Assembly business to become more responsive to the needs of the people of Wales
Individual Assembly Members will get more chances to initiate and influence Assembly business, making it more responsive to the needs of the people of Wales.
That’s one of the aims of the proposed changes to the Assembly’s Standing Orders - the rules that govern the business of the National Assembly).
These new rules aim to strengthen the scrutiny of legislation, to coincide with the National assembly’s enhanced legislative powers, following a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum last week..
Under the proposals from the Business Committee:
Assembly Members, who are not members of the government, will get more scope and time to bring forward issues for debate;
There will be earlier ballots for debates from non-government Members in order to allow them more time to prepare, e.g. by more consultation with external stakeholders;
An optional extra layer of scrutiny in the legislative process to allow further amendments after the existing Stage 3;
Transitional arrangements will be in place to allow the Assembly to make use of its new law-making powers on the first day of the Fourth Assembly, following the ‘yes’ vote in Thursday’s (3 March) Referendum. The necessary changes will then be agreed in the Fourth Assembly.
“The people of Wales have given us a very clear challenge to realise their ambitions through the laws we make,” said Presiding Officer, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM.
“Part of that process means making the business we undertake in the Assembly more responsive to the needs of the people of Wales.
“We have sought to remove unnecessary restrictions and strengthening our scrutiny processes, with new provision to enable better scrutiny of Assembly laws, UK Bills or European legislation which impacts on Wales.
“We have also sought to create more opportunities for individual Members to initiate and influence business, an opportunity which I hope that both returning and new Members will seek to take up in the Fourth Assembly.”
Extra information
The proposed changes to Standing Orders have been tabled by the National Assembly for Wales’s Business Committee today.
They will be subject to agreement in Plenary Session on 16 March. Two thirds of Assembly Members voting must agree to the changes for them to be adopted. The new set of Standing Orders will come into effect on 5 May 2011.