Assembly’s first Welsh law is passed

4:51pm Monday 12th November 2012 in News

HISTORIC: First Minister Carwyn Jones AM, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Assembly Claire Clancy and the Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler AM with the act HISTORIC: First Minister Carwyn Jones AM, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Assembly Claire Clancy and the Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler AM with the act

THE first Welsh bill passed under the National Assembly’s new legislative powers received Royal Assent today in an historic ceremony in Cardiff.

The National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Bill was introduced by the National Assembly’s Commission because it wanted to officially recognise both the Welsh and English languages as the official languages of Assembly proceedings.

It became law when the Welsh Seal was applied to the letters patent, by the First Minister Carwyn Jones, which were signed with Her Majesty’s own hand to signify Her Assent, and notified to the Clerk of the National Assembly.

“In March 2011 the people of Wales gave their overwhelming support to the Assembly receiving full law-making powers,” said the National Assembly’s Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler AM.

“Today, the First ever Act of the National Assembly for Wales receives Royal Assent. How fitting it is that our first Act as a full law-making body will confer equal status on the Welsh and English languages in the proceedings of the Assembly.

Comments(8)

Llanmartinangel says...
6:23pm Mon 12 Nov 12

That was a huge priority I'm sure. Was there seriously no more pressing legislation for this self-important bunch of parochial morons. They can file it with their other massive achievements on sun beds and carrier bags. Great value the WAG eh?

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Mervyn James says...
8:16pm Mon 12 Nov 12

It gives welsh EQUAL status, it isn't replacing English ! welsh had been suppressed for 500 years, now we are full circle, it has to be a great achievement regarding the fact most other languages were bludgeoned to total exclusion by English, and disappeared. I find the sun bed law and bag pricing a great leap forward, neither were healthy or good environmental ideas. at least we can see an end to the plastic trees lining our rivers.... and junk thrown on our beaches. Sun beds allowed children to get cancer and burns, you would allow it to carry on ? The more powers we get the more advances you will see. All you did was regail against two pretty good directives.

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Howie' says...
8:24pm Mon 12 Nov 12

I can't think of anything better for the Welsh Assembly as the Government of Wales to pass as a symbolic act than to officially recognise both the Welsh and English languages as the official languages of Assembly proceedings.

I'm not a fan of the Politicians of all persuasions that we have down the Bay but with this Bill I think they had it spot on for the first piece of legislature, something that will go down in Welsh History.

What would you have had as the first Welsh Bill Lanmartinangel?

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Llanmartinangel says...
10:26pm Mon 12 Nov 12

Well I think if you polled the WHOLE population of Wales on what required legislative time, this would be unlikely to be even halfway up the list. It's an irrelevance to people with few job prospects, long anbulance waiting times, poor treatment waiting times, appalling infrastructure and a dependence on public sector work. Need I say more?

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Llanmartinangel says...
10:29pm Mon 12 Nov 12

Mervyn James wrote:
It gives welsh EQUAL status, it isn't replacing English ! welsh had been suppressed for 500 years, now we are full circle, it has to be a great achievement regarding the fact most other languages were bludgeoned to total exclusion by English, and disappeared. I find the sun bed law and bag pricing a great leap forward, neither were healthy or good environmental ideas. at least we can see an end to the plastic trees lining our rivers.... and junk thrown on our beaches. Sun beds allowed children to get cancer and burns, you would allow it to carry on ? The more powers we get the more advances you will see. All you did was regail against two pretty good directives.
The sun bed law is only beneficial to the stupid who ignore the warnings and assume people can't think for themselves. As for carrier bags well alongside the dual form waste that's a minor issue.

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chris227 says...
7:04am Tue 13 Nov 12

WOW WOW im sure people living in places like merthr, port talbot newport and all the other deprived places in wales will be rejoicing that our fabulous leaders down the WAG are using the grant money wisely spending hundreds of millions of pounds on such an essential service at a time when public services are being cut and lots of out city centre resemble slag heaps .

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Mervyn James says...
8:49am Tue 13 Nov 12

Where do you get the statistics of hundreds of millions of pounds ? City centre investments have to come from the private sector. After LG I suspect Newport had its fingers well and truly burnt so not willing to throw more good money after bad. The infrastructural area is the Assembly business not shops... Any way Newport city centre has moved to Spytty City.... Shops are in Newport just not at the centre any more. That's just a place where chavs, druggies and boozers hang out...

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Howie' says...
9:56am Tue 13 Nov 12

chris227 wrote:
WOW WOW im sure people living in places like merthr, port talbot newport and all the other deprived places in wales will be rejoicing that our fabulous leaders down the WAG are using the grant money wisely spending hundreds of millions of pounds on such an essential service at a time when public services are being cut and lots of out city centre resemble slag heaps .
Not like you to complain about cuts to public services, Chris. Especially as you support public sector cuts. A strange position to be in.

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