Transport (Wales) Bill

My Lords, I will speak briefly, which is unusual at this late stage, to make an important point which I could not have made at an earlier stage. This may well be the last Bill of its kind relating to Wales that this Parliament will deal with if the Government of Wales Bill, shortly to come before this House, is enacted. Since we last discussed this Bill, some of us have received, from the Secretary of State for Wales, what is described as an illustrative example of the operation of Clause 94 of the new Government of Wales Bill, which provides for measures passed by the National Assembly to become law, in accordance with the provisions of that Bill and an Order in Council. The illustrative example provided by the Government relates to highways and transport, and the documentation attached to it states that it is:"““as if the Transport (Wales) Bill did not exist and an Order in Council under what is currently Clause 94 of the Government of Wales Bill was required to enable the Assembly to make provision in relation to strategic transport planning by the Welsh ministers and local or other public authorities””." I raise the matter at this stage, not because it affects the passage or otherwise of this Bill, but because it is a pointer to an alternative form of primary legislation that the Government have in mind for Wales in future, if the new Government of Wales Bill is enacted. I have now drawn that novel procedure to your Lordships’ attention, and I am content. On Question, Bill passed.