Government of Wales Act 2006

147 Transfer of responsibility

(1) The Lord Chancellor may by order make provision—

(a) imposing or conferring on the Welsh Ministers (or a member of the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government) functions relating to Welsh public records (including, in particular, functions of preserving them and of making them available for inspection by the public), and

(b) imposing on persons responsible for Welsh public records duties relating to the selection of such records for permanent preservation, the safe-keeping of such records and their transfer to a place specified in, or appointed under, the order.

(2) An order under this section may (in particular) make in relation to Welsh public records provision analogous to that made by the Public Records Act 1958 (c. 51) in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of that Act.

(3) An order under this section may make such modifications of—

(a) any enactment (including any enactment comprised in or made under this Act) or prerogative instrument, or

(b) any other instrument or document,

as the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate in connection with the provision made by the order.

(4) An order under this section which imposes on the Welsh Ministers (or a member of the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government) a duty to preserve Welsh public records, or Welsh public records of a particular description, must include provision for the Lord Chancellor to make such arrangements as appear appropriate for the transfer of Welsh public records, or Welsh public records of that description, which are in—

(a) the Public Record Office, or

(b) a place of deposit appointed under the Public Records Act 1958,

to a place specified in, or appointed under, the order.

(5) No order is to be made under this section unless the Lord Chancellor has consulted the Welsh Ministers.

(6) No order under this section which contains provisions in the form of amendments or repeals of enactments contained in an Act is to be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(7) A statutory instrument containing an order under this section is (unless a draft of the statutory instrument has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament) subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.