Subject matter and legislative competence of devolved legislatures
This Act affects matters within the devolved (transferred) competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Sewel Convention sets out that the UK Parliament 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, there is neither the time available nor the practical ability for the Assembly to provide a Legislative Consent Motion. We are satisfied that the circumstances in which the Bill was introduced come within the terms of the Convention.