Annex A - Territorial extent and application in the United Kingdom Subject matter and legislative competence of devolved legislatures
All of the content of this Act affects matters within the devolved (transferred) competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Sewel Convention sets out that the UK Government will not normally legislate in an area of devolved competence without the agreement of the devolved legislatures. In the absence of the Executive and a sitting Assembly, and the pressing need to ensure that public services can continue to be delivered within Northern Ireland, there was neither the time available nor the practical ability for the Assembly to provide a Legislative Consent Motion. We are clear, therefore, that the circumstances in which the Bill was introduced come within the terms of the Convention.