The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)
The Government established the Commission on Devolution in Wales (the Silk commission) in October 2011 with the support and full engagement of the Welsh Government and all four parties in the National Assembly for Wales.
The Silk commission reported on the first part of its remit in November 2012, recommending the devolution of fiscal powers to the National Assembly for Wales (“the Assembly”). The Government are implementing almost all of the Silk commission’s recommendations, and will bring forward a Wales Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows to devolve tax and borrowing powers to Wales. The Welsh Affairs Select Committee reported last week on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill in draft, and the Government are carefully considering the recommendations which the Committee has made.
I can inform the House that the Silk commission has today reported on the second part of its remit (“Silk II”), examining the powers of the Assembly and recommending modifications to the Welsh devolution boundary. I have placed copies of the report in the Library of the House.
The publication of today’s report concludes the work of the Silk commission. I would like to thank the commission for fulfilling its remit and for its commitment and hard work over the last two and a half years. I would like to pay tribute to the commissioners, who have worked tirelessly and on an unpaid basis, and to Paul Silk, chair of the commission, for his dedication and leadership. The commission has produced two thorough, well researched reports which I am sure history will record as important contributions to the development of devolution in Wales.
I warmly welcome publication of the report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of devolution in Wales and makes recommendations for change which are thought-provoking and thoroughly researched. The Government will now carefully consider in full each of the recommendations and their implications.
This Government have a proud track record on devolution within a strong United Kingdom—devolving further powers to Scotland in the Scotland Act 2012, and in Wales providing for the 2011 referendum which resulted in the Assembly assuming primary law-making powers in all 20 devolved areas. The Wales Bill will take devolution a step further, devolving tax and borrowing powers to the Assembly and the Welsh Government for the first time, making those institutions more accountable to the people who elect them.
The Silk II report proposes a clear course for the future, and makes recommendations which would broaden and deepen Welsh devolution further. I would like to set out how I see matters moving forward.
There is now a little over 12 months remaining of this Parliament. This is insufficient time for the Government to implement any changes that would require primary legislation, given the degree of consideration that the Silk commission’s recommendations demand.
Given the significant extent of the work now needed to be done, I do not consider the Wales Bill to be a suitable vehicle to implement the recommendations made in today’s report. I believe it is important that the Bill remains focused on delivering the devolution of tax and borrowing powers which the Government announced in November. The Government intend that these powers will be devolved to the Assembly and the Welsh Government well before the next Assembly elections in May 2016, subject to the successful parliamentary passage of the Bill. Adding additional measures to the Bill in relation to Assembly powers would inevitably delay the Bill’s progress and jeopardise this timetable.
These will therefore be matters for the next Government and Parliament, and it will be for political parties to set out their proposals and intentions to the electorate. However, I can say now that we in Government will be taking a very positive approach to the Silk commission’s work, in keeping with our proud record on devolution.
For those recommendations that will not require primary legislation, we will consider early implementation during this Parliament if, after due consideration, we are satisfied that the case for the change is clearly made, there is a broad consensus in favour and it can be implemented quickly and easily.