Welsh devolution history

Most people view Welsh devolution as a very recent phenomenon. However, administrative devolution began in the early twentieth century with the creation of separate Welsh departments within the existing Ministries for Education, Agriculture, Insurance and Health. A Minister for Welsh Affairs co-ordinated a wide range of functions that were transferred to Cardiff between 1951 and 1964. It was in 1964 that the Welsh Office was established and the first Secretary of State for Wales was appointed. The Welsh Office continued to grow and further functions were transferred up to the 1990s when a step-change occurred.

In 1997 the UK Government published a White Paper called ‘A Voice for Wales’ which proposed a National Assembly for Wales. This was supported by Welsh people in a referendum later that year and resulted in the passing of the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in May 1999.

The Assembly was established as a single corporate body with some powers and responsibilities transferred from the Secretary of State for Wales. These limited powers allowed the Assembly to make general rules and regulations (known as subordinate legislation) under existing UK Acts of Parliament and decide on policy priorities in Wales, but they could not make their own laws (known as primary legislation) or raise their own taxes.

However, devolution has been an ongoing process in Wales and in 2002 the independent "Richard Commission" was established by the then First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, to review the scope of the Assembly’s powers and other related constitutional issues. Its report in 2004 prompted the next phase of devolution in the form of the UK Labour Government’s ‘Better Governance for Wales’ White Paper which became the ’Government of Wales Bill 2005’ and subsequently the ‘Government of Wales Act 2006’ which came into force in May 2007.

The full details of the Act, which sets out our current devolution settlement, can be found here but one of the key elements of the Act was the provision for a Referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales. The referendum was held and won in March 2011 and signaled a further phase of devolution in Wales. You can find out more about the powers we now have in Wales here.