Welsh Secretary appears before Wales and Whitehall inquiry

• Video and Audio: Wales and Whitehall evidence session
• Welsh Affairs Committee

Witnesses

10.30am

• Legal Services Commission

11.15am

• Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and head of the Home Civil Service

Midday

• Peter Hain MP, Secretary of State for Wales

The Welsh Affairs Committee's recent inquiries have uncovered problems relating to the understanding and observation of the devolution settlement within Whitehall, and poor consultation with Welsh stakeholders.

The Welsh Affairs Committee therefore decided to undertake a new inquiry into co-operation and consultation between Wales and Whitehall, which is examining:

• awareness of the devolution settlement within the civil service and of the protocols which are in place in relation to legislation and policy affecting Wales
• the role of the Wales Office and the Ministry of Justice
• the extent of communication between Whitehall, the Welsh Assembly Government, the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh MPs
• the review of Whitehall guidance on devolution, announced by the Ministry of Justice in response to the Committee's report on the Legal Services Commission
• taking forward the findings of the Justice Select Committee in its recent substantial report Devolution: A Decade On