Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

Item 3 is instruments that raise issues to be reported to the Senedd under Standing Orders 21.2 or 21.3. The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2025: these regulations amend the 1997 regulations, which provide for payments to be made by means of a voucher system in respect of costs incurred by certain categories of persons in connection with sight tests and supply and replacement and repair of optical appliances. The amendments change the value of vouchers issued in respect of the supply and replacement and repair of optical appliances. Senedd lawyers have identified one technical reporting point and a Welsh Government response has not been requested. Kate, would you like to run through the reporting point?

Thank you. The technical reporting point notes that the regulations appear to have retrospective effect where the authorising enactment does not give express authority for this. The retrospective effect here is that the optical voucher value increases take effect from 21 October 2024. There’s a presumption against retrospective effect in subordinate legislation unless this is expressly authorised by the enabling Act, and that’s obviously because retrospectivity, changing the law after the fact, can cause unfairness to those affected. However, in this case, we don’t think there is any unfairness to patients. The increase would appear to benefit them, and so we haven’t requested a further explanation from Welsh Government on this, but the reporting point is still one to note.

Great, thank you. Any Members have any comments? No.

The Care and Support (Charging) and (Financial Assessment) (Wales) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025: these regulations amend the Care and Support (Charging) (Wales) Regulations 2015 to apply an uplift to the minimum income amount that a person in a residential care home is entitled to keep of their net weekly income. The regulations also amend the Care and Support (Financial Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015, which set out the method by which local authorities must carry out an assessment of a person’s financial resources in order to determine a charge where appropriate, to direct that payments made by the Ministry of Defence under the new lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender financial recognition scheme are disregarded for the calculation of capital for when determining a charge. Senedd lawyers have identified one technical reporting point and two merits reporting points. A Welsh Government response has been received. Kate, would you like to go through the reporting points?

The technical reporting point seeks further explanation from Welsh Government as to why no definition or footnote to the UK Government website has been provided for the LGBT financial recognition scheme. In response, Welsh Government says that, in its view, the scheme is unique so there is no need for a further explanation.

The first merits reporting point notes that the amendment history set out in one of the footnotes to the regulations is incomplete because it does not include reference to statutory instrument 2023/424. The reporting point also notes that this UK SI amended only the English language text of the relevant provision of the financial assessment regulations, meaning that the bilingual text of that provision is no longer equivalent in meaning. In response, Welsh Government says that it does not consider the UK SI to be a relevant amendment for the purposes of the footnote. However, in relation to the equivalence point, Welsh Government intends to address this matter in an omnibus amending statutory instrument that will be laid before the summer recess.

And then the final merits point is just to note that the regulations were not subject to any consultation, for the reason set out in the explanatory memorandum.

Great. Thanks, Kate. Do Members have anything to say? No.

Affirmative resolution instruments, item 3.3, the Food (Promotion and Presentation) (Wales) Regulations 2025: these regulations will prevent medium and large retailers that have 50 or more employees that sell food or drink in Wales from displaying high fat, sugar and salt products at key locations in store or online, and from offering those products as part of a volume price promotion. They will also prohibit qualifying businesses in the retail and out-of-home sector from offering a free refill promotion on sugar-sweetened drinks. Senedd lawyers have identified two technical reporting points and one merits reporting point. A Welsh Government response has been requested. Kate.

The first technical reporting point identifies some potentially defective drafting where an incorrect title has been used to refer to the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. The second technical point seeks further information from Welsh Government in relation to notices that may be withdrawn by a food authority in accordance with paragraph 13 of Schedule 2 to the regulations. Then, the merits point notes that these regulations are largely aligned with those in place for England, while in Scotland a consultation has been carried out but no such regulations have yet been introduced. We’re waiting for Welsh Government to respond to the technical reporting points only.

Thanks, Kate. Do Members have anything they wish to raise? No.

On to item 4, instruments that raise issues to be reported to the Senedd under Standing Orders 21.2 or 21.3, previously considered. The Education (Student Finance) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2025: the committee considered this instrument at its meeting on 27 January and considered the Welsh Government response to its report on 3 February. In its response to the committee’s report, the Welsh Government confirmed that issues raised in the committee’s report on the 2024 regulations were not being addressed in the 2025 regulations as, at the point of receiving the committee’s report on the 2024 regulations, there was insufficient time in which to include the necessary corrections without missing the coming-into-force date of these regulations.

Following this, we wrote to the Minister for Further and Higher Education to seek further clarity on why the Welsh Government felt that there was insufficient time to do this. In her response, the Minister states that to have done so would have increased the drafting window for these regulations beyond that agreed in the Government’s internal timetable, and that this would have derailed the subsequent stages of the legislative process and resulted in missing the coming-into-force date of these regulations. The Minister also states that it was considered that there was another, more suitable item of legislation in which to include the necessary corrections, the Education (Student Finance) (Amounts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2025, which was made on 19 February. These will be scrutinised by the committee in the next few weeks. Kate, do you have anything else to add?

