Government of Wales Act 2006

The Government of Wales Act 2006

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision about the government of Wales.
Statute book chapter	2006 c 32
Dates
Royal Assent	25 July 2006
Status:
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

Documents relevant to personal and legislative unions of the Countries of the United Kingdom
Treaty of Perth (1266) Statute of Rhuddlan 1284 Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 Crown of Ireland Act 1542 Union of the Crowns Treaty of Union 1706 Acts of Union 1707 Irish Constitution of 1782 Acts of Union 1800 Government of Ireland Act 1920 Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921 Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 Government of Wales Act 1998 Northern Ireland Act 1998 Scotland Act 1998 Government of Wales Act 2006

Wales

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Wales

Government Cabinet First Minister Carwyn Jones AM Counsel General Theodore Huckle QC Home Civil Service Directorates Welsh Government sponsored bodies National Assembly Contemporary Welsh Law Acts Statutory Instruments Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler AM Shadow Cabinet Leader of the Opposition Andrew R. T. Davies AM Members (AMs) Constituencies and electoral regions Law and justice Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Courts of England and Wales English Law Wales in the UK Her Majesty's Government Wales Office Secretary of State Cheryl Gillan Parliament of the United Kingdom Grand Committee Select Committee Government of Wales Act 2006 Elections Constituencies List of Welsh MPs Wales in the EU European Parliament Elections European Parliament constituency Subdivisions Local government in Wales Preserved counties Principal areas Communities

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The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales 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.

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. The Welsh Government is therefore altered from being a committee of the National Assembly to being a distinct body
• forbids candidates both contesting constituencies and being on a regional list
• provides a mechanism for Orders in Council to delegate power from Parliament to the Assembly, which will give the Assembly powers to make "Measures" (Welsh Laws). Schedule 5 of the Act describes the fields in which the assembly has Measure making powers.
• provides for a referendum for further legislature competencies, to be known as "Acts of the Assembly"
• creates a Welsh Seal and a Keeper of the Welsh Seal (the First Minister)
• creates a Welsh Consolidated Fund
• creates the post of Counsel General as a member of the Welsh Government and its chief legal adviser.
• assigns to the Queen 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.

Schedule 5 of the Act

Schedule 5 of the Act describes the 20 "Fields" and "Matters" in which the National Assembly for Wales has Legislative competence i.e. the ability to pass Assembly Measures. A 'Field' is a broad subject area, e.g. education and training; environment; health and health services; highways and transport; housing. A 'Matter' is a specific defined policy area within a Field. The assembly can gain further legislative competence by the amendment of Schedule 5.

There are two ways by which this can happen: either as a result of clauses included in legislation passed by an Act of Parliament in Westminster, or by Legislative Competency Orders (LCOs) granted by Parliament in response to a request from the National Assembly itself (LCOs may be proposed by the Welsh Government, or by individual members, or by Assembly Committees; but must be approved by the National Assembly before they can progress). The end result of either method is to amend the 20 "Fields" by inserting specific "Matters" into each "Field". The Assembly then has competence to pass legislation on those Matters.

Schedule 5 is regularly updated as result of these two processes. An up-to-date version (which also indicates where amendments are proposed) is available on the National Assembly's website.

Fields of Schedule 5

• 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 heavily criticised by Plaid Cymru for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Government of Wales Act 1998
• Contemporary Welsh Law

External links

• Government of Wales Act 2006 website
• Assembly Powers Tracking Notes
• WAGs tracking notes

UK Legislation

• Official text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
• Official text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as originally enacted within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
• Explanatory notes to the Government of Wales Act 2006.