Government of Wales Bill

Government of Wales Bill - continued	House of Commons

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	PART III
	ASSEMBLY PROCEDURE
	Introductory
Regulation of procedure.	45. - (1) The procedure of the Assembly (including that of committees of the Assembly and sub-committees of such committees) shall be regulated by the standing orders of the Assembly.
	(2) But subsection (1) is subject to any other provision of this Act or any other enactment which regulates, or provides for the regulation of, the procedure of the Assembly (or of committees of the Assembly or sub-committees of such committees).
	(3) The standing orders may make different provision for different circumstances.
	(4) Section 49 makes provision for the making of standing orders to have effect when the Assembly first meets; but the Assembly may remake or revise the standing orders at any time.
	(5) The Assembly may not delegate the function of remaking or revising the standing orders to-
	(a) a committee of the Assembly, or
	(b) a member of the Assembly's staff.
	(6) The standing orders shall not be remade or revised unless a motion to approve the standing orders or revisions is passed by the Assembly on a vote in which at least two-thirds of the Assembly members voting support the motion.
Equal treatment of English and Welsh languages.	46. - (1) The Assembly shall in the conduct of its business give effect, so far as is both appropriate in the circumstances and reasonably practicable, to the principle that the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality.
	(2) In determining how to comply with subsection (1), the Assembly shall have regard to the spirit of any guidelines under section 9 of the Welsh Language Act 1993.
	(3) The standing orders of the Assembly shall be made in both English and Welsh.
Equal opportunities in conduct of business.	47. The Assembly shall make appropriate arrangements with a view to securing that its business is conducted with due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people.
	Initial provisions
First meeting.	48. - (1) The first meeting of the Assembly shall be held on the day, and at the time and place, appointed by order made by the Secretary of State.
	(2) The Secretary of State for Wales, or a person nominated by him, shall take the chair at the first meeting of the Assembly until the election of an Assembly member to be the presiding officer in accordance with the standing orders.
First standing orders.	49. - (1) The Secretary of State shall appoint Commissioners to prepare a draft of standing orders to have effect when the Assembly first meets.
	(2) When the Commissioners have prepared draft standing orders, they shall submit them to the Secretary of State.
	(3) The Secretary of State shall consider the draft standing orders submitted to him and make standing orders either in the form of the draft or in that form but with such modifications as he considers appropriate.
	(4) The Secretary of State shall publish the standing orders as soon as is reasonably practicable after he has made them.
	(5) The standing orders made by the Secretary of State shall have effect (subject to any revisions made by the Assembly) unless and until they are remade by the Assembly.
The Commissioners.	50. - (1) There shall be not fewer than five, and not more than nine, Commissioners.
	(2) The Commissioners shall hold office on such terms (including terms as to the payment of allowances and expenses) as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
	(3) A Commissioner may resign, and the Secretary of State may remove a Commissioner from office, at any time.
	(4) The Secretary of State may issue to the Commissioners guidance as to-
	(a) the content and form of the draft standing orders which they are to prepare, and
	(b) the date by which draft standing orders prepared by them are to be submitted to him.
	(5) But no guidance may be issued as to the content of the draft standing orders if standing orders prepared in accordance with it would not comply with any requirement contained in this Part.
	(6) Any guidance issued by the Secretary of State under subsection (4) shall be published by him.
	Offices and committees
Presiding officer and deputy.	51. - (1) The Assembly shall elect from among the Assembly members-
	(a) the presiding officer, and
	(b) the deputy presiding officer.
	(2) The offices specified in subsection (1) shall be known by such titles as the standing orders may provide (but are referred to in this Act as the presiding officer and the deputy presiding officer).
	(3) The presiding officer and the deputy presiding officer may not be Assembly members who represent the same party.
Assembly First Secretary.	52. The Assembly shall elect an Assembly member to be Assembly First Secretary or Prif Ysgrifennydd y Cynulliad.
Committees.	53. - (1) The Assembly-
	(a) shall establish the committees which it is required to establish by the following provisions of this Part, and
	(b) may establish any other committees which it considers appropriate.
