QUEEN AND THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WALES

A referendum in 1997 saw the public vote in favour of a National Assembly for Wales.

The first elections were held on 6 May 1999, and elections are held every four years.

The Assembly was officially opened on 26 May 1999 in Cardiff, a ceremony in which The Queen and The Prince of Wales played prominent roles. Both The Queen and The Prince of Wales spoke at the opening ceremony in the temporary Assembly building. During the ceremony The Queen symbolically signed a document on which was written the opening words of the Government of Wales Act.

On 1 March 2006, The Queen opened the permanent home for the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

The Welsh Assembly has 60 members (including the Presiding Officer). It can introduce only secondary legislation, covering areas including legislation, health, training, environment, housing, tourism and agriculture.

It has no powers to alter income tax, but it does allocate the funds made available to Wales from the Treasury of the UK. Wales remains within the framework of the United Kingdom, and laws passed in Parliament in Westminster still apply to Wales.

The Government of Wales Act 2006, which came into force in May 2007, assigned to The Queen new ceremonial functions of formally appointing Welsh ministers and granting Royal Assent to Acts of the Assembly.

In addition, the Assembly staff are members of Her Majesty's Home Civil Service.

The Queen holds audiences from time to time with the First Minister to keep abreast of business in Wales. However, the formal advice on which Her Majesty acts in relation to Wales is provided by her UK ministers.

Read The Queen's speech at the opening of the Welsh Assembly in 2005.