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This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
, see that article.
The
Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38) is an
ActAn Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
.
The
long titleThe long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
of the Act is
An Act to establish and make provision about the National Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
and the offices of Auditor General for WalesThe Auditor General for Wales is the public official in charge of the Wales Audit Office, the body responsible for auditing the Welsh Assembly Government, its public bodies, National Health Service bodies and local government in Wales...
and Welsh Administration OmbudsmanAn ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
; to reform certain Welsh public bodies and abolish certain other Welsh public bodies; and for connected purposes. It was passed in 1998 by the
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government to create a
national assemblyNational Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
for
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
It transferred most of the powers of the
Secretary of State for WalesThe Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
, and made provision for elections to the Assembly.
Background
The Act led to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, after the referendum held in 1997 which narrowly approved devolution.
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