, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, it is the intention, as you rightly say, to bring forward a gender quotas Bill before the end of this particular year, and, again, the same reason being in terms of the timescales that are available for the preparation for implementation of legislation…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Yes, I mean, ultimately, this is something that emanates from the Senedd. My instructions are with regard to the specific recommendations of the special purpose committee. It will require a two-thirds majority of Members for this to be passed. There are…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
No.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, it's a question of getting it done in time so that it can actually be implemented, because, within the tight timescales that we're in, any delay that takes us beyond that could mean that the legislation would not actually operate. I think another factor…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think the reason is not that it's a decision not to do that, but it's a question of whether it was feasible or practical to actually do so. As you know, in terms of the timescale that's required for legislation like this, it has to be in place at least six…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that. The answer is yes, I am satisfied. I have considered the competence issues in detail, and I do not consider that there are any competence issues in this Bill as drafted.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Yes. I might ask them to introduce themselves.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, one of the big challenges facing our society and facing democratic societies across the world is the growth of artificial intelligence and this type of technology, because, on the one hand, the benefits of technology have to be balanced against the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. The use of live facial recognition technology is an operational decision for the police. Policing is a reserved matter and the responsibility of the Home Office.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that, and thank you for the fact that you often raise this matter and for the discussions that we've had in the past, and the discussions, no doubt, that are going to be ongoing. I mean, there are potential areas—. The Scottish Government, for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Can I, first of all, just reflect those latter points? In the era I grew up in, a long time ago, the approach to fireworks was almost in a completely unregulated way, and there were quite horrific injuries, so it is of concern that we still have some of those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that. The safe use of fireworks—and again, bonfire night is approaching—is an issue we take extremely seriously and we support tighter regulations to underpin their responsible use. Powers to regulate and control the use of fireworks remain with…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, of course there is a role for opposition, when it looks as though they're likely to come into Government, to be very cautious about the issues that they're going to present, particularly when they've not yet set out fully the manifestoes and so on. I am…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The Welsh Government’s position is that HS2 provides no overall benefit to Wales and it should therefore attract Barnett formula consequential funding.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question and the analysis. The ongoing process of devolution means that we already have control over our water in Wales. That was achieved mainly through the 2017 Wales Act. The creation of Hafren Dyfrdwy in 2018 means that there are no…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that. I discuss a range of issues with the Minister for Climate Change through our regular meetings. Welsh Government committed to follow up on this work during two recent Senedd debates, in June and September. Officials have started considering…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Could I try and thank the Member for that contribution, and I suppose the inclarity of the actual question itself? It started off with certain references to issues around job sharing and how that was positive discrimination. Well, job sharing could, in fact…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. The Bill provides scope for a committee of the Senedd to include ministerial roles in its consideration of job sharing in the Senedd. Job sharing, and its practical and legislative implications, needs to be considered in a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for those points, and they are all important points. I think they're all points where there's an interest, actually, across all political parties in this Senedd. Of course, one of the bodies that already has that particular function is the Electoral…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for your question. We are creating, via the Senedd reform legislation, a more effective Senedd, with a greater ability and capacity to hold the Welsh Government to account, which also reflects the huge changes to Wales’s devolution settlement since…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
But, in terms of the broader point, I think what you're concerned about is the lack of transparency and how that could be accommodated within the ethics of our parliamentary processes. I don't think it is something that is at all easy, because we have open…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I think any Bill that is within the competence of the Senedd is something that can be debated on the floor here through the individual debating processes that we have and the ability to take forward individual Members' legislation. In terms of what the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, can I say I think it's been taken, to some extent, out of context? Because what I look at, what the First Minister looks at, what the Welsh Government looks at, are really all the options that are open, inter-governmental and others, in terms of steps…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
We are a parliamentary democracy. We work on the basis of putting manifestos to the people. The people endorse those manifestos. And I think the people expect us to carry through those manifestos and deliver on the promises that we have made. I don't think…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The UK Government gave us very specific powers in the Wales Act 2017 to manage and to be able to reform our devolved electoral system. It put no provision in there in terms of referenda. I'm very aware also that the UK Government itself, when it has been…
