Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Publication Etc. of Welsh Legislation Section 37M – Publication of Acts of Senedd Cymru
82.Prior to this Act there was no express obligation upon the King’s Printer to publish Acts of Senedd Cymru. Section 37M makes clear that the King’s Printer for Wales must publish the certified copy of the official print of an Act, and must also publish documents related to the Act if asked to do so by either the Clerk of the Senedd or the Welsh Ministers. It is expected that such documents will include Explanatory Notes, and that for consolidation Acts they will include tables of origins and destinations and drafters’ notes; but they could in the future also include impact assessments or other materials.
83.Subsection (3) recognises that most people access legislation online rather than in print now. At present all Acts of the Senedd and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales are available on the legislation.gov.uk website. This is free to access and all the content on there is available under the Open Government Licence (unless where stated). This means that users are encouraged to use and re-use the information freely and flexibly, with only a few conditions. More information is available at: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
84.The King’s Printer for Wales may also print and sell copies of Acts of Senedd Cymru and must provide printed copies on request if any charges for doing so are paid (see section 37Y).