Territorial extent and application
- Section 8(1) sets out that the Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, save for section 3(4) which extends only to Scotland.
- There is a convention that Westminster will not normally legislate with regard to matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly without the consent of the legislature concerned. It is also the practice of the UK Government to seek the consent of the devolved legislatures for provisions which would alter the competence of those legislatures or the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- See the table in Annex A for a summary of the position regarding territorial extent and application in the United Kingdom.