, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
James, you did ask also then about engagement and so on, and, of course, this isn't a process where you can go through, when you're reforming a law, the normal sort of consultation process. But there has been engagement with the specialist groups and…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Thanks for that. Language changes incredibly quickly—words that have been used and descriptions that have been used over the years—and when you're going back over legislation over quite some decades, sometimes even further, over centuries, when you're…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Listen, that's a very valid point, because, as far as possible, we've tried to incorporate within the consolidation Bill—. There are one or two areas where it is necessary to make reference to other legislation. I think the intention has been to try to keep…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Thank you. This really goes to the core, I think, of what the purpose behind consolidation actually is. It is about accessibility, and I know we've discussed this in the Senedd many times and it's been raised before this committee many times, but I suppose…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Thanks for that. Yes, it is an ongoing process. As you know, we've had a lot of engagement with the Law Commission in a number of areas, and, of course, one of the future areas of consolidation that we'd hope to bring in the future will obviously be in…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Yes.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Well, we won't, unless, of course—. If the consents that we've sought to remove are agreed, then there won't be any areas where we're going to need Crown consent in this legislation. I think that's the position. I don't know, Dylan or James, is there any…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Obviously, bringing a piece of legislation together raises a number of contradictions in terms of previously existing ministerial consents, and so on, and the need to update those. There are a number of areas where I've had to write to the Secretary of State…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
There are certain examples, aren't there? There was the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, which relates to offences in territorial sea that can be treated has having occurred in any part of the UK. So, those things created particular…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
It's certainly the case that, as with any legislation, it has to be within competence, and, of course, it also has to reflect the transfer of functions and so on that has taken place under devolution, particularly when you're consolidating legislation that…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
I can probably identify a few of them, and then, again, I'll probably bring Dylan back in again on it. It's one of the things that, during the preparations of the consolidation Bill, we had to discuss from time for time. For example, there is a very small…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Thank you for that opening question. As you allude to, it's something that we've aspired to do for quite some time, so I'm really pleased, and I'm sure we all are, that we now are introducing this first bespoke consolidation Bill. Although we've taken the…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Thank you, Chair, and it is really just a few words. The two officials I have with me, I think, are very important to this session: Dylan Hughes, first legislative counsel, and James George, who is a senior legislative counsel. I think the reason their…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I've made the point many times how important access to the law is, because it fundamentally is about the rights of individuals and communities; it's about the empowerment of those two as well. Of course, I have always, I think, praised those elements of the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. It's a very practical question, and it's an important one. We have highlighted in our 'Delivering Justice for Wales' publication in May some of the measures that we're taking to support the legal sector. For example, through…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The answer is that we certainly will. In fact, myself and the Minister for Social Justice attended a number of meetings with civic organisations that were very, very concerned about the implications of the bill of rights and the direction it was taking. We…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
We have sought meaningful engagement since the UK Government launched their consultation in December. The Minister for Social Justice and I met with the Deputy Prime Minister in February. Despite our full response to the consultation, there is very little…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for those strongly made points. Can I start by saying I think there are those within the Conservative Party, and I believe possibly even within the Welsh Conservative Party, who are supporters of trade unions and the role they play, who do support…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. The UK Government’s purported intention to introduce legislation in one legislature to override the legislation passed by another is not only unconstitutional but shows disrespect for the democratically elected Senedd. It is one…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I thank you for those supplementary points, and, of course, at every opportunity we do actually raise these issues, and we have made them at the inter-ministerial meetings as well. The point you raise, in fact, about the various legislation that's been…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The UK Government regularly fails to consult adequately with us before introducing new legislation, the Bill of Rights Bill being the most recent example. We have not yet undertaken a specific assessment of the cumulative impacts of these latest examples of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that, and thank you for your support. Just to make two comments that follow on from some of the things you say, of course, within the Bill of Rights Bill proposed, it excludes section 3 of the Human Rights Act, which requires courts to interpret…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Firstly, I thank you for the comments and the very constructive points that have been made, and there is, of course, a lot of consideration being given to the issue of a bill of rights and, of course, my colleague the Minister for Social Justice has commented…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you, again, very much for that question. The Welsh Government did not see the Bill before it was introduced. It requires, and is now receiving, careful consideration. We certainly continue to hold fundamental concerns about its potential regressive…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. Of course, while you were in Wrexham marching, I was at a conference in Cardiff talking about Senedd reform, which will obviously be something that will take up a considerable amount of my time in the not too distant future. I…
