Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, a Legislative Competence Order (LCO; pronounced 'elco') was a piece of constitutional legislation in the form of an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

. It transferred legislative authority from the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. The LCO had to be approved by the Assembly, the

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

, both

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

, and then the

Queen in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...

. Each LCO added a 'Matter' to one of the 'Fields' stated in Schedule 5 of the

Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...

. This is the list of areas in which the National Assembly for Wales may legislate. The only other way that Schedule 5 can be amended is by the inclusion of provisions in UK Parliamentary Bills (referred to as 'Framework Powers' by the UK Government and 'Measure-making powers' by the National Assembly). Each Matter then gave the

permission to pass legislation known as an Assembly Measure, which operates in Wales just as an Act of Parliament operates across the UK (i.e. can be enforced by the Courts). An Assembly Measure allows provisions to be made in a certain area, e.g., Health and Social Services, Education, for the Assembly to pass. The text that came with the LCO contains the actual title of the legislation (Measure) that would be passed by the Welsh Assembly later on, for example "Provision about the curriculum in schools maintained by local education authoritie

would appear on the LCO and would later form the title of the Measure once written up. Following a 2011 Welsh devolution referendum, referendum held in March 2011, the assembly gained the ability to pass bills for Acts of the Assembly in all twenty devolved areas without the need for the consent of the UK parliament. The assembly also lost the ability to pass Assembly Measures resulting in the LCO process becoming redundant. In total, fifteen LCOs were made between 2007 and 2011.

References

{{reflist

External links

OPSI list of LCOs approved
Government of Wales Welsh laws Constitutional laws of Wales Orders in Council United Kingdom administrative law

See also

References

External links