Will the Counsel General list every additional power that has been transferred to a) the Senedd and b) Welsh Ministers since the current UK Government came into power in July 2024?
There has not been any Order in Council made under section 58 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 transferring any Minister of the Crown function to the Welsh Ministers since the current UK Government came into office. Nor has there been, during that period, any Order in Council under section 109 of that Act amending Schedules 7A or 7B to that Act, which make provision affecting the legislative competence of the Senedd. These are the two formal mechanisms provided for in the Government of Wales Act 2006 for the transfers of functions and modification of the Senedd’s competence
Besides those mechanisms in the Government of Wales Act, other legislation of the UK Parliament can transfer functions to, or confer functions on, the Welsh Ministers or change the legislative competence of the Senedd. My officials have identified the following Acts of the UK Parliament, enacted between the current UK Government coming into office in July 2024 and 24 November 2025, which have conferred additional powers on the Welsh Ministers or expanded their existing powers.
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 (c. 5) confers a range of new or broadened powers on the Welsh Ministers. For example, section 3 amends the Water Industry Act 1991 to confer a new direction power on the Welsh Ministers relating to pollution incident reduction plans. The Act also confers various regulation making powers on the Welsh Ministers, an example of this can be seen at section 8 which allows the Welsh Ministers to specify offences committed by water companies in respect of which Natural Resources Wales must impose fixed monetary penalties where it is satisfied that it has the power to do so. The Act also modifies a range of existing powers of the Welsh Ministers, broadening what they may do; this can be seen at section 12 of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. This section amends sections 86 and 86ZA of the Water Industry Act 1991 to allow the Welsh Ministers to appoint persons to act on their behalf in relation to arrangements for assessing and securing compliance, and responding to failures to comply, with directions (or any particular direction) under section 208 of the Water Industry Act 1991 and together with corresponding cost recovery provision in respect of those functions.
Section 5(1) of the Great British Energy Act 2025 (c. 16) requires the Secretary of State to prepare a statement of strategic priorities for Great British Energy. Section 5(6) of the Act confers a consent provision on the Welsh Ministers whereby the Secretary of State must not, without the consent of the Welsh Ministers, include in a statement under section 5, anything which concerns a matter, provision about which would be within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru, if contained in an Act of the Senedd.
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18) amends the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. The amendments made by section 56 provide the Secretary of State with various regulation making powers regarding the National Underground Asset Register, with a requirement to obtain the consent of Welsh Ministers to any provision which would be within the legislative competence of the Senedd.
The amendments made by section 57 concern duties in relation to recording and sharing of information about apparatus. They confer concurrent powers on the Welsh Ministers to make regulations in relation to apparatus in streets in Wales. They also subject the Secretary of State’s regulation making powers (both the concurrent ones and ones which are not concurrent) to the consent of the Welsh Ministers in respect of any provision that relates to apparatus in streets in Wales. The concurrent functions are the reason for listing section 79 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 in paragraph 11(6)(b) of Schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006, as an exception to the restriction on the Senedd’s legislative competence regarding the removal or modification of a Minister of the Crown function that relates to a qualified devolved function.
Section 123 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amends provisions relating to an existing regulation making power in section 35 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 exercisable by the Welsh Ministers concerned with the sharing of data between specified persons for the purposes of a specified objective, which has the purpose of improving the delivery of public services to individuals and households. The amendment enables this power also to be used to specify an objective which has the purpose of improving the delivery of public services to businesses.
Section 1 of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 (c. 20) gives the Secretary of State the power to make product regulations. Section 10(2) of the Act confers a consent provision on the Welsh Ministers which requires their consent to regulations under section 1 which contain provision within Welsh devolved competence unless the provision is merely incidental to, or consequential on, provision outside Welsh devolved competence. This is the reason for listing this Act in paragraph 9 of Schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006, as an exception to the restriction on the Senedd’s legislative competence regarding the removal of a function specifically exercisable in relation to a Minster of the Crown.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) confers various subordinate legislation powers on the Welsh Ministers. Chapter 4 of Part 1, sections 43 and 44 confer regulation powers to specify things which do not constitute an offence under new sections 8A(1) or 8B(1) of the Renting Homes (Fees etc) (Wales) Act 2019 (prohibition of discrimination relation to children or benefit status). Section 47 confers a regulation power regarding discriminatory rental practices. Both regulation powers are limited to making provision that would be within the legislative competence of the Senedd. The Welsh Ministers also have power to make provision consequential on Part 1, provided it would be within the legislative competence of the Senedd, a power to bring info force Chapter 4 of Part 1 and a power to make transition or saving provision in connection with the coming into force of those provisions (sections 141, 145 and 148).
The Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Act 2025 (c. 27) conferred on the Welsh Ministers concurrent regulation powers to enable applications for postal and proxy votes for devolved elections to be made online through the UK Digital Service. The Welsh Ministers’ powers are subject to the consent of a Minister of the Crown. In addition, the Act also amended an existing regulation power of the Welsh Ministers under the Representation of the People Act 1983 related to electoral registration officers and what they can do in pursuit of their registration duties.