, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
It also sounds like there's no threshold at all if it's just a ministerial whim that determines how these things are taken forward. But perhaps more fundamentally, when you were in front of us, I think it was last year, with the Permanent Secretary, I seem to…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
It sounds like it needs a bit more than refreshing, Counsel General, after that analysis.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
It would be good to have that update. It would also be good to have an update on and an understanding of the role of the secretariat, because we have had a conversation before; I think it's important that the secretariat has quite a powerful role in ensuring…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. I'd like to start where Sam left off, actually. You say that you have appointed staff to the IGR secretariat. Can I ask how many members of staff and what their levels of seniority are and what their roles are?
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Scrutiny session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you very much, Gadeirydd. It's that preparation of ground that I wanted to ask you about, Counsel General, because it's pretty clear, I think, that we are well into the death throes of the current UK Government, and I agree with your analysis that we…
, Plenary
Debate on the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee Report, 'Inquiry into UK-EU governance'
The first theme is the shift in power. We all remember the 'Take back control' sloganising of 2016. But the reality is that control has moved from parliamentary democracy to executive diktat, and that is not right. This Parliament has less oversight of the…
, Plenary
Debate on the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee Report, 'Inquiry into UK-EU governance'
I'm grateful to the Chair and members of the committee for the way in which they have described the report and its conclusions. I'd like, as others have done, to start my contribution by thanking the secretariat and the witnesses who helped us write and…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: The Welsh Language Technology Action Plan
Thank you, Minister. I'm very pleased to see this report. I'm delighted that you've published it, and that you have made the statement that you've made this afternoon. I warmly welcome it. Like Heledd, I am very eager to know when I'll be able to communicate…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nation of Sanctuary update
I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and grateful also to the Minister for her statement this afternoon. I think it is important that we join together to recognise the courage of the people of Ukraine, who have been withstanding Putin's invasion for…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
You've been involved in the game for decades, if I may say so, so do you see the same argument in terms of Wales at the grass-roots level, and the impact that the WRU suggests that that would have on that level?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
I fully accept all of that, but my question was slightly different, I'm sorry. My question was about the value of the rights. Now, intuitively, I would agree with the analysis of the WRU—if you're selling in a restricted market, clearly you don't have the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
[Inaudible.] We already have a listings process in place for some events. So, we do have experience, therefore, of a restricted marketplace. We've got a restricted marketplace in the group A events at present. Is there any evidence that that restricted…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
Thank you. I think we're all asking more questions than we're actually answering this morning. The heart of the case that Abi Tierney's outlined against restricting the rights of the six nations is that, and I'll quote from her letter to the committee: 'Our…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
Alun has a supplementary question—we'll go to Alun. Llyr, do you want us to come back to you after that? Okay, yes. We'll go to Alun and then back to Llyr. Alun.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
Let me play devil's advocate, because if, for example—. You've given the evidence that I think committee will accept without any issue at all. So, if the six nations, for example, goes behind a paywall and there are people who, for whatever reason, be it…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with other stakeholders (2)
Can I say, I fully accept the point that you make about the difficulties facing the sector? We've all seen a decline, and I've been in more empty pubs recently than I've been in in my life before; it's very striking, the changes that are taking place at the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
I'm a member of Glamorgan as well. I sit in the stands; sometimes I feel very lonely. We don't have the following, at least partly because the exposure has been lost, and you don't want to feel that same loneliness when you watch a game of rugby, do you?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
I know. I'll leave it at that. We could talk about this all day.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
It's a different crowd to the old five nations crowds, I accept that, and it's great to see. You know, you hear the voices, the children's voices, in the stadium on the second tier, in an autumn international game—I think that's all fantastic. My worry is the…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
Look, it's—
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
In a few cases, yes.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
I know what you're saying.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
Yes, I know that. I've seen—[Inaudible.]
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
It is one of those things. Okay, I appreciate all your points. So, where do we go? Because as representatives—it's one thing that does engage the public, and the public care. They care deeply about Welsh rugby, and they care deeply about their ability to…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Six Nations rugby broadcasting rights: evidence session with the Welsh Rugby Union (1)
Nigel, nobody appears before a parliamentary committee and says they've got too much money.
