18 January 2022 , Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Motion 1 and Legislative Consent Motion on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Motion 2
I very much agree with the final point that Sioned Williams just made there. Mark Isherwood is wrong when he talks about the bicameral nature of the UK Parliament. It is, of course, bicameral in its nature, but it isn't in terms of legislating, when a vast…
18 January 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Legal Aid and Access to Justice
I'm grateful to you, Counsel General, for that statement. I have to say, listening to the Conservative spokesperson this afternoon, I think Herod missed out on some first-class defence there. There seems to be virtually no policy coming from the UK Government…
18 January 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Stronger Regional Economies
I would like to see a report from the Government on how far they went in delivering on those objectives and those targets at the end of the last Senedd. So, what's going to be different this time, Minister?
18 January 2022 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Economy: Stronger Regional Economies
I agree, Minister, that we don't want to be looking to and living in the past, but I hope we're going to learn from the past. I've been a Member of four Senedds, and I've seen four different Governments adopting four different approaches to these matters, and…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Instruments that raise issues to be reported to the Senedd under Standing Order 21.2 or 21.3 - previously considered
I think this is an important issue. I think we should be writing to the Minister on this, because it is right and proper, if the Government is making regulations in the way that they have made regulations over the last few weeks and months, that proper impact…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I have to say I'm not sure how much correspondence I've had on that matter over the years. But I agree with you, it is an essential and core function of Government, and I spent two years sitting on the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill prior to the 2016 elections…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Yes, yes. It's never a popular rallying call that we need more lawyers—
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I agree with you; I'm not sure it answers the question either. You're right in the sense that you can't deliver a doctor tomorrow or this year, but you can start to train that doctor tomorrow and this year. And there's nothing that you've said to us since the…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Yes. And this might be something that we do return to before the Counsel General gets in his carriage this afternoon. You wrote to us this morning pursuing a conversation that we've had over the months, talking about the dimensions of the pressures on…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. I just wanted to follow on from the points that Darren made. I thought the point of an annual review, actually, was a very good one, and I hope that’s something the Government does intend to take up. In terms of the structure of governance and the…
17 January 2022 , Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I'm grateful to you, Chair, and grateful to you, Counsel General, for that explanation. And I agree with your conclusion—it is a very significant statement and a very significant change to existing arrangements. I think a lot of us have been very frustrated…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Yes. John, I agree very much with the point that Reg has just made about a note being provided to the committee. Can we ask that that note includes very clear objectives for the coming financial year, and targets so that we will understand what exactly the…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, what are your objectives for the coming year? I can see Reg has got his hand up, but I'm just interested to know from you as a Minister what objectives are you setting for these people, you know, to deliver in the coming year.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
I'm grateful to you for that, Minister. I was very interested to hear what you were saying about the digital transformation agenda. It's something that the Government talks about an awful lot, and the last Government did as well. I was just wondering—you…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Thank you very much, John.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
It tells us more than you could ever believe. Thank you very much, Judith.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, you'd be very content, then, if local government decided they wouldn't use these additional funds to invest in social services or the rest of it, or education, but in providing for an overly low, possibly, council tax settlement a couple of weeks before…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Well, it is, you're the Minister.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
It is, I'm asking what your view is.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
So, you accept the numbers. Do you believe, therefore, that local authorities should be using the room and the space and the time that you've provided them to invest in these services? Have you provided local government with any advice, for example, on…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
You do accept the numbers.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Do you accept the pressures there? You said you recognise them: do you accept the numbers provided by the WLGA?
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Okay, but there needs—. What I'm asking for is what the objectives are, and you said yourself that local government is delivering on our priorities in the programme for government. So, I think it's a reasonable question to understand what those objectives…
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
[Inaudible.]—on social services as well.
12 January 2022 , Local Government and Housing Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2022-23: Evidence session 2—Minister for Finance and Local Government
Okay. Okay. The real living wage is an element of that, and I accept that, but the real living wage is quite a good example, actually, because, you know, it's got a number, and you know when it's being delivered. So, it's timetabled and we can identify it and…
