House of Commons – March 14, 2022 – 213

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Clause text:

New Clause 1 - Consultation with devolved authorities “(1) Before making regulations under this Act, the Secretary of State or the Lord Chancellor must consult— (a) the Welsh Ministers, to the extent that the regulations contain provision which could also be made by the Welsh Ministers by virtue of section 16(2) (ignoring any requirement for the consent of a Minister of the Crown under section 16(5));

(b) the Scottish Ministers, to the extent that the regulations contain provision which could also be made by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 16(3);

(c) a Northern Ireland department, to the extent that the regulations contain provision which could also be made by a Northern Ireland department by virtue of section 16(4). (2) The Northern Ireland department which is to be consulted in accordance with subsection (1)(c) is such Northern Ireland department as the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate having regard to the provision which is to be contained in the regulations concerned. (3) Before making regulations under this Act in relation to which the Secretary of State or the Lord Chancellor has consulted a devolved authority (or more than one devolved authority) in accordance with subsection (1), the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor must publish a report on the consultation. (4) But the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor may not publish the report unless either— (a) the devolved authority concerned (or, if more than one, each of them) has agreed to the description included in the report for the purposes of subsection (5)(a), or (b) there is no such agreement but the period of 30 days, beginning with the day on which a draft of the report was first sent to the devolved authority concerned (or, if more than one, the last of them), has expired. (5) The report on the consultation must include— (a) a description of— (i) the process undertaken in order to comply with subsection (1), and (ii) any agreement, objection or other views expressed as part of that process by the devolved authority (or devolved authorities) concerned, and (b) an explanation of whether and how such views have been taken into account in the regulations (including, in a case where the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor proposes to make the regulations despite an objection, an explanation of the reasons for doing so). (6) The duty to consult in subsection (1) does not apply in relation to any revision of the regulations which arises from the consultation;

and, for the purposes of subsection (4)(b), the draft report need not be identical to the published report for the period of 30 days to begin. (7) In this section ‘devolved authority’ means the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers or a Northern Ireland department.”—(Paul Scully.)