, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you, Rhianon, for those comments. The commission has set out a programme of much deeper engagement, much deeper consultation, and the establishment of groups within communities with which it will engage, and I know that that was one of the points that I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Well, thank you for that last comment. If water can be turned into wine, then I'm pretty sure that commissions can be turned into constitutional reform. Listen, the point that you make is a valid one, isn't it? There is a recognition—and I hope there is…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you. The terms of reference of the commission were well set out and we've been debating them on many occasions within this Chamber. I met recently with the commission, as the First Minister has, and I think they've explained, now, the process of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Can I say, firstly, that I think your representation of the interim report and the work up to that stage is, indeed, a misrepresentation? Because what they have done is put forward a whole series of evidence sessions. Again, you're right in terms of the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you, Mike. I certainly agree with that last point that we can’t carry on like this. That’s precisely why I think we’ve been going down the road that we have, precisely why we have the commission. I think one of the most important things—whether you call…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you for your comments, Peredur. I actually think the Gordon Brown report is progressive. It's progressive because it talks about additional powers here; it talks about providing a constitutional framework to protect devolution and to protect the Sewel…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
I thank you for the comments and the spirit in which they were made. You say it's one of the most biased documents so far, but it is an interim report. I wasn't really too sure that there was that much in it that you could read as being that biased, but I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Point taken.
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you, Huw, for those comments, and also for the work your committee has done and the work that it will do. Of course, there are a lot of constitutional engagements taking place between the four nations of the UK at the moment, including on the issue of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
As far as the issue of—. I mean, I understand the position you have with independence. For me, the main issue has always actually been the issue of subsidiarity. All countries and economies have a certain degree of interdependency; that was one of the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
I thank the Member very much for those very detailed questions—a large number of questions. I'll do my best to try and answer them. Perhaps I could just preface them by—. Of course, I do actually want to wait and see what the outcome of the independent…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Well, I'd like to thank the Member for his contribution, and it was very similar to the contribution he made about 18 months, two years ago. It hasn’t changed at all. It seems to me you haven’t realised that the debate has moved on. We’ve had the debate over…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Llywydd, the commission is taking forward its work at a time when the tensions in the wider constitutional structures of the United Kingdom are increasing and our inter-governmental relationship tested. In that context, it is not surprising at all that the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Thank you, Llywydd. Eighteen months ago, we established the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. We asked the commission to consider and develop options for fundamental reform of the constitutional structures of the United Kingdom, in…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I thank the Member for those additional comments. Just for the record, I think there are approximately 200,000 households in Wales that have prepayment meters for their mains gas and electricity. The Member has made his comments very, very forcibly, which I…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you for the question, and again, the Member excels at raising issues of considerable importance to civil rights and liberties in our society. Let me give you these figures. It's only since you raised the question that this has been something I've really…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
The Welsh Government believes that moving customers to prepayment meters should be considered only as a last resort. During a cost-of-living crisis, it is deeply concerning that some of the most vulnerable householders are being forced into repayment…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
You make very important and very valid comments about the inadequacy of the current system, which has been exposed time and time again. I think it has come to a real head now, where, across police forces, there are serious failings in terms of the standards…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
What I can say is that, although policing is not devolved, there is a close relationship. We meet with the democratically elected police and crime commissioners. I know the Minister for Social Justice meets very regularly to discuss a whole range of those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. Police conduct is an issue that we take extremely seriously. However, policing is currently reserved to the UK Government and so it is not the role of the Welsh Government to hold or lead an inquiry on policing practice.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you very much for that politically motivated question. What I can say to the Member is this: I think she may have a misunderstanding of what has happened with the process. It's because we initially started a judicial review process, and the judicial…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. After Royal Assent, the Act’s provisions will be commenced in stages, the first products being banned potentially in the autumn. We are working closely with those impacted by the Bill to ensure the bans are implemented successfully.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you, again, for the question. Representations have already been made. You'll be aware that I am—and, indeed, the First Minister is—very much on the record in a similar tone. It will be raised at future meetings that will be taking place. But, of course…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I'm happy to go straight into the Member's supplementary question.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think that Member might have heard some of the comments I just made.
