Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:31 pm on 5 December 2018.
We're at the end of the debate here, so I'm not going to keep you long. But this is a perfect time to welcome back old friends, isn't it? Amendment 42 is one of those old friends. It's about commencement Orders. We routinely bring this [Interruption.] Yes, we do, and for good reason, Cabinet Secretary, because this is something the Government needs to pay attention to, because it can often forget that this Assembly is the legislature, not them, and if we want the opportunity to scrutinise any Welsh Government actions undertaken by virtue of statute, then we can. If we think that Welsh Ministers may have overstepped the mark—I'm not saying they will have, but if we think they may have—perhaps ultra vires, then we should be able to, as Janet said, halt their actions momentarily just for us to check. That's what this amendment would allow us to do, because the section allows Welsh Government to make a range of provisions in connection with the Bill's coming into force—transitory, transitional or saving provisions; I could sing along if it's easier. These are pretty standard wordings. [Interruption.] No, I'm not Peter Lilley.
I accept that this is standard wording, but they could actually mean anything, couldn't they? So, in Stage 2, the Minister said that the making of commencement Orders is not normally subject to any procedure and that the Welsh Government's position has always been clear that commencement Orders do not need to be subject to any procedure. Well, they're not normally attached to this because Welsh Government keeps knocking us back with the help of the backbenches. But, actually, it's not the Government's view that's important here; it's actually the legislature's view—a point that we do make repeatedly and is pushed back by Government in a way that I now think is probably inappropriate.
So, if the Government's going to keep stopping us introducing this one, I think it's time for me to ask Labour backbenchers to do something quite radical here. It's been a week when parliaments have been asserting themselves against governments, so why not take this opportunity to take a tiny stand and join a tiny revolution by supporting this amendment and effecting this tiny defeat on Welsh Government, which just, as a serious point, is reinforcing the role of this Welsh Parliament vis-à-vis Welsh Government. Thank you.