The Corporate Joint Committees (Transport Functions) (Consequential Modifications and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1) confers power on the Welsh Ministers to establish corporate joint committees. Corporate joint committees are bodies corporate consisting of such county councils and county borough councils in Wales as are specified in the Regulations establishing them. They may exercise the functions specified in those Regulations, including (among other things) specified functions of a county or county borough council relating to transport.

Functions under section 108 of the Transport Act 2000 have been conferred on four separate corporate joint committees under the following Regulations made under sections 74, 83 and 174 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021—

(a) The South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/343 (W. 97));

(b) The South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/352 (W. 104));

(c) The Mid Wales Corporate Joint Committee Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/342 (W. 96));

(d) The North Wales Corporate Joint Committee Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/339 (W. 93)).

The Corporate Joint Committees (Transport Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (“the 2021 Regulations”), which come into force on the same day as these Regulations, modify the Transport Act 2000 in cases where a corporate joint committee has been established by Regulations and the function of developing policies under section 108 of the 2000 Act has been conferred on the corporate joint committee. The modifications require the corporate joint committee to develop transport policies and establish a regional transport plan for its area.

These Regulations are made by the Welsh Ministers under section 173 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. They make amendments to primary and secondary legislation consequent to the modifications to the Transport Act 2000 made by the 2021 Regulations.

Regulation 4 makes provision to preserve existing transport policies prepared by county and county borough councils until such time as regional transport plans are in force in relation to their areas.

Regulation 5 revokes the Regional Transport Planning (Wales) Order 2014.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.