature competencies, to be known as "Acts of the Assembly",[10][11] expanding the Assembly's legislative competence[12]
- creates a Welsh Seal and a Keeper of the Welsh Seal (the First Minister)[13]
- creates a Welsh Consolidated Fund[14]
- creates the post of Counsel General as a member of the Welsh Government and its chief legal adviser.[15]
- creates a Partnership Council for Wales to facilitate co-operation between Welsh ministers and local government in Wales.[16]
- assigns to the monarch new functions of formally appointing Welsh ministers and granting royal assent to acts of the Assembly.
The bill received royal assent on 25 July 2006.[1][17]
The part that provides for acts was brought into force, and the relating to measures and related Orders in Council ceased to have effect, on 5 May 2011 following the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum. The act was further amended to rename the assembly to Senedd Cymru, and further extend its legislative competence to the reserved matters model, by the Wales Act 2014.
Schedule 5 of the act
Schedule 5 of the act describes the 20 "fields" and "matters" in which the National Assembly for Wales had legislative competence, i.e. the ability to pass Assembly Measures. A field is a broad subject area, such as education and training, the environment, health and health services, highways and transport, or housing. A matter is a specific defined policy area within a field.
The assembly could gain further legislative competence by the amendment of schedule 5. There were two ways in which this can happen: either as a result of clauses included in legislation passed by an act of Parliament at Westminster, or by Legislative Competence Orders (LCOs) granted by Parliament in response to a request from the National Assembly itself (LCOs could be proposed by the Welsh Government, or by individual members, or by assembly committees, but had to be approved by the National Assembly before they could go forward). The result of either method was to amend any of the 20 fields by inserting specific matters. The assembly then had competence to pass legislation on those matters.
Schedule 5 was regularly updated as result of these two processes.
Schedule 5 became moot when the assembly gained the competence to pass acts, which were restricted to matters listed in schedule 7 rather than schedule 5, and lost the competence to pass measures.
Fields of schedule 5
Source:[18]
- Field 1: agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development
- Field 2: ancient monuments and historic buildings
- Field 3: culture
- Field 4: economic development
- Field 5: education and training
- Field 6: environment
- Field 7: fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
- Field 8: food
- Field 9: health and health services
- Field 10: highways and transport
- Field 11: housing
- Field 12: local government
- Field 13: National Assembly for Wales
- Field 14: public administration
- Field 15: social welfare
- Field 16: sport and recreation
- Field 17: tourism
- Field 18: town and country planning
- Field 19: water and flood defence
- Field 20: Welsh language
Criticism
The Government of Wales Act 2006 was criticised by Plaid Cymru for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b "Government of Wales Act 2006", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2006 c. 32, retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ a b c d "Making laws in Wales: from executive devolution to a reserved powers model". Senedd Research. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ a b Shipton, Martin (31 December 2025). "Released archive material shows turmoil in Labour over extra powers for Wales". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 45", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 45), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006" (PDF). National Assembly for Wales. August 2006. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "MPs back dual AM candidacy ban". BBC News. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Government of Wales 2006: Section 94", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 94), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 93", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 93), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Schedule 5", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (sch. 5), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 103", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 103), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 104", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 104), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 108", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 108), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 116", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2006 c. 32 (s. 116)
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 117", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 117), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 49", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 49), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 72", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (s. 72), retrieved 2 November 2024
- ^ "GOVERNMENT OF WALES ACT 2006 — EXPLANATORY NOTES" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The Stationery Office. 2006. p. 1. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Schedule 5", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (sch. 5), retrieved 2 November 2006
External links
UK Legislation
- Text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
- Text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
- Explanatory notes to the Government of Wales Act 2006.
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