Government of Wales Act 2006

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United Kingdom legislation

Government of Wales Act 2006[a]Act of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Long title| An Act to make provision about the government of Wales.
Citation| 2006 c. 32
Dates
Royal assent| 25 July 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-25)
Other legislation
Amended by| National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017, Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020

Status: Amended

History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
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Local Government (Wales) Act| 1994
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Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act| 1997
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Government of Wales Act| 1998
Human Rights Act| 1998
Scotland Act| 1998
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Representation of the People Act 2000| 2000
Parties, Elections and Referendums Act| 2000
Constitutional Reform Act| 2005
Government of Wales Act 2006| 2006
Northern Ireland Act 2009| 2009
Lisbon Treaty| 2009
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act| 2010
Parl. Voting System and Constituencies Act| 2011
Welsh devolution referendum| 2011
Alternative Vote referendum| 2011
European Union Act 2011| 2011
Fixed-term Parliaments Act| 2011
Scotland Act 2012| 2012
Succession to the Crown Act 2013| 2013
Scottish independence referendum| 2014
House of Lords Reform Act| 2014
Wales Act 2014| 2014
HL (Expulsion and Suspension) Act| 2015
Recall of MPs Act| 2015
European Union Referendum Act| 2015
EU membership referendum| 2016
Scotland Act 2016| 2016
Wales Act 2017| 2017
EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Act| 2017
Invocation of Article 50| 2017
European Union (Withdrawal) Act| 2018
EU Withdrawal Act 2019| 2019
EU Withdrawal (No. 2) Act| 2019
Early Parliamentary General Election Act| 2019
EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act| 2020
UK leaves the European Union| 2020
UK Internal Market Act| 2020
EU (Future Relationship) Act| 2020
Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act| 2022
Elections Act| 2022

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The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system of government with a separate executive drawn from and accountable to the legislature.[1][2] It is part of a series of laws legislating Welsh devolution.[2]

## Provisions

[edit]

The Act has the following provisions:

* creates an executive body—the Welsh Assembly Government (known since May 2011 as the Welsh Government)—that is separate from the legislative body, that is, the National Assembly for Wales.[3] The Welsh Government is therefore altered from being a committee of the National Assembly to being a distinct body[2]
* forbids candidates both contesting constituencies and being on a regional list[4]
* provides a mechanism for Orders in Council to delegate power from Parliament to the Assembly,[5] which will give the Assembly powers to make "Measures" (Welsh Laws).[6] Schedule 5 of the Act describes the fields in which the assembly has Measure making powers.[2][7]
* provides for a referendum for further legislature competencies, to be known as "Acts of the Assembly",[8][9] expanding the Assembly's legislative competence[10]
* creates a Welsh Seal and a Keeper of the Welsh Seal (the First Minister)[11]
* creates a Welsh Consolidated Fund[12]
* creates the post of Counsel General as a member of the Welsh Government and its chief legal adviser.[13]
* creates a Partnership Council for Wales to facilitate co-operation between Welsh ministers and local government in Wales.[14]
* assigns to the monarch new functions of formally appointing Welsh ministers and granting royal assent to Acts of the Assembly.

The bill received Royal assent on 25 July 2006.[1][15]

The part that provides for Acts was brought into force, and the relating to Measures and related Orders in Council ceased to have effect, on 5 May 2011 following the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum. The Act was further amended to rename the Assembly to Senedd Cymru, and further extend its legislative competence to the reserved matters model, by the Wales Act 2014.

## Schedule 5 of the Act

[edit]

Schedule 5 of the Act describes the 20 "Fields" and "Matters" in which the National Assembly for Wales had legislative competence, i.e. the ability to pass Assembly Measures. A Field is a broad subject area, such as education and training, the environment, health and health services, highways and transport, or housing. A Matter is a specific defined policy area within a Field.

The Assembly could gain further legislative competence by the amendment of Schedule 5. There were two ways in which this can happen: either as a result of clauses included in legislation passed by an Act of Parliament at Westminster, or by Legislative Competence Orders (LCOs) granted by Parliament in response to a request from the National Assembly itself (LCOs could be proposed by the Welsh Government, or by individual members, or by Assembly Committees, but had to be approved by the National Assembly before they could go forward). The result of either method was to amend any of the 20 Fields by inserting specific Matters. The Assembly then had competence to pass legislation on those Matters.

Schedule 5 was regularly updated as result of these two processes.

Schedule 5 became moot when the Assembly gained the competence to pass Acts, which were restricted to Matters listed in Schedule 7 rather than Schedule 5, and lost the competence to pass Measures.

### Fields of Schedule 5

[edit]

Source:[16]

* Field 1: agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development
* Field 2: ancient monuments and historic buildings
* Field 3: culture
* Field 4: economic development
* Field 5: education and training
* Field 6: environment
* Field 7: fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
* Field 8: food
* Field 9: health and health services
* Field 10: highways and transport
* Field 11: housing
* Field 12: local government
* Field 13: National Assembly for Wales
* Field 14: public administration
* Field 15: social welfare
* Field 16: sport and recreation
* Field 17: tourism
* Field 18: town and country planning
* Field 19: water and flood defence
* Field 20: Welsh language

## Criticism

[edit]

The Government of Wales Act 2006 was criticised by Plaid Cymru for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament.[citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* Welsh devolution
* Government of Wales Act 1998
* Wales Act 2014
* Wales Act 2017
* Welsh law

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 166 of this Act.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Government of Wales Act 2006", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2006 c. 32, retrieved 2 November 2024
2. ^ a b c d "Making laws in Wales: from executive devolution to a reserved powers model". Senedd Research. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
3. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 45", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 45), retrieved 2 November 2024
4. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006" (PDF). National Assembly for Wales. August 2006. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
5. ^ "Government of Wales 2006: Section 94", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 94), retrieved 2 November 2024
6. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 93", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 93), retrieved 2 November 2024
7. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Schedule 5", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (sch. 5), retrieved 2 November 2024
8. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 103", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 103), retrieved 2 November 2024
9. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 104", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 104), retrieved 2 November 2024
10. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 108", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 108), retrieved 2 November 2024
11. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 116", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2006 c. 32  (s. 116)
12. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 117", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 117), retrieved 2 November 2024
13. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 49", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 49), retrieved 2 November 2024
14. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Section 72", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32  (s. 72), retrieved 2 November 2024
15. ^ "GOVERNMENT OF WALES ACT 2006 — EXPLANATORY NOTES" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The Stationery Office. 2006. p. 1. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
16. ^ "Government of Wales Act 2006: Schedule 5", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 25 July 2006, 2006 c. 32 (sch. 5), retrieved 2 November 2006

## External links

[edit]

* Government of Wales Act 2006 website[permanent dead link‍]
* Assembly Powers Tracking Notes
* WAGs tracking notes

### UK Legislation

[edit]

* Text of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
* Explanatory notes to the Government of Wales Act 2006.

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