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Wales Act 2017

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Wales Act 2017
Act of Parliament
United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend Government of Wales Act 2006 and the Wales Act 2014 and to make provision about the functions of the Welsh Ministers and about Welsh tribunals; and for connected purposes.
Citation2017 c. 4
Introduced byAlun Cairns(Commons)
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth(Lords)
Territorial extentUnited Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent31 January 2017
Other legislation
Relates toHarbours Act 1964
Government of Wales Act 1998
Government of Wales Act 2006
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
Wales Act 2014
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

TheWales Act 2017(c. 7) is anActof theParliament of the United Kingdom.It sets out amendments to theGovernment of Wales Act 2006anddevolves further powerstoWales.The legislation is based on the proposals of theSt David's Day Command Paper.

Background[edit]

The bill was proposed by theConservative Partyin its manifesto for the2015 general election.[1]

The draft Wales Bill was presented in October 2015[2]and faced much criticism from the public over tests for competence (also known as "necessity tests" ). As a result, the bill had been put on hold by the beginning of 2016.[3][4]An amended bill was introduced into theHouse of Commonson 1 June 2016.

Main provisions[edit]

One of the most important provisions is that the Act moved Wales from a conferred matters model to areserved matters model,which is used in Scotland under theScotland Act 1998.[5]The Act repealed the provision of theWales Act 2014for areferendumin Wales on devolution ofincome tax.

The Act gives extra powers to theNational Assembly for Walesand theWelsh Government:[6]

  • The ability to amend sections of theGovernment of Wales Act 2006which relate to the operation of theNational Assembly for Walesand theWelsh Governmentwithin the United Kingdom, including control of its electoral system (subject to a two-thirds majority within the Assembly) for any proposed change.
  • The ability to use such amendment to devolve powers to the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Ministers over areas such asroad signs,onshore oil and gas activity,harbours,rail franchising,energy efficiency,and advice.
  • The power to change the name of the National Assembly for Wales.[7]On 9 October 2019 the Assembly agreed that the new name would be Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru. It came into effect in May 2020.
  • The ability to raise or lowerincome taxby up to 10p in the pound[8]
  • The Welsh Government to have increased borrowing powers to support capital investment, up to £1 billion[9]
  • Extended powers over equalities and tribunals
  • Creation ofWelsh Revenue Authority,a tax authority for Welsh devolved taxes whileHMRCcollects taxes that are not devolved to Wales

The Act recognised the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government as permanent among UK's constitutional arrangements, with a referendum required before either can be abolished. The Act has also recognised that there is a body ofWelsh lawand it established the position ofPresident of Welsh Tribunals.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"The Conservative party Manifesto 2015"(PDF).Conservative Party. 2015.Retrieved2 October2016.
  2. ^"Draft Wales Bill"(PDF).gov.uk. October 2016.Retrieved11 January2017.
  3. ^"Challenge And Opportunity: The Draft Wales Bill 2015"(PDF).Wales Governance Center. February 2016.Retrieved2 October2016.
  4. ^"Return of the Wales Bill in Queen's Speech".BBC. 18 May 2016.Retrieved2 October2016.
  5. ^"Explanatory Notes to the Wales Bill 2016–2017"(PDF).publications.parliament.uk. 2016.Retrieved6 July2016.
  6. ^""Clarity and accountability" at the heart of the Wales Bill, says Alun Cairns ".Wales Office. 14 June 2016.Retrieved6 July2016.
  7. ^"Welsh Assembly to change its name to Welsh Parliament (via Passle)".Passle.Retrieved5 October2019.
  8. ^"Income Tax".Welsh Government. 23 May 2018.
  9. ^"Assembly now 'fully-fledged parliament'".31 March 2017.Retrieved5 October2019.
  10. ^"Wales Bill 2016-17: Committee Stage Report".House of Commons Library. 9 September 2016.Retrieved26 September2016.
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