Welsh Affairs Committee announces new inquiry: Organ Donation LCO

Call for written submissions

The Government of Wales Act 2006 introduced a process enabling the National Assembly for Wales further to enhance its law-making powers by a new procedure known as Legislative Competence Orders in Council (LCO). At its meeting on 18 January 2011, the Welsh Affairs Committee decided formally to accept the Secretary of State’s invitation to the Committee to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Health and Health Services) Order 2011.

The proposed Order, together with an explanatory memorandum by the Welsh Assembly Government (PDF 537KB), was published as a Command Paper by the Wales Office on 10 January (Cm 7992).

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines stated below by 28 February 2011.
The Committee would particularly welcome comments on the following aspects of the proposed Order

• Is the LCO request in the spirit and scope of the devolution settlement?
• Is the use of the LCO mechanism in accordance with the Government of Wales Act 2006?
• Does the Order relate to Field 9, Part 1 of Schedule 5 and Subject 9, Schedule 7 of the Government of Wales Act 2006?
• To what extent is there is a demand for legislation on the matter(s) in question? 
• Are there any cross-border issues relating to the LCO? (e.g. financial or policy issues)
• Are the purpose and scope of the LCO clearly defined, including the terms and definitions used?
• Does the LCO have the potential to increase the regulatory burden on the private or public sector?
• Would the proposed LCO necessitate the formation or abolition of Welsh institutions and structures? If so, where does the legislative competence to exercise such changes lie?
• Is the use of an LCO more appropriate than, for example, the use of framework powers in a Westminster Bill to confer competence on the Assembly?
• Has full use been made of any existing powers to issue statutory guidance and/or secondary legislation in relation to this Matter? 
• Does the LCO have the potential to cause confusion regarding legal jurisdiction and the individuals to whom any Measure would apply to?
• What are the implications of Article 8 and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights on any such Measure? Concurrent to the work of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, a detailed legal examination of the proposed Order will be conducted by the Constitution Committee, House of Lords.

Please note
Each submission should:

• begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
• have numbered paragraphs;
• be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

Please do not send your submission as a PDF document.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to welshcom@parliament.uk and marked “Proposed Health and Health Services LCO”.
An additional paper copy should be sent to:
Welsh Affairs Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA.
It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please supply a postal address so a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

• Guide for written submissions to Select Committees

Please also note that:

• Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.
• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee.
  The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives.
• If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.