Answers issued to Members on 1 April 2009

[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest.
[W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

Contents

Questions to the First Minister

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Questions to the First Minister

David Melding (South Wales Central): Will the First Minister list the powers that have been transferred to (a) the National Assembly, and (b) Welsh Ministers since 1999? (WAQ53856)

David Melding (South Wales Central): Will the First Minister list the powers that have been delegated to Welsh Ministers from UK Ministers since 1999? (WAQ53857)

David Melding (South Wales Central): Will the First Minister list the delegated powers that have transferred back to UK Ministers since 1999? (WAQ53858)

The First Minister (Rhodri Morgan): The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (No. 672) transferred the first set of functions under 350 Acts of Parliament and 32 Statutory Instruments to the National Assembly for Wales, enabling it to operate from its establishment in 1999.

This Transfer of Functions Order also gave some functions to the Assembly on a concurrent basis, enabling the UK Ministers and our Ministers (after the functions were delegated to them by the Assembly) to exercise the powers. In some case, the Order required UK Ministers to consult the Assembly before exercising a function.

A further 8 Transfer of Functions Orders were subsequently made under the Government of Wales Act 1998, transferring additional powers to the National Assembly; responsibility for exercising these powers was generally delegated to Ministers.

Under the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GOWA 2006), the existing 'Ministerial’ functions of the Assembly transferred to the Welsh Ministers to exercise in their own right (rather than on behalf of the Assembly).

To date, 2 Transfer of Functions Orders have been made under GOWA 2006, including the Order transferring to the Welsh Ministers functions under the Prison Act 1952 which was made by Her Majesty in Privy Council on 18th March 2009.

Since the beginning of devolution in 1999, functions have also been conferred upon the Assembly (under the 1998 Act) and upon the Welsh Ministers (following implementation of GOWA 2006) by Acts of Parliament. In the 3rd Parliamentary session (November 2007 to November 2008), 11 Acts contained powers for the Welsh Ministers. In addition, both Legislative Competence Orders and Acts of Parliament have conferred Measure-making powers on the Assembly since GOWA 2006 came into force.

In addition, initially the Assembly but now the Welsh Ministers have been designated by Order in Council under section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 to implement EU law for a wide number of purposes.

Transfers of functions back to UK Ministers have been few and relatively technical in nature. Certain Home Office functions which had been transferred to the Assembly by mistake under the 1999 Order—specifically, section 30 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and functions relating to mentally ill criminals under the Mental Health Act 1983—were subsequently transferred back by agreement. Also by agreement, a Transfer of Functions Order varied TFO 1999/672 to make a function under the Education Reform Act 1988 a function to be exercised concurrently with UK Ministers.

David Melding (South Wales Central): Will the First Minister list the concordats that exist between UK Ministers and Welsh Ministers and state when they were agreed? (WAQ53859)

David Melding (South Wales Central): Will the First Minister list the Memorandums of understanding that exist between UK Ministers and Welsh Ministers and state when they were agreed? (WAQ53860)

The First Minister: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was agreed between the UK Government and the three devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1999 and an updated version was agreed in 2001. A revised MoU, taking into account constitutional developments (including the Government of Wales Act 2006), is currently under consideration by the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC), following the JMC plenary meeting last June.

A number of concordats were agreed between the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales, under the terms of the devolution settlement in the Government of Wales Act 1998, and the Whitehall Departments, in 1999. The concordats have been kept under review and revised from time to time since then. A further review exercise will be put in train once the revised MoU has been agreed.

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): How much money has been allocated to Communities First for each of the next three years? (WAQ53875)

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): Money allocated for Communities First for the next two years:

Future allocations will be finalised as part of the next spending review round.