My Lords, I will speak briefly from the perspective of Wales. First, I thank Ministers for the meeting they held earlier with me and my noble and learned friend Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd; it was extremely helpful to go through the issues. If I have understood the position correctly, in introducing the amendments the Minister, I am glad to say, stressed that the Government would be “seeking consent” from the Welsh Government. That goes beyond the previous concept of “having regard to” and would mean that should consent not be given and the Government then act, that would be ultra vires, because they must seek consent from the Welsh Government.
However, I think this applies in only a limited area. I do not want to detract from the good work that has been done in consulting with the Welsh Government and the discussions that have been had, because I see that as a way forward and a great improvement on what might have happened in the past. Working together for the common good is really important.
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There are some slightly broader concerns, but I do not think they relate to these amendments. They are simply where missions might intersect with areas of devolved competencies more generally, and there is a
concern that the original promise of replacing EU funds in full and no power being lost to Wales does not seem to have come through in terms of funding. Welsh Ministers continue to seek a co-decision-making role in agreeing the outcomes and how the levelling up agenda will be achieved, including through what was the shared prosperity fund and how it should be spent to ensure policy coherence and avoid duplication, because some of the areas really cut across legislative competence.
But there is a common aim of making sure that the country is more prosperous, fairer and greener. The Welsh Government want to make sure that Wales is an attractive place to live, study, work and invest, with a good quality of life for its citizens, and recognise that some of the really big problems facing us are ones that affect the whole of the UK and cannot be isolated within one country’s boundaries.
It is reassuring to understand that the Government are binding themselves to consult and to seek legislative competence. At this point, I certainly would not oppose the amendments, I welcome the discussions that have occurred and am grateful for the briefings that have been held.