Commenting on the Supreme Court’s decision that the Agricultural Wages Board Bill is within the Assembly’s competence, Eluned Parrott, Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Constitutional Affairs, commented:
“This legal mess highlights just how inadequate the current devolution settlement is.
“We must move away from the deeply flawed model of devolution that we currently have, established by Labour, towards something closer to the current Scottish model. Essentially, rather than Westminster informing Wales what it can legislate on, we should instead have a system where it is made clear what Wales can’t legislate on. That system has worked smoothly in Scotland since 1999 with no legal challenges at all to Scottish legislation.
“The previous Minister’s decision to classify this legislation as an ‘Emergency bill’, therefore skipping out the scrutiny process, was an absolute disgrace that reeked of arrogance and bad governance. Following the lack of scrutiny, it was not surprising that this bill ended up in the Supreme Court.
“The farcical situation of Welsh Assembly bills ending up in the Supreme Court is completely unacceptable. All parties need to accept that the status quo isn’t fit for purpose.”
