Wales Bill — Clause 16 — Devolution of Income Tax Powers to the Welsh Assembly — Requirement for Support in Referendum in Wales — 5 Jul 2016 at 17:15

The majority of MPs voted to require the support of the people of Wales in a referendum before devolving powers in relation to income tax to the Welsh Assembly.

MPs were considering the Wales Bill.^[1]

The amendment rejected by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• Amendment 11, page 14, leave out lines 30 and 31 and insert—
• “(a) for subsection (1) substitute—
• (1) Before the commencement of sections 8 and 9, the Secretary of State must lay a statement (“a fiscal framework”) before each House of Parliament setting out the arrangements for calculating and making payments into the Welsh Consolidated Fund under section 118 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 following the commencement of those sections.
• (1A) The Secretary of State must send a copy of the fiscal framework to the First Minister for Wales and the First Minister must lay it before the Assembly.”
• (b) after subsection (2) insert—
• “(2A) But an order may not be made under subsection (2) until
• (c) for the heading substitute “Fiscal framework and commencement of income tax provisions.””

The rejected amendment was accompanied by the following explanatory statement:

• Clause 16(3)(a) omits subsection 14(1) of the Wales Act 2014, which applies the power of the Treasury to commence the income tax provisions of that Act by order where the majority of the voters in a referendum in Wales vote in favour of the income tax provisions coming into force. This amendment omits the provision but replaces it with provision for a fiscal framework to be prepared by the Secretary of State, which must be approved by the Assembly and each House of Parliament before the income tax provisions may be commenced by order made by the Treasury.

Had it not been rejected the amendment would have impacted Clause 16^[2] of the act. The lines the amendment sought to remove provided for amendments to Section 14 of The Wales Act 2014, specifically to omit subsection (1) and the words “etc if majority in favour” from the heading.

At the time of the vote the heading stated Commencement of income tax provisions etc if majority in favour and subsection (1) stated:

• This section applies where the majority of the voters in a referendum held by virtue of section 12(1) vote in favour of the income tax provisions coming into force.

The provisions which would have remained in the Bill following the rejected amendment would enable a Secretary of State to devolve certain powers over Income Tax to the Welsh Assembly without a referendum in Wales.

The rejected amendment sought to replace the referendum requirement with a requirement that a report, a fiscal framework, be approved by resolution of both Houses of Parliament and of the Assembly.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Wales Bill
• [2] Clause 16 of the Wales Bill as at the time of the vote

Debate in Parliament |