A key factor in the success of Welsh devolution will be the effectiveness of the legislative relationship between the UK Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. Westminster retains exclusive power to pass primary legislation for Wales and to grant the Assembly specific powers to make secondary legislation. The Committee's report reviews this relationship and assesses whether improvements could be made. Recommendations include: the need for greater consistency in the conferral of additional powers to the Assembly to aid scrutiny procedures, and that the Wales Office should provide funding for Wales Legislation Online, the only current comprehensive database on the powers of the National Assembly. To aid effective consultation, the Government should consult the Assembly on legislation in any of the devolved fields, even if the legislation has no direct impact on Assembly powers. The Committee states its intention to submit proposals for formal joint meetings between House of Commons Select Committees and those of the Assembly to explore how Assembly members can make their views formally known at Westminster on legislation that will directly affect Wales; and also recommends that the Government set out its position on the Rawlings Principles.

It provides a critical description and evaluation of how laws are made for Wales including the most recent changes made by the Wales Act 2017 which come into effect in 2018. It analyses and assesses the process of preparing and drafting legislation for Wales in terms of the requirements of democratic processes and respect for the rule of law. It analyses and assesses the legislative procedures of the legislatures which make law for Wales, explaining how they reflect the demands of law-making in a representative democracy. It is written in a clear and accessible style which does not require prior knowledge of its subject matter. It is written by two authors who between them have considerable experience at the highest levels of the law-making processes of Wales and the UK.

Primary Legislative Process As It Affects Wales : Report

This 8-hour free course provided a comprehensive overview of the state of the law in Wales, past present and future.