Government of Wales Act 2006 and Separation of Powers
Introduction to Welsh Devolution
A New Voice for Wales
The story of modern Welsh self-governance begins in 1997. A referendum was held, and by the slimmest of margins, the people of Wales voted in favor of creating a national assembly. This led to the UK Parliament passing the Government of Wales Act 1998, which established the National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd or Welsh Parliament.
For the first time in centuries, Wales had a democratically elected national body. The new Assembly was given power over specific policy areas like health, education, and local government. However, this first version of devolution was quite limited.
An Assembly with Tied Hands
The 1998 Act created what's known as a "conferred powers" model. This meant the Assembly could only make laws on subjects specifically handed over, or conferred, by the UK Parliament in Westminster. Anything not on that list was off-limits. More importantly, the Assembly couldn't pass its own primary laws, or "Acts." It could only create secondary legislation, which is more like filling in the details of laws already passed by the UK Parliament.
A bigger issue was the structure. The 1998 Act created a single body, the National Assembly, without a clear separation between the people making the laws (the legislature) and the people running the government (the executive). The Assembly's committees, First Secretary, and other secretaries were all part of one corporate entity.
This structure caused confusion. It was often unclear who was holding whom to account, as the government and the parliament were effectively the same institution.
This setup was different from the model in Scotland, which from the start had a distinct Parliament and Government. The lack of separation in Wales blurred the lines of responsibility and made it difficult for the public to understand who was in charge of what.
The Push for More Power
It quickly became clear that the 1998 model was a starting point, not a final destination. The limitations on law-making were frustrating, and the confusing structure needed reform. Political pressure grew for a stronger, more effective form of devolution.
In 2002, the Welsh Government established an independent group called the Richard Commission to review the Assembly's powers and electoral arrangements. The commission's 2004 report was a landmark moment. It recommended that the Assembly should have the power to make its own primary laws and, crucially, that the legislative and executive functions should be formally separated.
These recommendations formed the basis of the next major step in Wales's devolution journey. The UK government took notice, and the stage was set for a new law that would reshape Welsh governance.
Marking the first major reform of the system, the Government of Wales Act 2006 provided the National Assembly with the means to pass ‘Measures’ – essentially Acts, but by a different name.
This new act aimed to fix the core problems of the 1998 settlement. It created a distinct Welsh Government, separate from the National Assembly, and gave the Assembly much stronger law-making powers, moving Wales closer to the model used in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Let's check your understanding of these initial steps.
What was the direct outcome of the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum?
The initial structure of the National Assembly for Wales, established in 1998, lacked a formal separation between the legislature (the law-makers) and the executive (the government).
The creation of the National Assembly was a historic moment, but it was just the beginning of a longer process of defining Wales's place within the United Kingdom.