5. What discussions has the Counsel General had with law officers in the UK Government and the Scottish Government following the referral of the Law Derived from the European Union (Wales) Bill to the Supreme Court? OAQ52086

The Welsh Government has secured changes to the UK Government’s EU withdrawal Bill. As part of the agreement, the UK Government will ask the law officers to make an application to the Supreme Court to withdraw the reference made to the court in respect of the Welsh continuity Bill.

I thank you for that answer, Counsel General. Obviously, since I submitted the question, things have moved on a little bit, and as a consequence you've indicated the action that has been taken. However, there was a precedent perhaps set here; the intent was clearly to take this Bill to the Supreme Court if those amendments had not been agreed. As a consequence, we may end up, and have ended up, in a situation where we were in the Supreme Court for our Bill, while the UK Government's EU Bill was going through. What would be the legal position in relation to us being held within the Supreme Court while the UK Bills were passed, therefore had Royal Assent, but we were still waiting for the outcome of the Supreme Court decision before we could go for Royal Assent?

Well, the Member will be aware that this is a matter that is very much in the mind of the Welsh Government, on a number of bases, not least the fact that the volume of Brexit-related legislation and subordinate legislation that needs to be pursued and implemented required all Governments in the UK, and all legislatures, to start the work as soon as possible. So, as the Member will be aware, an application was made to the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing of the matter. That expedited application remains in place, and obviously we will not be withdrawing that until the reference itself is withdrawn, and no decision has yet been made by the Supreme Court about that question of bringing forward the hearing. What we would expect and need is for the Attorney General to withdraw that reference if the LCM is approved by the Assembly in due course. That's obviously a matter for the Assembly to consider. And at that point, the continuity Bill will be available to be submitted for Royal Assent. That may seem like a curious step to take in the circumstances, but as the Member and others will know, it won't be possible to repeal the continuity Bill without it having been submitted in that way for Royal Assent.