6th November 2008
Questions and letters on devolution
National Assembly for Wales: Legislative Competence
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the Government’s policy is on the inclusion of clauses limiting the scope of the legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales within draft Orders in Council; and if he will make a statement. [230105]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Draft Orders in Council presented by the Government to Parliament for approval should set out clearly and unambiguously the scope of legislative competence being conferred on the National Assembly for Wales.
The scope of such draft Orders is informed by pre-legislative scrutiny of proposals by the Welsh Affairs Committee, the House of Lords Constitution Committee and the National Assembly for Wales.
Referendums
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2008, Official Report, column 1385W, on referendums, what his policy is on the application of section 104 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 to requests received from the Welsh Assembly Government during the present term for a referendum under Part IV of the Government of Wales Act 2006. [230106]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Section 104 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 would apply to any request made by the Welsh Assembly Government for a referendum.
Referendums
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the policy of the Government is on the submission to Parliament of any request for a referendum made by the Welsh Assembly Government during the present term of the Assembly under Part IV of the Government of Wales Act 2006. [226116]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Any request for a referendum made by the Welsh Assembly Government would be dealt with under the provision of section 104 and schedule 6 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Dear Paul,
I am writing to ask you for an urgent meeting in order to clarify apparent ambiguities in the Government’s policy on devolution. These have arisen following a number of parliamentary written answers I have received from you, as well as some recent statements made by your predecessor, Peter Hain. It would be very helpful if this meeting could be arranged before my party’s next National Council which takes place on the 22nd of November.
In his recent letter to Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Mr Hain said that he did not believe
“Parliament would agree to trigger a referendum before or during 2011.” These comments and his statement that Parliament would not simply ‘rubber-stamp’ the outcome of the Convention explicitly raised the prospect either of yourself in your role as Secretary of State using your power to Veto the Assembly’s request for a referendum or, more specifically, such a request being defeated on either floor of the House. With the Government majority such as it is, and given that both the Liberal Democrats and ourselves will be voting for a referendum, the latter scenario is only conceivable if the Government were to fail to whip in favour.
In response to this, I tabled a parliamentary question to you enquiring what Government policy would be in response to an application for a referendum during this Assembly term as set out in the One Wales agreement. I received a response which simply stated the legal position: that Section 104 and Schedule 6 of GOWA 2006 would apply. My question, however, was one of policy, not law. I then sent a second question in order to clarify this fact, and received a similarly unenlightening reply.
I thought it would, therefore, be beneficial if we were to meet up and discuss this issue face to face. There may well be a perfectly reasonable explanation for these responses, but you can appreciate my frustration when all I am seeking to ascertain is if the Government would support a properly constituted referendum request from the Assembly within this Assembly term as set out in the One Wales Agreement? I hope it will be possible for you to dispel my fears.
I would also like to discuss with you an issue I raised in relation to the question of limiting clauses being introduced into Legislative Competence Orders to narrow their legislative scope as advocated recently by the Welsh Affairs Committee. Your reply, I have to say, did not advance my understanding as to whether the Government believed it was legitimate for Parliament to seek to limit the use which can be made of a Legislative Competence by the Assembly.
I know that parliamentary answers are often deliberately ambiguous. But there should be no ambiguity in the Government’s commitment either to the governance arrangements as agreed in the Government’s own published guidelines and to the terms of the One Wales Agreement, which are as binding on it as they are on the Labour Party within Wales, as far as the referendum in concerned.
I hope it will be possible for you to reassure me in this regard by providing me with a clarification of the Government’s position.
As a matter of courtesy, I would like to inform you that I will be releasing a copy of this letter to journalists.
I look forward to our meeting at your earliest convenience,
Yours,
Adam Price MP
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