	(2) The members of any committee established by the Assembly under subsection (1)(b)-
	(a) shall be elected by the Assembly from among the Assembly members, and
	(b) shall, unless the committee exists solely to provide advice, be elected so as to secure that, as far as is practicable, the balance of the parties in the Assembly is reflected in the membership of the committee.
Sub-committees.	54. - (1) Any committee of the Assembly may establish one or more sub-committees.
	(2) The members of any sub-committee established by a committee of the Assembly shall be elected by the committee from among Assembly members who are members of the committee.
	(3) A committee of the Assembly, other than the executive committee, shall not elect as members of a sub-committee Assembly members who all represent the same party.
Delegation to committees, sub-committees and staff.	55. - (1) The Assembly may delegate any function of (or delegated to) the Assembly (to such extent as the Assembly may determine) to-
	(a) a committee of the Assembly, or
	(b) a member of the Assembly's staff.
	(2) A committee of the Assembly may delegate any function of (or delegated to) the committee (to such extent as the committee may determine) to-
	(a) a sub-committee of the committee, or
	(b) a member of the Assembly's staff.
	(3) Where a function is delegated (or further delegated) to a sub-committee of a committee of the Assembly, the sub-committee may further delegate the function (to such extent as the sub-committee may determine) to a member of the Assembly's staff.
	(4) In delegating (or further delegating) a function to a committee, the Assembly may limit or exclude the operation of subsection (2) in relation to the function; and in delegating (or further delegating) a function to a sub-committee, a committee may limit or exclude the operation of subsection (3) in relation to the function.
	The statutory committees
Subject committees.	56. - (1) The Assembly shall establish a number of committees each with responsibilities in a field specified in the standing orders.
	(2) The committees established under this section shall be known by such titles as the standing orders may provide (but are referred to in this Act as subject committees).
	(3) The standing orders must secure that, taken together, the subject committees have responsibilities in all of the fields specified in Schedule 2.
Members of subject committees etc.	57. - (1) Each subject committee shall have such number of members as the standing orders may provide.
	(2) The Assembly shall elect a number of Assembly members to be a panel from which the members who are to chair the subject committees are to be selected; and the members of the panel shall be elected so as to secure that, as far as is practicable, the balance of the parties in the Assembly is reflected in the membership of the panel.
	(3) The number of members of the panel at any time shall be equal to the number of subject committees at that time; and each member of the panel shall be selected to chair one (but not more than one) subject committee.
	(4) The members of each subject committee, apart from the member who chairs it, shall be elected by the Assembly from among the Assembly members so as to secure that, as far as is practicable, the balance of the parties in the Assembly is reflected in the membership of the committee (including the member who chairs it).
	(5) Each subject committee shall elect one of the members of the committee to be its leader but the member who chairs a subject committee may not be its leader.
	(6) The leaders of the subject committees shall be known as Assembly Secretaries or Ysgrifenyddion y Cynulliad.
	(7) The Assembly may, in delegating (or further delegating) any function to a subject committee, require that the subject committee further delegate the function to the Assembly Secretary who is the leader of the committee except in any circumstances and to any extent specified by the Assembly.
	(8) Where a function is delegated (or further delegated) by the Assembly to a subject committee, the subject committee may further delegate the function (to such extent as the subject committee may determine) to the Assembly Secretary who is the leader of the committee; and where a function is further delegated to a sub-committee of the subject committee, the sub-committee may further delegate it to him (to such extent as the sub-committee may determine).
	(9) The Assembly may limit or exclude the operation of subsection (8) in relation to a function delegated (or further delegated) to a subject committee; and a subject committee may limit or exclude the operation of that subsection in relation to a function further delegated to a sub-committee.
Executive committee.	58. - (1) The Assembly shall establish a committee consisting of-
	(a) the Assembly First Secretary, who shall chair it, and
	(b) the Assembly Secretaries.
	(2) The committee established under this section shall be known by such title as the standing orders may provide (but is referred to in this Act as the executive committee).
	(3) The executive committee may delegate any function of (or delegated to) the executive committee (to such extent as the executive committee may determine) to the Assembly First Secretary; and where a function is delegated (or further delegated) to a sub-committee of the executive committee, the sub-committee may further delegate it to him (to such extent as the sub-committee may determine).
