Referendum on legislative powers of the National Assembly a step closer after Orders laid
21 October 2010
The Order setting up the referendum on the legislative powers of the National Assembly for Wales has been laid by the Welsh Government.
It sets the date of the poll for 3 March 2011 and also the question that voters will see on the ballot paper.
In addition, the Order outlines the rules of the campaign running up to 3 March.
A second Order has also been laid which will bring Schedule 7 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 up to date. This is the part of the Act which sets out in detail the subjects over which the Assembly will have power to make laws in the event of a Yes vote, and needs to be up-dated to take account of developments in the Assembly’s existing powers since 2006..
The Orders will now be debated by Assembly Members and by Members of both Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The Assembly is expected to vote on the Orders by the middle of November.
If agreed in all three chambers, the referendum will take place on March 3 with the official campaign period beginning 28 days before that, in early February.
Further details about the referendum