Section 37E – Senedd annulment procedure
36.Section 37E defines what is meant when an enactment provides that subordinate legislation that is to be made as a Welsh statutory instrument is subject to the “Senedd annulment procedure”.
37.Under this procedure the legislation is made by the person with the power to make it, laid before the Senedd and comes into force. However, if the Senedd decides (through a resolution), before the end of 40 days beginning with the date on which the subordinate legislation was laid before it, that the legislation should not continue in effect, the legislation no longer has effect.
38.As such section 37E provides that:
the subordinate legislation must be laid before the Senedd as soon as practicable after it is made (subsection (2)). Furthermore, it should be laid at least 21 days before it comes into force. If it comes into force in less than 21 days after being laid, then the responsible authority must write to the Senedd’s Presiding Officer, known as the Llywydd, to explain why (see subsections (6) and (7)).
beginning with the date on which the subordinate legislation was laid, the Senedd has 40 days in which to consider whether it wishes to resolve that the legislation be annulled (subsection (3)). In practice this would mean a Member of the Senedd laying a motion before the Senedd that the legislation be annulled, this being debated by the Senedd and a majority of voting members agreeing with the motion.
if the subordinate legislation is annulled, if it is not already in force it will not come into force or if it is partly in force it will not come fully into force (subsection (4)); or where the subordinate legislation was already in force (or partly in force) at the point or it was annulled, nothing further can be done or relied upon under it. The responsible authority must, by order, then revoke the subordinate legislation. That order must be laid before the Senedd in accordance with section 37F and must be made by Welsh statutory instrument.
where subordinate legislation is annulled, anything that was done under it remains valid and further subordinate legislation can still be made (subsection (5)).
39.The periods of 21 and 40 days in this section are to be calculated ignoring any time that the Senedd is in recess for more than four days or is dissolved (subsection (8)).
40.New section 12A of the 2019 Act explains what is meant by laying a document before Senedd Cymru (see also paragraph 215 below).
41.For the application of this procedure to new subordinate legislation made by a responsible authority under enactments that were made or enacted before Part 2A comes into effect, see section 37H and Schedule 1A. For such subordinate legislation made by the Welsh Minsters acting with another person (not a devolved Welsh authority) or as an Order in Council, see Schedules 1B and 1C respectively.
