93.Section 37Q continues the obligations established under the 1947 Regulations for the publication of statutory instruments and ensures that the King’s Printer for Wales must publish Welsh statutory instruments. The King’s Printer for Wales must also publish documents related to an instrument if asked to do so by the responsible authority. The current form in which statutory instruments are published includes the Explanatory Note to the instrument, and this is expected to continue. However, additional documents could include maps relating to an instrument, impact assessments or other materials.
94.Subsection (2) sets out certain information that must be included with the subordinate legislation when the King’s Printer publishes the Welsh statutory instrument. Although the date the instrument was made is usually included at the end of the instrument (under the name of the person who made the subordinate legislation), it is also usually included at the front of the document in a helpful note under the title. Alongside this, subsection (2)(e) also requires the King’s Printer to include the date or dates the instrument comes into force, or a description of how the instrument will come into force. This formulation reflects the position that different provisions of the subordinate legislation may come into force at different times and may be linked to specific events or arrangements. It also means that, where the position is complicated, the note may identify the provisions of the instrument that determine when it will come into force (for example, by saying that the instrument comes into force “in accordance with regulation 1”), rather than having to set out the details of those provisions in full.
95.Mirroring the arrangements for publishing Acts of the Senedd, subsection (4) recognises that most people access legislation online rather than in print. The King’s Printer for Wales may also print and sell copies of Welsh statutory instruments (see section 37Y).
Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Publication Etc. of Welsh Legislation Section 37Q – Publication of Welsh statutory instruments