Role of the Assembly and how it works
The National Assembly for Wales is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people.
This section explains more about how it works, its achievements, and the history of the institution and its estate.
The Assembly has four key roles:
• representing Wales and its people
• making laws for Wales
• agreeing Welsh taxes
• holding the Welsh Government to account.
See how they work.
The Assembly makes laws for Wales on specific subject areas. Outside these areas, different bodies (like local authorities or the UK government) make laws that apply to Wales.
Find out who is responsible for what in this section.
Though the Assembly was only formed in 1999, the history of political devolution in Wales dates back to the 19th century.
Learn more.
Assembly Members undertake their tasks of representing Wales and its people, making laws for Wales and holding the Welsh Government to account in a number of ways. These include attending Plenary debates and sitting on Assembly Committees to discuss specific issues.
Find out more about how Assembly business is carried out in this section.
Elections for the 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales take place every five years.
This section explains how Assembly Members are elected and contains details of past elections.