5. What progress has been made on the Welsh Government’s codification of law programme? OAQ(5)0028(CG)

Although early days, we have begun to scope potential consolidation projects, as well as starting work necessary to determine effective processes for codifying and better publishing the laws of Wales. And as part of this process we continue to work with the Law Commission on the planning consolidation and codification project.

Thank you for that answer, Counsel General. I’m sure you and everyone else will recognise the importance of codification and the impact it will have. Could you actually outline the economic and social benefits that doing this job will actually give?

There are very considerable benefits to the codification programme, and I don’t hesitate, as I’ve said in this Chamber, to identify the fact that it couldn’t come at a more difficult time—at a time when we have all the demands on resources, legal resources, around the issues of Brexit, issues around the great repeal Bill and all the demands that will be made there, and at a time when financial resources are very strictly limited. That having been said, it is very important, I think, to the business community, for example, that we have a codification of planning law, and of course, there is significant work that is already under way with the Law Commission in that respect.

I think we will also need to look at our own procedures in respect of codification, and possibly legislation, because starting the codification route is not something you can dip in and out of. It has to be a consistent approach, because what we are doing is simplifying and codifying Welsh law, and Welsh law that will be growing and will undoubtedly be leading towards the issue of a jurisdiction. Of very considerable importance to me is not only the simplification and the advantages that will exist in respect of business for that particular purpose, but to look very closely at the issue of access to law, and that is that people have access to the law, that people can understand that law, and that, as far as possible, there is advice and representation available for people to actually take up their rights in law. These are areas that are very, very difficult. Some areas are not devolved areas, but this is a new road for us to go down as we create a new legislative framework. I have a number of meetings that are planned in respect of this process, and I look forward to reporting in much more detail on the progress that we are making as it arises.

I’m sure that you would agree, Counsel General, that there’s no point doing this work of improving and codifying in the way that you’ve outlined unless it is done in broad daylight and that there’s full access for the public and for the people who are affected by the law. So, are you currently confident that the work of putting Welsh law online is receiving the appropriate priority from the national archives?

I think in the whole area of having the law available online and accessible in that way, there is still a considerable amount of work that needs to be done. Obviously, significant steps were undertaken by my predecessor to get the system up and running, but I think that starting the actual codification process itself creates additional demands and additional expectations. I think there is a responsibility on us as well to ensure that we maximise the benefit of technology in making the law available to individuals.

The issue of consolidation is something that took the attention of the predecessor Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee. Codification has now taken our attention very much. Indeed, there are many advantages to Wales on the simplification and transparency of legislation, but it is quite a Sisyphean task in many ways. In fact, if you try to do it in one big chunk, it might be all-consuming, particularly as we have other major tasks ahead of us, including translating the outcomes of the Brexit transition, as we go forward. So, can I ask for the Counsel General’s thoughts on how we would approach this? He’s laid out previously, I think, the idea of piloting some area of this, but I would certainly say that it would seem desirable for a young democratic institution such as our own to lead the way in this, but to do it in a way that wouldn’t completely beggar us by throwing all the resource into this exercise of codification, whilst nothing else could be proceeded with.

The Member is absolutely right that our process of codification and consolidation—the non-reforming consolidation that would go along with that—mustn’t interfere with the work that this Assembly carries out and the Government’s legislative programme and, indeed, the programmes of legislation that may arise from individual Members and so on. It must also not distract us from the really important task of ensuring that we are on top of any legislation and legislative issues relating to Brexit and the potential areas of legislation there that will be necessary. But, as I say, the longer you leave codification, the more complex and difficult it actually becomes, which is why I’m keen that, even if we do it in a limited way, we start the process going and we commit ourselves to an ongoing process. I’ve often described it as a bit like—I make mistakes with my analogies these days—but this one is a bit like the metro in that it will take 10 to 15 years to complete and I’m not sure that I’ll ever get to ride on it. But I’m sure the same will happen with codification: I may never get to see the end product, but I look forward to being on the journey.