Published

On 4 July 2022 Mick Antoniw MS, the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, introduced the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill into the Senedd Cymru.

At around 200 pages, this will be one of the most substantial pieces of legislation ever considered by the Senedd and it will give Wales modern, accessible and bilingual law for the protection and management of its unique and precious historic environment.

In an accompanying written statement, he explained that the Bill represents an important step in the Welsh Government’s plans to improve the accessibility of Welsh law set out in The future of Welsh law: A programme for 2021 to 2026. The Bill is the result of the first project in an ambitious programme of legislative consolidation.

On the following day (Tuesday, 5 July), the Counsel General made a legislative statement in the Senedd. He took the opportunity to stress that, while consolidation may improve the accessibility of the law with changes to structure and language, it preserves the effect of the law and does not change policy. He also highlighted that the Bill, if passed, will form part of a code of law for the Welsh historic environment.

You can watch the complete Plenary session on Senedd.tv or read a transcript of the proceedings.