Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We considered the Welsh Government’s original legislative consent memorandum for the Bill in September and October last year, and we considered the supplementary LCM at our meeting on 8 February. We laid a single report on the two LCMs on 25 February. 

Our report notes the Deputy Minister’s assessment of the provisions in the Bill which require Senedd consent, in particular that consent is being sought as a result of the Bill’s broader overall purpose. We sought clarification from the Deputy Minister as to why the Welsh Government considered that consent was required. We believed that a more thorough analysis and explanation in this respect should have been included in the original LCM. We did not consider that clauses 65, 66 and 68 as currently drafted could be made by the Senedd. However, it is apparent from our correspondence with the Deputy Minister and from the supplementary LCM that the Welsh Government has considered these issues within the broader context of the Bill’s wider purposes, namely domestic abuse, which is in a devolved area.

Our report highlights the requirements of Standing Order 29, which states that an LCM is needed when a Bill makes provision for any purpose within the legislative competence of the Senedd. Taking this wider view, we agree that these provisions do relate to a purpose within the legislative competence of the Senedd. 

Given that memorandum No. 3 was only laid on Friday afternoon, we have not had time to give it any consideration in committee. However, I do note that a number of further amendments have been made to the Bill that impact on devolved competencies. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.