Welsh Ministers have made the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Act 2025 (Commencement and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2025. It sets 1 January 2026 as the start date for the remaining provisions of the 2025 Act and confirms transitional and saving arrangements for legislation made before that date.
From 1 January 2026, section 1 and section 3 of the 2025 Act insert new Parts 2A and 2B into the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019, codifying Senedd procedures for Welsh subordinate legislation and establishing publication, preservation, numbering and classification rules for Welsh legislation. Section 5 creates a post‑legislative review duty for the Counsel General, and section 6 strengthens the statutory programme to improve the accessibility of Welsh law. Consequential amendments in section 8 and Schedule 3 take effect at the same time.
Part 2A defines a Welsh statutory instrument for subordinate legislation made by the Welsh Ministers or devolved Welsh authorities acting alone, and standardises the Senedd approval, confirmation and annulment procedures. Where powers are exercised jointly with a UK Minister or by composite instrument, the text may remain a UK statutory instrument but will follow modified versions of the new procedures.
Part 2B assigns publication and preservation functions, including the role of the King’s Printer for Wales and preservation by the National Library of Wales. It introduces a distinct Welsh SI series with year‑based numbering and subject headings, alongside rules on official versions and certified copies. These provisions bring the publication regime for Acts of the Senedd and Welsh SIs onto a consistent statutory footing.
Transitional provisions in the Order define “pre‑commencement subordinate legislation” as instruments made before 1 January 2026 or contained in a draft laid before the Senedd before that date. For those instruments, the new Part 2A framework does not apply; instead, the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 regime on numbering, printing and publication continues to govern them, preserving legal certainty for texts already in train.
For instruments made before 1 January 2026, most of the new publication machinery in Part 2B is disapplied. In practice, references tied to official publication and any defence based on non‑publication continue to be read by reference to section 2(1) of the 1946 Act for those earlier instruments, rather than the new Welsh statutory instrument regime.
The Act also builds in post‑legislative scrutiny. The Counsel General must review the operation and effect of Parts 2A and 2B between two and three years after they commence, consulting the Presiding Officer and the Clerk of the Senedd. On a 1 January 2026 start, that points to a review window during 2028.
For drafting teams and sponsors, the immediate operational point is cut‑off management. Instruments made or laid in draft before 1 January 2026 remain under the 1946 Act route; instruments made on or after that date form part of the Welsh SI series and follow the codified Senedd procedures, including laying where no procedure otherwise applies. This avoids mixed rules within a single calendar year.
Publication workflows will shift. The King’s Printer for Wales will allocate numbers and confirm subject headings for Welsh SIs, while the National Library of Wales will preserve certified copies. For subordinate legislation not made as a Welsh SI, Welsh Ministers must publish a determination setting out numbering and classification arrangements.
Organisations that regularly cite or track subordinate legislation should expect cleaner citation practice from 2026, with a clearly identifiable Welsh SI series. Joint or composite instruments made with UK Ministers will continue as UK SIs under Schedule 1B, so internal trackers should maintain both Welsh and UK series for cross‑border powers.
The Explanatory Notes anticipated commencement at the start of a calendar year to prevent overlap between UK and Welsh SI series; the Order implements that approach on 1 January 2026. This ensures the first full Welsh SI series begins at the start of the year and covers complete years.
In practical terms, Senedd committees, government lawyers and publishers have two months to finalise any remaining 2025 instruments under the old arrangements and prepare systems for the Welsh SI series from New Year’s Day. From that point, the 2019 Act as amended will govern procedure and publication for new Welsh subordinate legislation.