Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

The new Welsh Assembly Government begins tomorrow with a ‘tortuous and convoluted’ system of legislating, says the Archbishop of Wales.

The Most Revd Dr Barry Morgan criticises the Government of Wales Act 2006, which comes into force with the new term, for being too complicated, making law-making in Wales far less straight forward than in Scotland.

While recognising that the Act gives Wales more legal bite and authority than ever before, Dr Morgan says it does not go far enough. The Welsh Assembly Government will still have to seek permission from Westminster before it can pass its own laws. He is calling for the Assembly to have primary legislative powers in all its devolved fields.

He says, ‘It is good that the Act provides us with a proper separation of the executive and the legislative branches of the Assembly and it is good that we have proper scrutiny of government. However, we now have a rather cumbersome and clumsy method of governance which entails the Welsh Assembly petitioning the Secretary of State for Wales, who in turn asks the Government for time to introduce Orders in Council in Parliament, to give the Assembly powers to pass legislation within the boundaries of each order. That is rather a demeaning way of setting about things.

‘It is a very tortuous process, even when the governments in London and Cardiff are of the same political hue. If they are not, relationships could be fraught and the governance of Wales would suffer as a result.’

‘If Wales, like Scotland, is mature enough to have a legislature it ought to be responsible for law making itself and not have to petition the Secretary of State and Westminster for the right to do so. It is also a very unequal way of treating Scotland and Wales.’

Archbishop Morgan also criticises the National Assembly for Wales for not publishing a guide to help people understand the new Act and its implications for Wales.

A guide to the third Assembly is being launched this week by Cymru Yfory, a cross party, cross sector movement with representatives from Wales’ faith communities chaired by Archbishop Morgan. Archbishop Morgan says, ‘The new Government of Wales Act is the most momentous event that has happened to Wales since Devolution in 1997, whatever its shortcomings. It will enable Wales to create a book of law of its very own for the first time since the laws of Hywel Dda. But it is very cumbersome and difficult to understand and the Assembly, Assembly Government and media has made little effort to explain it to the people it will affect.

‘Cymru Yfory has taken it on itself to produce a guide, as an act of public service. It has been a huge task, involving much time and effort and consultation with lawyers and legal academics. We hope it will help people understand not only what the powers and procedures of the Assembly are, but perhaps most importantly, how they can play their part in influencing the agenda, and the future of Wales.’

People will have the chance to discuss ideas for legislation on the Cymru Yfory website. Tomorrow’s Wales Legislation Bank is launched today for people to discuss ideas for legislation proposed by the Government, Assembly or via the public petition route.

Contact assemblyguide@stratamatrix.co.uk to order your copy of the guide, or visit www.tomorrow-wales.org for further information.

Item from: The Church in Wales