, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Firstly, thank you for the question and thank you for the consistency with which you’ve raised this issue that’s been kept on the radar here. As you know, the Welsh Government has written on a number of occasions to the UK Government, particularly now to the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I’m not quite sure what the question is out of that. If I might just refer to what you were saying about the pathfinder project, which is the one you’re referring to in north Wales, that is an MOJ-funded project. It does, of course, involve very heavily the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that question. Just on that very last point on Swansea's planning committee, I think there has now been an appeal against that and the inspectorate has now overruled that, so it looks as though that centre will now actually be proceeding. That's…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question and the very fair point you raise with regard to those that have a particular need of access to legal services but difficulty in accessing them. Of course, the issue of public law is equally important. Firstly, I hope you're…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. You raise a number of really important points that have also related to other issues to do with the postal service, to do with Hillsborough, and so on. I think it's probably appropriate just at this stage that all the thoughts and condolences, I'm…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. Officials have had some very early discussions with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Welsh Government will co-operate fully and transparently with the independent inquiry to ensure that we learn…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, it's not the practice to publish legal advice between myself as Counsel General and the Government, but you are correct in respect of the fact that because of those ongoing legal proceedings, it's not appropriate to comment further. There can, of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I thank the Member for the question. Planning enforcement was initially a matter for the local planning authority, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. Because legal proceedings by Coal Action Network are ongoing, the Member will appreciate that I'm unable…
, Plenary
Debate on the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee Report—Common Frameworks
The common frameworks provide examples that demonstrate that good inter-governmental working is possible, and that coherence and divergence can be managed through constructive dialogue and collaboration. I think those points have been made by all the speakers…
, Plenary
Debate on the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee Report—Common Frameworks
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to thank the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for its valuable presentation of the comments of various Senedd committees on the framework agreement documents. Under the protocol between the four Governments…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Can I just say, Chair, how quickly two hours goes when you're having so much enjoyment? [Laughter.]
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
—bearing in mind we don't have a second chamber. But you're right, we want subordinate legislation to be as accurate as possible. People are working under pressures and so on, but it's absolutely right—we will make sure that we do everything to the highest…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
There are two responses to that. The first thing is that it shows the importance of this committee, doesn’t it, in terms of that—
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, all the ones I'm involved in are definitely not framework Bills—so, the Senedd reform, electoral reform, work that might go on in the future in terms of tribunal reform. What we may well be doing is not using the word 'reform' on the basis of…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I think there's an objective that we want to have the best quality of legislation, but it's an environment that is quite dynamic, and legislation takes many different formats and so on. I think, as a principle, we want the legislation we have to be as…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
There is a concern, I think, across the UK, constitutionally, in terms of the use of framework Bills. Framework Bills do have a place. The well-being of future generations Act is effectively a framework Bill. It sets the framework within which other…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, you'll recall that, with the Illegal Migration Bill, the key issue there, wasn't it, was the impact it had on our responsibilities in respect of children and the welfare of children, predominantly.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
So, it does happen. The area where I will look at aspects of legislation will be that there is a criterion that all portfolios are asked to look at, and that is, firstly, whether this legislation impacts on devolved—. Basically, it's the constitutional…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Yes, do you want to—?
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The analysis of the UK Government Bill will be, first of all, by the Minister and the officials in that Minister's portfolio, and will be on what is the intent of that legislation and to what extent might it intrude into devolved functions, powers, or…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I will certainly do that. It doesn’t happen on very many occasions, because we don’t have the capacity, ourselves, to place amendments. What we do is say what we think about certain amendments, certain UK Government amendments, whether they’re acceptable or…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
In theory, one would want that to be the case; in practice, you have to see what the processes or amendments were, as you can get literally dozens or hundreds of amendments coming through at different stages over periods of time. Many of them are whittled…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, there certainly should be a much better mechanism for scrutiny of legislation and engagement with devolved Parliaments and devolved Governments. The momentum and the way in which legislation takes place at the moment I don't think are particularly…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I think, across the board, we're all concerned about the scale of LCMs, or the scale of UK Government legislation that requires LCMs. Because LCMs are not something where we really have a choice. By Standing Orders, if UK Government—. I think we've got…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think the answer is 'no'. Because our analysis of those powers is that they don't cause us any concern, et cetera, if they are revoked, then there's effectively nothing for us to do.