	(4) The Assembly may limit or exclude the operation of subsection (3) in relation to a function delegated (or further delegated) to the executive committee; and the executive committee may limit or exclude the operation of that subsection in relation to a function delegated (or further delegated) to a sub-committee.
Subordinate legislation scrutiny committee.	59. - (1) The Assembly shall establish a committee with responsibilities relating to the scrutiny of subordinate legislation.
	(2) The committee established under this section shall be known by such title as the standing orders may provide (but is referred to in this Act as the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee).
	(3) The subordinate legislation scrutiny committee shall-
	(a) consider any draft statutory instrument containing Assembly general subordinate legislation which is laid before the Assembly, and
	(b) report to the Assembly whether or not the special attention of the Assembly should be drawn to it on any of the grounds specified in the standing orders for the purposes of this subsection.
	(4) The Assembly may give to the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee-
	(a) other responsibilities relating to the scrutiny of Assembly general subordinate legislation, or
	(b) responsibilities relating to the scrutiny of any other description of subordinate legislation made or proposed to be made by the Assembly.
	(5) The Assembly may not give to the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee responsibilities not relating to the scrutiny of subordinate legislation made or proposed to be made by the Assembly.
	(6) For the purposes of this Act "Assembly general subordinate legislation" is any subordinate legislation which is-
	(a) required to be made by statutory instrument,
	(b) made or proposed to be made by the Assembly,
	(c) not made or proposed to be made jointly with a Minister of the Crown (or more than one Minister of the Crown) or contained in an instrument which also contains provision made by a Minister of the Crown, and
	(d) not local in nature.
Members of scrutiny committee etc.	60. - (1) The subordinate legislation scrutiny committee shall have such number of members as the standing orders may provide.
	(2) The members of the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee shall be elected by the Assembly from among the Assembly members so as to secure that, as far as is practicable, the balance of the parties in the Assembly is reflected in the membership of the committee.
	(3) Neither the Assembly First Secretary nor an Assembly Secretary may be a member of the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee.
	(4) The Assembly shall elect one of the members of the subordinate legislation scrutiny committee to chair the committee but a member who represents the largest party in the Assembly may not chair it.
	(5) The subordinate legislation scrutiny committee may not delegate the function of making reports under section 59(3) to a sub-committee or a member of the Assembly's staff.
	(6) For the purposes of this Act the largest party in the Assembly is the party (if any) which is represented by more Assembly members than any other single party.
Audit Committee.	61. - (1) The Assembly shall establish a committee to be known as the Audit Committee.
	(2) The Audit Committee shall have such number of members as the standing orders may provide.
	(3) The members of the Audit Committee shall be elected by the Assembly from among the Assembly members so as to secure that, as far as is practicable, the balance of the parties in the Assembly is reflected in the membership of the Committee.
	(4) Neither the Assembly First Secretary nor an Assembly Secretary may be a member of the Audit Committee.
	(5) The Assembly shall elect one of the members of the Audit Committee to chair the Committee but a member who represents the largest party in the Assembly may not chair it.
	(6) The Assembly may not delegate (or further delegate) any function to the Audit Committee.
	(7) The Audit Committee may not delegate any of its functions to a sub-committee or a member of the Assembly's staff.
Regional committees.	62. - (1) The Assembly shall establish a committee for North Wales to provide advice to the Assembly about matters affecting North Wales.
	(2) The Assembly shall also establish a committee for each of the other regions of Wales to provide advice to the Assembly about matters affecting the region.
	(3) The standing orders must specify the areas which are to constitute-
	(a) North Wales, and
	(b) the other regions of Wales,
	for the purposes of this section.
	(4) The committees established under this section shall be known by such titles as the standing orders may provide (but are referred to in this Act as regional committees).
	(5) The members of a regional committee shall be-
	(a) the Assembly members returned for an Assembly constituency which is wholly or partly included in the region about which the committee is to provide advice, and
	(b) such of the Assembly members returned for an Assembly electoral region which is wholly or partly included in that region as may be elected as members of the committee by the Assembly.
	(6) Each regional committee shall elect one of the members of the committee to chair it.

Prepared 27 November 1997