3. Will the First Minister make a statement on the postponement of new energy powers under the Wales Act 2017? 86

My objective is to provide a smooth transition for the development industry and communities. The relevant UK Government department, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, initially agreed to delay commencement. However, at the insistence of the Wales Office, the planning provisions will now be commenced prematurely, placing Wales at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the UK.

I'm not sure I understand that answer. These powers relate to fracking and the electricity generation stations with 350 MW or less, and they're now being delayed until October 2018 and April 2019—as far as I can work out because the Welsh Government does not consider that it has the capacity to take on those new powers at the moment. And I think that's what you've got to answer, given that we've known these powers are coming; it's been a long process. And if there is a problem with present capacity, how can we be sure that Welsh Government will be capable of exercising these powers in October 2018 and April 2019, or will we have a further postponement?

I think I perhaps need to put some facts out here. I think there's a bit of mischief making by the Wales Office. I don't want people to think we've been sitting around doing nothing. You made reference to capacity. So, we've been working with the industry, we've been working with developers, we've been working with planning consultants, we've been working with Natural Resource Wales, to ensure that we can scope what's required. There was an agreement between BEIS and Welsh Government that those powers could be delayed. The Wales Office then got involved and that is now no longer the case. And, as I said, we've now been placed, I think, at a disadvantage. I know people have asked me why Scotland are able to do things quicker than us, for instance, and I should say that the case in Wales is very different to Scotland. Scotland was transferred directly to a fit-for-purpose consenting process that did not require transitional arrangements. We were not in that position, and because we'd been placed into inferior regimes, for instance, we needed to have a transitional arrangement, and that was agreed between ourselves and with BEIS.

I'm still uncertain as to what's happened here. Can you, Cabinet Secretary, just confirm that you did ask for these powers to be postponed, and for the implementation to be postponed? The only thing we've heard as an Assembly, officially to date, has been that all these powers come into force on 1 April next year. And last week, or it might have been the week before—apologies—I asked both the First Minister and the Counsel General about the implementation of fracking powers, which are the petroleum powers that we're talking about, and neither of them told me there was any delay to these powers coming in. Both of them accepted my question on the premise of these powers being available in April 2018.

So, is it now the case that they're not coming in, as I understand it, until October 2018, and the further powers on electricity generating stations, so the 350 MW powers—I take it those are not until April 2019. Can you just confirm that's the position, and also confirm that this is at your request, and also then confirm what you're going to do as a Government to provide the security and assurance that we need that you're capable of exercising these powers?

I can confirm those two dates: the October 2018 and the 2019. And, yes, we have requested that, because Welsh Government and BEIS officials, and it was back in 2017—during the passage of the Wales Bill, agreement was gained that the new executive powers would not commence in April of next year. So, as I say, that was the agreement reached between Welsh Government and with BEIS until the Wales Office intervened.  

As a result of this delay in the transfer of powers, is it the case that the UK Government could impose fracking on Wales, even though this could be against the wishes of the population? 

No, it's not. 

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary.