Commentary on Sections and Schedules General Overview of the Act
19.The Act is organised in six Parts.
20.Part 1, together with Schedules 1 and 2, makes provision for the election and remuneration of Assembly Members; for the offices of Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officer, and Clerk; for the establishment of an Assembly Commission (to be responsible for providing the Assembly with staff and support services); for committees; and for the Assembly’s powers to summon witnesses and call for documents.
21.Part 2, with Schedule 3, establishes the Welsh Assembly Government as an entity separate from, but accountable to, the National Assembly. It deals with the appointment and remuneration of the First Minister and other Ministers and Deputy Ministers; creates the office of Counsel-General to the Welsh Assembly Government and makes provision for appointment to it; and authorises the appointment of staff (who are civil servants) in support of the Assembly Government. It provides for the exercise of statutory functions by Ministers in their own right (rather than as delegates of the Assembly), and places duties on them in respect of carrying out regulatory impact assessments in connection with Welsh subordinate legislation, and duties in respect of equality of opportunity, sustainable development and the Welsh Language. Ministers will also be required to engage with stakeholders through consultation mechanisms with business, local government, and the voluntary sector.
22.Part 3, with Schedule 5, introduces the new mechanism, proposed in the White Paper(11), by which legislative competence will be conferred on the Assembly, with Parliament’s approval, in respect of specified matters set out in the Schedule as amended by Orders in Council. The Assembly’s legislation in exercise of these powers will be known as Assembly Measures.
23.Part 4 and Schedules 6 and 7 make provision for the holding of a referendum on whether the Assembly should have more extensive (“primary”) legislative powers, and specify the subject-matter on which the Assembly would be able to legislate without further recourse to Parliament if such a proposal was approved in a referendum. Provision is made in the Act for the subject-matter on which the Assembly could legislate, following approval in a referendum, to be adjusted and updated to reflect the circumstances of the time when any referendum is held.
24.Part 5, with Schedule 8, deals with Finance. It provides for the creation of a Welsh Consolidated Fund, which will receive payments from the Secretary of State out of moneys voted by Parliament. Payments out of the Fund to meet the costs of Welsh Assembly Government programmes, will be authorised by Annual and Supplementary Budget Motions adopted by the Assembly. No payment out will be made unless approved by the Auditor General for Wales, who will need to be satisfied that it is in line with a Budget Resolution (or otherwise lawful under the Act ). Provision is made for preparation of the accounts of the Welsh Ministers, and of the Assembly Commission, and the Act appoints Accounting Officers to have personal responsibility for these accounts. Schedule 8 re-enacts with modifications the existing provisions relating to the office of the Auditor General for Wales; in particular, appointments to that office will in future be made by Her Majesty on the nomination of the Assembly.
25.Finally, Part 6, with Schedules 9-12, deals with Miscellaneous and Supplementary matters. The provisions in the 1998 Act dealing with Welsh public records are re-enacted to reflect the new circumstances created by this Act . Provision is also made for legal proceedings in relation to “Devolution Issues”. Schedule 11 contains transitional provisions to cover the transfer in May 2007 (when the next Assembly elections take place) from the legal and governmental regime created by the 1998 Act to that envisaged by this Act .