Government’s Legislative Programme: Wales
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)
The Government’s legislative programme for the first session was outlined at the state opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024. This statement provides a summary of the programme and its application to Wales. It does not include draft Bills, Law Commission Bills or finance Bills.
This Government will match the ambitions that working people across the UK have for their families and communities. At the heart of our plan are our five national missions, and this legislative programme delivers some of our first steps to begin the journey of rebuilding Britain. The programme will deliver economic stability and kickstart growth, including through a new national wealth fund which will make transformative investments across every part of the country. The clean energy transition represents a huge opportunity for generating growth and tackling the cost-of-living crisis for people in Wales and across the UK. We will establish Great British Energy to capitalise on this opportunity. We will end the requirement to franchise rail services, bringing greater certainty over the operation of publicly owned Transport for Wales by confirming it can remain as the default operator of rail services across all of Wales. And we will also create Great British Railways, focused on improving services and ensuring better value for money for passengers. We will also take back our streets by improving policing and criminal justice, and prevent ill health by passing landmark legislation to pave the way for a smokefree UK.
The Government will unleash Wales’s enormous untapped potential and place it front and centre of powering the UK’s national renewal. We will also reset the relationship between the UK and Welsh Governments, building a true working partnership based on mutual trust and respect to stabilise the economy, drive investment and create jobs in Wales. Stronger intergovernmental working, spearheaded by a new Council of the Nations and Regions, will boost collaboration and support delivery across the United Kingdom.
In this spirit, we will work in lockstep with the Welsh Government to secure the legislative consent of the Senedd for bills in this programme which make provision in devolved areas. The Sewel convention will also be strengthened through a new memorandum of understanding, outlining how the UK and devolved Governments will work together for the common good.
The following bills will extend and apply to Wales (either in full or in part):
Arbitration Bill
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
Budget Responsibility Bill
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
Crime and Policing Bill
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
Hillsborough Bill
Employment Rights Bill
Football Governance Bill
Great British Energy Bill
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
Mental Health Bill
National Wealth Fund Bill
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
Pension Schemes Bill
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Railways Bill
Renters Reform Bill
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
The Crown Estate Bill
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
Water (Special Measures) Bill
The UK Government will work collaboratively with the Welsh Government to secure the legislative consent of the Senedd where appropriate.
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