ELIZABETH II

Wales Act 2020

2020 CHAPTER 20

An Act to amend the Government of Wales Act 2006 to devolve competence to the Welsh Parliament in order to make provision for the creation of separate legal jurisdiction in Wales, to devolve competence on additional social welfare powers, and for other connected purposes.
Changelog
Bill ID B049
Author(s) Llywelyn ap Iorwerth mp
Amended by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth mp
First reading 2020 September 10
Royal assent 2020 November 7
Commencement 2020 November 7
Affected legislation Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32)

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Purpose

This act decree to amend the Government of Wales Act 2006 to make provision for the creation of a new separate legal jurisdiction in Wales, similar to the one in Scotland, by devolving competence on jurisdictional matters by removing the reservations laid out in Schedule 7A Part 1 Section 8 and 9. It also seeks to remove restrictions on the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru to create additional social security schemes and to provide further child support. With this the Act hopes to prevent further increases in poverty in Wales. This act seeks to further promote devolution by allowing the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru to enact additional regulations and standards than the ones required by UK and EU law to enable the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru to promote the wellbeing of the citizens of Wales. It further seeks to allow the Welsh government to create a fund buffer in case of crisis or economic depression.

2 Amendments to existing Acts.

2.1 Amendments to the Government of Wales Act 2006

  1. Remove Schedule 7A, Part 1, Section 8
  2. Remove Schedule 7A, Part 1, Section 9
  3. Amend Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section C7, Exceptions, to contain:
    In the cases where relevant legislation contains higher or equal standards and requirements than EU and UK law.
  4. Amend Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section F1, Exceptions to contain:
    In the case where relevant legislation provides additional social security schemes other than the ones required by UK law.
  5. Amend Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section F2 to include a new Exceptions section that reads:
    In the cases where relevant legislation provides further child support than required by UK law.
  6. Amend Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section L6 to include a new Exceptions section that reads:
    In the cases where relevant legislation provides further protections of personal data than required by UK and EU law.
  7. Amend Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section B18, Exceptions to include:
    In the cases where relevant legislation provides stricter limitations on gambling and lotteries than required by UK and EU law.
  8. Remove Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section E2
  9. Remove Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section K1
  10. Amend Part A2 to include a new subsection (3) that reads:
    This section reaffirms that the UK Parliament can not impose legislation upon the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru, or override legislation made by the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru, on matters where the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru has competence or revoke that competence without the approval of the Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru.
  11. Amend Part 4A to include a new Chapter (5) about environment incentivised taxes that reads:
    Taxes promoting the environment and the goal of achieving carbon neutrality such as carbon taxes, airline taxes, and similar.
  12. Amend Part 5 to include a new Section (146) about the right to create sovereign wealth funds so that it reads:
    The Welsh Parliament / Senedd Cymru got the competence and right to create sovereign wealth funds in order to invest and save funds, so that it is able to have a buffer of funds in cases of crisis or economic depression.

3 Short Title, Commencement, and Extent

  1. This act applies to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
  2. This act may be cited as the Wales Act 2020.
  3. This act comes into force upon royal assent.
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