Yes, just to note that the response letter does not acknowledge that the issue identified in the committee's report arose from the same historical error as the issue that's being corrected through these regulations. It wasn't an entirely new issue, so it is still a little bit difficult to understand why fixing a closely related error would have derailed the legislative process, but that's obviously Welsh Government's view of this.

Okay. Thank you. Do Members have anything to add? No.

Item 4.2, the Regulated Services (Inspection Ratings) (Wales) Regulations 2025: the committee considered this instrument at its meeting on 10 February and laid its report the same day. Members are invited to note the Welsh Government response to the report. Kate, do you have anything to add?

Just to note that, in response to the committee's report, Welsh Government have withdrawn these draft regulations, and they intend to relay them in amended form on 4 March.

Tomorrow.

Yes.

Thank you. Are we happy with what's happening? Whether we're happy or not, we can't do anything about it, can we?

Item 4.3, the Welsh Elections Information Platform Regulations 2025: the committee considered this instrument at its meeting on 17 February and laid its report the same day. Members are invited to note the Welsh Government response to the report, which has since been received. Kate, do you have anything to raise from the Welsh Government's response?

No further comments on this one. Thank you.

Thanks, Kate. Do any Members have anything they wish to raise? No.

Notifications and correspondence under the inter-institutional relations agreement: correspondence from the Welsh Government on meetings of inter-ministerial groups. We have four letters under this item today. Firstly, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning informs us that a meeting of the inter-ministerial group for business and industry took place on 21 January and confirms that the group’s terms of reference were agreed at the meeting. Secondly, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales informs us that the next meeting of the transport inter-ministerial standing committee will take place on 5 March—this week. The third letter, from the Deputy First Minister, informs us that a meeting of the Interministerial Group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change will take place on 6 March, and discussions will focus on biomethane, community energy and the UK emissions trading scheme. The Deputy First Minister also informs us that a meeting of the inter-ministerial standing committee was taking place on 27 February, and discussions are anticipated on the use of technology in public service reform as well as other key issues of mutual interest. Okay, we note that.

Papers to note, item 6.1 and 6.2: correspondence to the Business Committee on the supplementary legislative consent memorandum on the Water (Special Measures) Bill, a letter to the Business Committee, 17 February 2025, and a supplementary legislative consent memorandum, memorandum No. 7, on the Water (Special Measures) Bill. Following the committee’s consideration of the Welsh Government’s supplementary legislative consent memorandum, memorandum No. 6, on the Water (Special Measures) Bill, we wrote to the Business Committee outlining our view that, having laid memorandum No. 6, the Welsh Government should have tabled a motion to enable a debate on that memorandum in Plenary, for the reasons set out in the letter. This letter to the Business Committee is included in our papers for the public record.

Also included in our papers to note is the Welsh Government’s supplementary legislative consent memorandum, memorandum No. 7, on the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which was laid on 19 February 2025. The Bill received Royal Assent on 24 February. Do Members have any comments? No.

Item 6.3, supplementary legislative consent memorandum, memorandum No. 3, on the Great British Energy Bill. Members are invited to note the Welsh Government’s supplementary legislative consent memorandum, memorandum No. 3, on the Great British Energy Bill, which was laid on 19 February. Members will be aware that the Senedd voted to agree a consent motion on 4 February. In memorandum No. 3 the Cabinet Secretary, Rebecca Evans, notes that the further amendments to the Bill, which are subject to memorandum No. 3, make minor supplementary provisions to the clauses for which consent was previously sought. As a result, the Cabinet Secretary states that memorandum No. 3 remains in line with the consent previously given by the Senedd. The Bill had its Third Reading in the second House last week, and ping-pong is likely to take place this week ahead of the Bill receiving Royal Assent. Are Members content to note this? Yes.

Item 6.4, correspondence to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill. There's a letter to the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, 14 February. Members are invited to note for the record correspondence sent to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, which contains a number of questions in relation to the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill that we were unable to reach during the evidence session on 10 February. Are Members content to note this? Yes.

Item 6.5, correspondence between the Ministry of Justice and the Equality and Social Justice Committee, invitation for of a joint ministerial scrutiny session about criminal justice. The Minister for Justice, Lord Timpson, responds to an invitation sent by the Equality and Social Justice Committee to attend a joint ministerial general scrutiny session on criminal justice. He confirms that he would be willing to attend a session focused on matters within his ministerial responsibilities for prisons and probation, alongside officials from the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty's Prisons and Probation Service. Do Members have any comments they wish to make? No.

Item 6.6, correspondence from the Counsel General and the Minister for Delivery, the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill. The Counsel General responds to the committee's Stage 1 report on the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill ahead of tomorrow's debate on the general principles of the Bill. Do Members have any comments they wish to make? No.

Item 6.7, correspondence from the Minister for Mental Health and Well-being, the legislative consent memoranda on the Mental Health Bill. The Minister for Mental Health and Well-being responds to our request for further information to inform our scrutiny of the Welsh Government's legislative consent memoranda on the Mental Health Bill. We can either talk about it now or deal with it in private. Okay, it’ll be private.

Item 7 is a motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting. And in accordance with Standing Order 17.42, I invite the committee to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting. Do Members agree? Yes. We can now move into private session.