Item 7 is next, a legislative consent motion on the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill.

I would call the Minister, but I'm not sure whether he is online or not. Ah, we see the Minister. Therefore, I call the Minister for Economy to move the motion. Vaughan Gething.

Motion NDM7857 Vaughan Gething

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 29.6, agrees that provisions in the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill, in so far as they fall within the legislative competence of the Senedd, should be considered by the UK Parliament.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am happy to move the legislative consent motion before the Senedd today. I had previously advised the Senedd not to give its consent to the motion before us, because the Bill as originally drafted contained a reservation from devolved powers. Regrettably, it was introduced in March this year, with little consultation with the Welsh Government at the time.

ARIA is intended to be a UK-wide funding body to pursue new, novel, high-risk research and invention endeavours in science and technology, and I welcome, as indeed do other Ministers across the UK, the ambition for ARIA and the arm's-length operation model that it has. However, as I indicated, the previous draft of the Bill would have inserted a new reservation into the Government of Wales Act 2006 in respect of research and innovation, and the Bill made no provision for the involvement of devolved Governments in the governance of ARIA. My concerns were shared by counterparts in the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. Following later, constructive discussions with devolved Governments, the UK Government has now tabled amendments to the Bill. Those amendments have been agreed within the UK Parliament, and they have removed that new reservation. That therefore that means that our devolved powers in respect of research, development and innovation are preserved in respect of ARIA.

To secure those important amendments, we all agreed a memorandum of understanding. That sets out how, with collaboration between our respective chief scientific advisers in the four Governments, we will jointly oversee the operation of ARIA, whilst allowing it to operate independently. This isn't what I would describe as a perfect outcome, but it does reflect a willingness by all four Governments to work together to agree a mutually beneficial position. The Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have also agreed the same provisions, with their respective Parliaments considering their own legislative consent provisions today, as are we. And I should recognise that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy science Minister, George Freeman, since his appointment, has shown a practical 'can do' attitude and keenness to work with me and indeed other devolved Governments to make ARIA a success for all of us.

The funding that ARIA will have access to is about £800 million over the coming period. That's not especially large compared to the total UK research and innovation budget. It should be pointed out that our research excellence in Wales is strong, especially in areas related to the UN sustainability goals, as was recently demonstrated by our own chief scientific adviser. It is essential that ARIA recognises, in a fair and objective way, Welsh research excellence, so that Wales does compete on a level playing field for the funding that is available through this source.

I'm grateful to the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and, indeed, the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee for their scrutiny in respect of this Bill. I want to acknowledge the findings that they have made, both for the original Bill as tabled and, indeed, the amended Bill. With the LJC committee, I think we've addressed their recommendations by the removal of the reservation powers and limiting the extent of Henry VIII powers.

Regarding the economy and trade committee's points, I've written to the committee to explain why I do believe that consent is required for clause 5 that they mentioned, and that relates to the national security directions. I sympathise with the committee's views on the governance of ARIA, but for the reasons I've explained, I accept the compromise position that we've reached on this to protect the wider devolution settlement, to give us, through our chief scientific advisers, an opportunity to have insight into the strategic provisions governing ARIA. Therefore, I am now in a position to recommend that the Senedd consents to the relevant provisions within the ARIA Bill. Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. 

I call on Alun Davies on behalf of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm grateful to the Minister for the update that he's given us this afternoon. Members may remember that the committee reported on the legislative consent memorandum on 21 October and on memorandum No. 2 following our committee meeting yesterday.

In our first report, we noted the points that the Minister has already referred to and the concerns that he raised with the United Kingdom Government regarding ARIA being made a reserved authority under Schedule 7A to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the provisions for the involvement of devolved Governments in its governance. We concluded at that time that reserving new powers to the UK Parliament with no respect to research and innovation is not acceptable, and we recommended that the Minister should provide an update before today's debate on discussions with the UK Government about removing that restriction. The Minister has, of course, already now given us that update and we're grateful to him for it.   

In our report on memorandum No. 2, we therefore welcomed the removal of this restriction on the Senedd's legislative competence made by an amendment to the Bill in the House of Lords, and that ARIA will not now be a reserved matter in Wales. We've also noted, Deputy Presiding Officer, that, to secure the removal of the restriction, inter-governmental negotiations have resulted in the memorandum of understanding that the Minister has described with the UK Government. This led us to recommend that the Minister publishes this MOU at the earliest opportunity and undertakes to provide regular reports on activity in relation to that MOU under the inter-institutional relations agreement between the Senedd and the Welsh Government.

In concluding, I would like to return to the second recommendation in our first report. We expressed concern, Deputy Presiding Officer, that clause 10 of the Bill contains a significant Henry VIII power that we consider could be used to amend the Government of Wales Act 2006. As we regularly say in our reports, the legislative competence of the Senedd should not be modified by regulations made by UK Ministers. We therefore recommended that the Minister should seek an amendment to the Bill to the effect that the powers in the Bill cannot be used by UK Ministers to make regulations that amend the 2006 Act. I'd be grateful if the Minister could comment on that aspect of our report in his concluding remarks. Thank you.

I have no other speakers, and therefore I call on the Minister for Economy to reply.

Thank you. Taking the point that Alun Davies has made on behalf of the legislation and justice committee, that was a concern that the Government had as well, but we do believe that, with the amendments that have now been inserted, it does limit the ability of UK Ministers to use Henry VIII powers to amend the competence and legislative measures of this particular Parliament. It was part of the point of securing the change, so they won't be able to do that unilaterally.

I think it is also worth me responding directly to the point about the publication of the memorandum of understanding, which Alun Davies mentioned on behalf of the committee as well. I'm happy to confirm that we'll share a draft form with the committee and then we'll publish the final form at the point when it's signed. I'll also be happy to report on ARIA's activities on a routine basis, as the Member has requested.

I do believe that the amendments that we have now secured will address the comments and the concerns of the committee, which are ones that were shared by the Government. It does show, though, that where this Government and others engage on a constructive basis, and there is a constructive response from the UK Government, it is possible to find legislative measures and new innovations that actually work with the devolution settlement and don't cut across it.

I would hope that there is a signal there both for legislators and Ministers within this administration, as indeed others around the UK, for a better and more constructive way to conduct inter-ministerial relationships, and innovations that all of us, I think, regardless of our politics, may wish to see across the United Kingdom in future. We have reached a common understanding across the four different Governments of the UK about how ARIA can operate, and I hope we can do so on other matters in future. But, as I say, I do ask Members to support the motion before us on the basis of the amendments we have managed to secure to the Bill as introduced. 

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes; I will defer voting under this item until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.