5 Pre-legislative scrutiny
11. As the Clerk points out in the final paragraph
of his memorandum, the working group's report is limited to questions
of procedure and machinery, rather than the question of principle
as to whether joint meetings are necessary or desirable, and we
believe that this requires further consideration.
12. However, there is an immediate need for a decision
about joint pre-legislative scrutiny by the Welsh Affairs Committee
and the appropriate committee of the National Assembly because
a draft bill applying only to Wales is expected in the next two
months. Both the Welsh Affairs Committee and the UK Government
have expressed their support for such scrutiny, and we consider
that this would be a suitable experiment for joint working before
considering whether to recommend its wider use. We therefore recommend:
a) Until the end of the current Parliament,
the Welsh Affairs Committee should be authorised to invite members
of any specified committee of the National Assembly for Wales
to attend and participate in its proceedings (but not to vote),
subject to a quorum of both committees being present;
b) During such proceedings, use of the Welsh
language should be allowed in all circumstances, with the National
Assembly providing interpreters and transcription of Welsh language
contributions.
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