The Government of Wales Act 2006 (Commencement of Assembly Act Provisions, Transitional and Saving Provisions and Modifications) Order 2011

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

1.  This Order commences the Assembly Act provisions in Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) (“the Act”) and makes transitional and saving provisions and modifications in relation to the commencement of that Part. It also repeals certain legislation that becomes redundant on the coming into force of the Order.

2.  Article 2 specifies the date on which the Order comes into force and Article 3 commences the Assembly Act provisions so that the National Assembly for Wales may pass Acts of the Assembly.

3.  Article 4 makes transitional provision for Part 3 of the Act to continue to have effect in relation to proposed Assembly Measures which, on the coming into force of this Order, have been passed by the Assembly but have not been approved by Her Majesty in Council. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that proposed Assembly Measures passed by the Assembly before its dissolution on 1 April 2011 may still be approved by Her Majesty in Council under the relevant provisions in Part 3 so that they may become law.

4.  Article 5(2) inserts in section 115 of the Act provision that the Keeper of the Welsh Seal must send the Letters Patent to the National Library of Wales.

5.  Article 5(3) inserts in section 115 of the Act provision to ensure that there is an official print of an Act of the Assembly and that the Clerk to the Assembly must write the calendar year and any prefix and number assigned to the Act on that copy. It also provides that the Clerk to the Assembly must make a certified copy of the official print and send that copy to the Queen’s Printer. The Clerk must arrange for the official print of each Act of the Assembly to be sent to the National Library of Wales.

6.  Article 5(3) also inserts in section 115 of the Act provision to ensure that each official print of an Act of the Assembly and Letters Patent relating to it are preserved by the National Library of Wales and open to public inspection.

7.  Article 6 modifies the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22). Section 7(8) is amended to include a reference to Acts of the Assembly and section 7(9) replace the reference to section 94(4) of the Act with a reference to section 108(4) of that Act.

8.  Article 7 modifies the definition of “Welsh trunk road charging scheme” in section 123(6) of the Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26) so that it refers to schemes made by or under Acts of the Assembly.

9.  Article 8 modifies regulation 2(4) of the Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) (Wales) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/3239) to include a reference to Acts of the Assembly.

10.  Article 9 amends section 41 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) to remove the references to section 96.