Response to Inquiry into Making Laws in the Fourth Assembly
Drafting techniques
1. Overall, is it your impression that legislative drafting for the National Assembly broadly complies with best practice for legislative drafting within the United Kingdom?
The drafting of legislation and the policy development process which precedes it should include relevant stakeholders at an early stage. In particular, early consultation with inspection, audit and regulation bodies regarding legislation which impacts on the remit of work covered by such bodies is essential to avoid potentially embarrassing amendments to draft legislation having to be made in later proceedings
2. As a general rule, are there specific respects in which the quality of legislative drafting for the National Assembly appears particularly admirable?
No comment
3. As a general rule, are there specific causes for concern in the quality of legislative drafting for the National Assembly?
No comment
4. As a general rule, do Bills of the National Assembly appear to be drafted with the aim of making them reasonably accessible to, and intelligible by, the appropriate target audiences for each Bill?
No comment
5. Is there reason to differentiate in your answers to Questions 1 to 4 between Bills and amendments drafted by the Welsh Government and other Bills and amendments?
No comment
6. As a general rule, is the drafting style of Bills, and amendments, brought before the National Assembly in accordance with best modern practice?
No comment
7. In particular, is the practice in relation to any of the following matters particularly admirable, or a cause for concern?
No comment
8. In general, do Bills before the National Assembly appear to follow equivalent or similar Acts of Parliament or other enactments:
No comment
9. Are there significant differences, as a general rule, between the quality of the drafting style of Bills and amendments presented by the Welsh Government and other Bills and amendments?
No comment
10. Are there specific Bills before the Fourth Assembly which particularly illustrate, or provide significant exceptions to, any of the answers given in Questions 1 to 9 above?
No comment
11. In general, are appropriate opportunities taken for the consolidation of legislation, whether as a separate exercise or in the course of making new substantive legislation?
No comment
12. What impact does legislative competence appear to have on the form of, or techniques used in, the drafting of Bills?
No comment
13. To what extent does that impact reflect the model of legislative competence adopted by the Government of Wales Act 2006?
No comment
14. Might a different model have advantages or disadvantages in relation to the form of, or techniques used in, the drafting of Bills?
No comment
Policy development and explanation
15. As a general rule, is there evidence to show that the processes for policy development lead to Bills being brought into the National Assembly with a properly constructed and tested policy?
No comment
16. In particular—
a. do the processes for consultation in the development of policy appear to be appropriate and effective?
b. do the processes for impact assessment appear to be appropriate and effective?
c. are the policy purposes of legislation accurately and sufficiently explained to Assembly Members and to the public?
No comment
17. Are there appropriate and effective mechanisms for determining whether the policy underpinning a legislative proposal is accurately and effectively addressed by the form of the legislation proposed?
No comment
18. In general, do the Explanatory Memoranda provided with Bills serve the purpose for which they are designed?
No comment
19. In particular, is the practice in relation to any of the following matters particularly admirable, or a cause for concern?
a. the length of Explanatory Memoranda;
b. the inclusion of background policy material;
c. the use of examples to illustrate the intended effect of provisions;
d. the use of tables, diagrams and other illustrations.
No comment
20. Are there significant differences, as a general rule, between the quality of Explanatory Memoranda for Bills presented by the Welsh Government and other Bills?
No comment
21. Are there specific Bills before the Fourth Assembly which provide particular illustrations of, or significant exceptions to, any of the answers given to Questions 15 to 20 above?#
No comment
Balance between primary and secondary legislation?
22. Overall, does primary legislation passed by the National Assembly in the Fourth Assembly appear to strike the correct balance between detail on the face of the Act and powers to make subordinate legislation?
No comment
23. Overall, where powers are granted to make subordinate legislation do they appear to be subjected to an appropriate level of scrutiny by the National Assembly?
No comment
24. Is the use of Henry VIII Provisions (powers for subordinate legislation to amend Acts) broadly satisfactory, or does it give rise to causes for concern?
No comment
25. Are there appropriate and effective arrangements for explaining and justifying the taking of powers to make subordinate legislation?
No comment
26. What principles should the National Assembly apply in considering the appropriate balance between detail on the face of Bills and powers to make subordinate legislation?
No comment
27. How can those principles be applied effectively in practice?
No comment
Assembly scrutiny
28. As a general rule, are appropriate and effective arrangements made for the pre-legislative scrutiny of draft legislation?
No comment
29. As a general rule, is scrutiny at Stage 1 sufficient and effective for probing the fundamental policy objectives of legislation before the National Assembly?
No comment
30. Could more effective use be made of the optional Report Stage following Stage 3?
No comment
31. Do the existing Standing Orders of the National Assembly provide sufficient and effective opportunities for the amendment of Bills?
No comment
32. Does existing practice within the National Assembly make effective use of opportunities for the amendment of Bills?
No comment
33. Are the arrangements for expedited processing of emergency Bills efficient and effective?
No comment
34. What arrangements, if any, should be made for formal post-legislative scrutiny of legislation passed by the National Assembly?
No comment
35. Does the experience of the Fourth Assembly suggest that the present capacity of the Welsh Government to bring forward legislation is:
No comment
36. Does the experience of the Fourth Assembly suggest that the present capacity of the National Assembly to process Government legislation is:
a. sufficient;
b. insufficient; or
c. unnecessarily large?
No comment
37. Does the experience of the Fourth Assembly suggest that the present capacity of the National Assembly to propose and process legislation other than Government legislation is:
a. sufficient;
b. insufficient; or
c. unnecessarily large?
No comment
38. Do any aspects of the Welsh Government’s management of its legislative programme appear particularly admirable or to give cause for concern?
No comment
39. Have there been any particular successes in the National Assembly’s ability to pass Acts acquired under the Government of Wales Act 2006?
No comment
40. Have there been any particular causes for concern in the National Assembly’s ability to pass Acts acquired under the Government of Wales Act 2006?
No comment
41. What other comments would you like to make about the passing of Acts by the National Assembly?
No comment