Draft Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2025

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 General Committees

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2025.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. The draft order, which was laid before the House on 27 October, will make changes to UK legislation that are necessary as a consequence of the Welsh Government’s Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024. That Act establishes a new consenting process for major devolved infrastructure projects in Wales, including significant energy, waste, water and transport projects. The Act unifies the decision-making process for devolved infrastructure projects, with a number of existing consents, authorisations and licences integrated into the new process. That means that devolved projects that were previously consented under various pieces of legislation, including the Electricity Act 1989 and the Transport and Works Act 1992, will now require infrastructure consent under the Welsh Government’s 2024 Act.

The Welsh Government will commence the 2024 Act and bring the new consenting process into force on 15 December. The amendments to UK legislation in the draft order fall outside the legislative competence of the Senedd and are necessary to ensure that the 2024 Act can take effect as intended; therefore, they need to be made in advance of the new process coming into force. As infrastructure consent under the Welsh Government’s new Act has not existed before now, it is not reflected in UK legislation in the same way that other consenting processes are. The draft order ensures that infrastructure consent is treated consistently with those existing consenting arrangements by updating relevant UK legislation.

Article 2 of the draft order amends the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, which provides that an applicant for a nuclear site licence may be directed to notify the relevant public authorities about their application. However, that power of direction does not apply to applications for nuclear generating stations that require consent under the Electricity Act 1989, which has its own requirements for consultation with public authorities. In line with that, article 2 of the draft order ensures that the power of direction in the 1965 Act does not apply to projects that require infrastructure consent under the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024, because the 2024 Act also places its own requirements on applicants to consult with public authorities.

When granting infrastructure consent under the new Welsh process in circumstances in which hazardous substances consent is also required, the Welsh Ministers will be able to deem hazardous substances consent to be granted, without the need for a separate application. Article 3 of the draft order amends the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 to create a requirement for the Health and Safety Executive to be consulted before hazardous substances consent can be deemed to be granted in that way. That replicates the process for other consenting regimes, including under the Electricity Act 1989, which require consultation with the Health and Safety Executive in such circumstances.

Article 4 of the draft order amends the Finance Act 2013. Section 130 of that Act, which relates to the annual tax on enveloped dwellings, makes provision about the conversion of a dwelling for non-residential use. It provides that buildings will be regarded as suitable for use as a dwelling until any planning permission, or development consent under the Planning Act 2008, required for the conversion is granted. Article 4 of the draft order ensures that buildings that require infrastructure consent under the new Welsh system will also still be regarded as suitable for use as a dwelling until the point at which consent is granted.

I welcome the Welsh Government’s Infrastructure (Wales) Act and I hope it will have a positive impact on the consenting process for devolved infrastructure projects. The draft order will make the necessary consequential amendments to reserved legislation, helping to ensure that the Welsh Government’s legislation can take effect as intended.

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[Jo Stevens]

I am pleased that the hon. Lady confirmed that there is no opposition to the draft order. On her main point, about local community input, the Welsh Government have undertaken extensive consultation on the 2024 Act. Both the Act and the regulations were subject to extensive engagement. Two consultations were undertaken, one by the Welsh Government and one by the Senedd. The Welsh Government have also disseminated information on the changes to industry through various events. The Act provides a process that enables local communities to engage in decisions that affect them, as well as flexibility to capture the consenting arrangements for developing technologies. The Welsh Government have attended and presented at events targeted at different key stakeholders involved in the process, including developers, local authorities and the community.

Several of the other matters that the hon. Lady raised relate to what the Welsh Government will do, and I suggest that she writes to the Welsh Ministers on those points. On which projects we expect to be most affected by the draft order, she referred in her own speech to water, transport and energy as examples.

Question put and agreed to.