Witnesses and documents
Section 38: Notice
177.This section sets out the procedure by which the Assembly exercises its power under section 37(1) to require persons to attend and give evidence at proceedings, or produce documents.
178.Subsections (1) and (2) require the Clerk of the Assembly to give written notice to those who are made subject to a requirement under section 37(1), specifying the following matters:
in all cases, whether they are being required to attend to give evidence or produce documents to the Assembly itself, or to a specified committee or sub-committee;
in cases of witnesses required to give evidence, the time and place at which they must attend, and the subjects about which they are required to give evidence;
in cases of people required to produce documents, the documents which they need to produce, the deadline for producing them, the person to whom they are to produce them and the subject concerning which the documents are required.
179.Notice is to be sent by registered or recorded delivery post. In the case of an individual, it is to be sent to that person’s usual or last known address or to an address for service, where one has been given. In any other case (e.g. a limited company, a health board or another public body) the notice is to be sent to the person’s registered or principal office.
180.Subsection (5) provides that where the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister, or the Counsel General issue a direction under section 37(6) that a particular person is not to attend or produce documents in response to a requirement under section 37(1), then the person issuing the direction must give notice of having done so. Where the requirement to give evidence or produce documents was imposed for the purposes of the Assembly, notice of a direction under section 37(6) must be given to the Presiding Officer. In other cases, notice of the direction must be given to the chair of the committee or sub-committee for the purposes of which the requirement was imposed.
