Making legislation

In March 2011 the citizens of Wales voted in a referendum to change the way that legislation is made in Wales.

We used to have a very complicated system which meant that in order to make laws in Wales, the National Assembly first had to obtain permission from the UK Parliament in the form of a Legislative Competence Order (LCO). Once the Assembly had secured legislative competence, it could then go on to make Welsh laws that were known as Measures.

This system has now changed. The Assembly no longer have to go through the LCO process because all the necessary permissions are now in place. But remember, laws can only be made in the 20 devolved areas that the Assembly has jurisdiction over. The Assembly cannot make laws over things such as defence, immigration or taxation that the UK Parliament retains jurisdiction over.

The precise detail of the areas in which the Assembly can now make laws can be found in Schedule 7 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. This explains what is covered in the 20 devolved policy areas and sets out whether there are any exceptions within each area. Schedule 7 is the place to start looking if you are thinking about developing legislative proposals to suggest to the Assembly.

Nor will Welsh laws continue to be called Measures. From now on proposed laws will be called Bills and enacted laws will be called Acts. But any Measures made since 2007 will continue to be called Assembly Measure and will continue to have the same legal effect.

Click here to find out more about: