Perhaps the principal one is that we have concerns as to whether providing Welsh Ministers with wide powers to keep pace with all EU legislation within devolved competence through a portmanteau Bill would be acceptable to this Senedd. It would not be consistent with the views expressed by Members in the past therefore the bar for proposing such an approach would be set high.

There are also other available means of enabling Wales to keep pace where we consider it necessary. First, Welsh Ministers already have powers to keep pace with technical modifications to EU tertiary legislation either through functions created in the EU exit SIs as part of the corrections programme or through existing domestic powers. Analysis of the availability of existing powers will need to be undertaken in response to specific EU legislative proposals as they are being developed.

For more significant EU legislation, the legislative process in the EU would provide more than enough time to enable a Bill to be introduced and passed by the Senedd if that was considered necessary.

The context for this analysis is important. The Welsh Government remains committed to the common frameworks process, which we believe should both allow and manage policy divergence between the UK and the devolved Governments, or indeed between each of the devolved Governments. We intend to follow the common frameworks process through to its end before concluding where we might need and be able to follow developments in future EU legislation. Nevertheless, I want to assure Members that we will keep the position under review.

Finally, Members should be aware that a significant body of secondary legislation will be required during this year, although we cannot quantify it in advance of knowing how the negotiations with the EU, and indeed with other third countries, will proceed. In any event, there will be demands from the usual work to implement EU law that comes into force this year; the further correcting SIs that are needed to ensure that retained EU law works in the context of the end of the transition period; and secondary legislation needed to implement the new regimes being established by UK Bills and the withdrawal agreement Act itself.

Work is already well underway to determine the amount of legislation that will be necessary to the extent that we can determine at this point in time, and I will, of course, keep Members updated.