Diolch, Llywydd. During Stage 2, Simon Thomas brought forward an amendment requiring the Welsh Ministers to report on the exercise of their functions under section 14(1) and section 15(1), that is, the provision of consent to the making, approving or confirming of subordinate legislation by Ministers of the Crown or others. Although I was not able to support the precise detail of that proposed amendment, during the course of the debate I made it clear that I agreed with the principle behind it and offered to work with him to prepare an amendment for Stage 3 that would be acceptable to both of us.

The main concern with the proposed Stage 2 amendment was that its requirement to report to the Assembly within two weeks on each occasion that a consent was granted would be unduly burdensome given the large number of consents that are likely to be granted in the context of the EU withdrawal Bill. As a result, amendment 3 has been developed in conjunction with Simon Thomas so that the requirement to report is made within a period of 60 days, discounting any time during which the Assembly is dissolved or in recess for more than four days. This does not necessarily mean that an individual report is required for each consent given. It will be possible to include details of multiple concerns within a single report, provided that details of any consents are provided within 60 days of the consent being given. This approach would guarantee the detailed accountability that the original amendment sought to provide, but in a way that is more proportionate and less burdensome. I therefore commend the amendment to Members.