3.2 The Richards Commission

The Richards Commission reported in 2004.The report contained a number of findings and recommendations, including the following:

• It recommended the separation of the legislature and the executive, and their establishment as separate legal entities
• It noted that there had been practical difficulties in achieving legislative requirements since 1999 and suggested enhancing the powers of the Assembly so that it operated in a similar way to the Scottish Parliament to enable those difficulties to be overcome.