Commentary on Sections of the Act Section 16 – Duty to report on exercise of functions under sections 14(1) and 15(1)
116.Provision made in subordinate legislation which needs Welsh Ministers’ consent under sections 14(1) and 15(1) must be within the Assembly’s legislative competence and could be contained in an Act of the Assembly. Section 16 provides a reporting mechanism to ensure the Assembly is kept informed of the exercise by the Welsh Ministers of their consent functions under sections 14(1) and 15(1) of the Act.
117.The reporting mechanism does not require an individual report in relation to each individual consent. A report laid before the National Assembly for Wales could include details of more than one consent, provided that the report is laid within 60 days of the consent being given and the report includes the details required in section 16(2) in relation to each consent.
118.Section 16(3) ensures that any days where the National Assembly for Wales is dissolved or in recess for more than four days are discounted for the purposes of calculating the 60-day period within which a report must be laid following the giving of consent. This ensures that the 60-day period does not expire while the Assembly is not sitting for an extended period of time that would prevent the Welsh Ministers from laying a report.