Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:59 pm on 13 March 2018.
Llywydd, having said that the Bill is a complex piece of law, I should also say that, in its broad aims—indeed, in its general principles—I believe that it is clear and simple. It is intended to deal with the inevitable consequences in domestic law of withdrawal from the European Union by preserving EU law covering subjects already devolved to Wales. It will enable Welsh Ministers to make necessary adjustments to ensure that legislation covering these subjects works effectively at the point of withdrawal.
Llywydd, the time available does not permit a detailed explanation of every provision in the Bill, but in the interests of trying to inform today's debate, I will briefly outline some of the principal propositions laid out in it.
Sections 3, 4 and 5 are critical to understanding the Bill. Their collective product is referred to as 'EU derived Welsh law', which would be the devolved Welsh equivalent to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill's 'retained EU law'. Section 3 enables regulations to be made that contain provision corresponding to direct EU law. The power in section 3 would, for example, involve taking EU regulations and adapting them so that they work in a domestic context, and then setting them out in a Welsh set of regulations.
Section 4 provides for the restatement of domestic legislation that has derived from the European Union. For example, Part 5 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 makes amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 to ensure the continued protection of European maritime sites. Under section 4, we would restate the relevant provisions of that Act, which derive from the European Union. Again, there may be some necessary adjustments to be made as part of that process, and in response to recommendation 1 of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee report, I can confirm this afternoon that the power in section 4 to make modifications or further provision can only be used to ensure the effective operation of the restated enactment.
I could also say, Llywydd, that as far as recommendation 2 of the CLAC report goes, we carefully reflected on the views of the committee and the Assembly more widely in preparing our Bill. This included narrowing the scope of the powers, taking specific account of the concerns raised on the breadth of powers in the EU withdrawal Bill. So, to answer directly the question posed in that second recommendation, in general, the powers in this Bill are more restrictive than the powers in the EU withdrawal Bill.
Section 5 of the Bill deals with legislation that has been under EU-related powers. The main power used for implementing EU obligations being section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. That Act is being repealed by the EU withdrawal Bill. The power in section 5 will enable all legislation made under section 2(2) in devolved areas to be preserved.
Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Bill then make provision in respect of EU derived Welsh law created as a result of sections 3, 4 and 5. They include provisions on legal challenges in respect of that law, interpretation of that law, and rules of evidence to assist courts when considering that law.
I turn now, Llywydd, to section 11 of the Bill. This provides a permissive power to enable us to maintain regulatory alignment with the European Union. Businesses have consistently told us how important continued access to the European Union market is to them, and our policy, set out jointly with Plaid Cymru in our foundational document, 'Securing Wales' Future', is well known. That is to advocate ensuring continued regulatory alignment after Brexit in order to ensure full and unfettered participation in the single market. Section 11 of the Bill will enable that to happen smoothly in the case of law within the devolved competence.