Government of Wales Act 1998

117 Transfer of responsibility

(1) The Lord Chancellor may by order make provision—

(a) imposing or conferring on the Assembly (or a member of the Assembly’s staff) functions relating to Welsh public records (including, in particular, functions of preserving them and of making them available for inspection by the public), and

(b) imposing on persons responsible for Welsh public records duties relating to the selection of such records for permanent preservation, the safe-keeping of such records and their transfer to a place specified in, or appointed under, the order.

(2) An order under this section may (in particular)—

(a) make in relation to Welsh public records provision analogous to that made by the [1958 c. 51.] Public Records Act 1958 in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of that Act, and

(b) contain any appropriate consequential, incidental, supplementary or transitional provisions or savings (including provisions in the form of amendments or repeals of enactments).

(3) An order under this section—

(a) may make provision in relation to all Welsh public records or any description of Welsh public records (or all Welsh public records apart from those of a particular description), and

(b) may make different provision in relation to different descriptions of Welsh public records.

(4) An order under this section which imposes on the Assembly (or a member of the Assembly’s staff) a duty to preserve Welsh public records, or Welsh public records of any description, must include provision for the Lord Chancellor to make such arrangements as appear appropriate for the transfer of Welsh public records, or Welsh public records of that description, which are in—

(a) the Public Record Office, or

(b) a place of deposit appointed under the [1958 c. 51.] Public Records Act 1958,

to a place specified in, or appointed under, the order.

(5) No order shall be made under this section unless the Lord Chancellor has consulted the Assembly.