Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Wales Bill

Published 3 April 2014.

The Government welcomes the Committee's report and the Committee's "general support for the Bill's content", agrees with several recommendations, and declines to devolve control over Assembly term length in the Wales Bill.

• On fiscal information, it says the Command Paper published with the Bill sets out the block grant adjustment, borrowing limits and the devolution of business rates, and that a full impact assessment has been published alongside the Bill.
• On bonds, it says it is "willing to consider further whether it might be appropriate" for the Welsh Government to issue bonds alongside the initial package of financial powers.
• On Assembly terms, it does not intend to devolve powers over term length in the Wales Bill, but will introduce five year terms, "subject to the Bill's parliamentary passage", to be in place well before the May 2016 election.
• It agrees on dual-membership timing and has amended the Bill. It does not consider the Bill "an appropriate vehicle" for wider changes to Assembly processes, but "will consider" further changes in the context of the Silk Commission's Part II report.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error