The Government of Wales Act 2006 and Constitutional Gaps
Introduction to Welsh Devolution
A New Voice for Wales
The story of modern Welsh self-governance begins in 1997. A referendum was held on whether to create a national assembly for Wales. The result was incredibly close, with the 'Yes' campaign winning by less than one percent. This narrow victory led to the Government of Wales Act 1998, which established the National Assembly for Wales. The first elections were held in 1999, and for the first time in centuries, Wales had its own democratic institution.
However, this new Assembly was not a parliament in the same way as Scotland's. It was set up as a single “corporate body.” This meant there was no legal separation between the executive (the part that proposes and implements policy) and the legislature (the part that scrutinizes and makes laws). They were one and the same.
Crucially, the Assembly did not have primary law-making powers. It could only create secondary legislation, which are detailed rules and regulations that fill out the broader laws passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster. It had power over areas like health, education, and local government, but its ability to create new, overarching laws from scratch was limited.
The major original difference was that the Welsh Assembly, unlike the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, was not granted the power to pass legislation in its own right.
The Push for More Power
The initial devolution settlement quickly showed its limitations. The “corporate body” structure caused confusion. Who was holding whom to account if the government and the legislature were technically the same entity? In practice, a separation began to form between the Welsh Assembly Government (the cabinet) and the Assembly members responsible for scrutiny, but this was an informal arrangement.
The process for making laws was also cumbersome. If the Assembly wanted to create new primary legislation, it had to go through a complex process of requesting powers from Westminster for each specific policy area. This was slow and inefficient, frustrating politicians who wanted to deliver on their promises to Welsh voters.
Although the National Assembly of Wales was formed as a single corporate body, a de facto division emerged postdevolution between the Welsh Assembly government and the Welsh Assembly as a representative body.
These challenges created a strong political momentum for change. Many felt that Wales needed a more robust and independent legislature, one that could properly hold the government to account and create its own laws without constantly seeking permission from London. This growing consensus set the stage for the next major step in Wales’s devolution journey: the Government of Wales Act 2006.