, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I think the information that's provided is the best information that is available. There are obviously some areas where there are uncertainties as to costing because they relate to things that are going to be done in the future, or things that are work in…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I'm Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Can I say it is very, very disappointing that that has happened? I, of course, have no direct engagement with that, and the First Minister, of course, commented in response to questions to him. But it is indicative, isn't it, of a UK Government that has…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Safeguarding our communities remains the Welsh Government’s top priority, and we will continue to discharge our responsibilities to do so. The Welsh Government is looking to bring forward new legislation to allow us to manage disused tips in Wales in 2024.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the points that really follow on from Sarah Murphy's comments. Well, you go further than that and, of course, what the Home Office have actually done has been to fund places, to almost book the cells, almost like a Booking.com of police cells…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. We received only outline information on the Sentencing Bill, prior to its introduction yesterday, and I have had no explanation yet of how its provisions may impact devolved policy areas or, indeed, the reserved operation of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, can I just say to the Member, as locally democratic elected bodies, the local authorities are best placed to manage the organisation of leisure services in their areas, and it is their devolved responsibility. As part of their decision making, local…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 provides local authorities with the power to provide a range of recreational facilities, including sports centres, and enables local authorities to respond to local needs…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, the prisons, per se, are not devolved. Of course, we have important roles within the prison system, in terms of health and education, and of course we are preparing the ground in respect of the devolution of youth justice and probation. It is unclear…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
We have repeatedly made our position clear with the UK Government over the years since the Commission on Justice in Wales was published, but ultimately they do not support the commission's conclusion that justice should be devolved.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
You make a number of very valid points. Of course, included within the Gordon Brown report is also the reform of the House of Lords, which is desperately in need of reform, and where I think the use of peerages is a matter that is increasingly of concern to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, can I say that, in terms of the legislation that's going through that I'm responsible for, I wrote to the ministerial team at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 11 September, consulting on the implications of Senedd reform for a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. There are no implications of Senedd reform for the devolution settlement. I have consulted UK Ministers as necessary, where the Bill provisions have implications for a function of the Secretary of State under the Government of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
You make a number of very valid points. We recently published a consultation on our proposals to end homelessness in Wales, and our focus in this Senedd is on prevention, and when homelessness does occur, the importance is supporting people back into safe…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to repeal the Vagrancy Act, something we've called for for some time, but we have concerns that its replacement may not align with our compassionate approach of supporting people…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, the issue of competence is a very complex area and entails many factors. Glas Cymru is a corporate entity. That gives it, certainly, a legal identity. It is a private company, limited by guarantee. So, I suppose, regarding property, there are issues…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, what I can say is that water is not a reserved matter, other than that there are certain restrictions in respect of water, particularly where it may relate to water that is part Wales, part England, et cetera. The concern we would have would be the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the points, again, that you raise. I think some of the points, which are criticisms of certain operations of the police, seem to me to be supportive exactly of the reason why we think it is important that there is a devolution of policing, so…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Firstly, can I again thank you for raising that? I think it's an important point that you do raise. The issue of the devolution of policing is important. Our concern predominantly with policing, of course, is the integration of policing within all those other…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Can I thank you for the question? You do raise some very important issues. Just to say, of course, we are bound by that convention, and we cannot do anything that is contrary to that within our legislation, and indeed the way we operate. And again, many of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Can I just say that upholding the rule of law, and international law, is one of the fundamental requirements, I think, of any democratic Parliament? We said all along that the Illegal Migration Act 2023 was unworkable. These proposals have not only been…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. I've not had any discussion with the UK Government about criminal justice following last week’s King’s Speech and ahead of the introduction of both the Sentencing Bill and the Criminal Justice Bill.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question, and it’s good to hear that pupils are discussing this, because it is very clear that the growth of vaping has moved away from a substitute for tobacco for smokers who want to give up smoking, and something that is very much being…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. The Welsh Government, along with the other UK nations, is currently consulting on proposals to create a smoke-free generation and tackle youth vaping. Once the consultation closes, we will analyse the responses and consider the…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you.
