, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. The Bill will declutter the statute book by removing provisions that are obsolete, spent, no longer of practical utility or effect or have no realistic chance of ever being commenced. This will make it easier and quicker for legal practitioners and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that supplementary. I think I agree with all the points that you've made. In the summer, I attended a British-Irish Association conference, and, at that, I made the point that I just think it is fundamentally wrong to try and tackle what is a…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. We've had no engagement from the UK Government before the Bill was introduced. We have some serious concerns about it, including the very broad powers it gives to Ministers of the Crown and its potential implications for the devolution settlement…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Recommendation 11 was that the Senedd should be elected with statutory gender quotas. Recommendation 17 of the report was that the Welsh Government take appropriate steps to ensure that our recommendations on Senedd reform for 2026 are not put at undue risk…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the supplementary question. Perhaps I'll deal with the point you raised when you said the best person gets the job. You might want to explain to me why it is, then, that only 18 per cent of the Tory membership in this Senedd is female. I'm not…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. The special purpose committee reported on 30 May and made 31 recommendations, including one relating to the introduction of gender quotas. At present, officials are developing policy for legislation in relation to those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the supplementary question. Of course, we will be monitoring very carefully what happens. I understand the Second Reading has been delayed. I had been reading through the Bill. I actually have a copy of it here. It is quite difficult to see how…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. The Bill and its impacts in Wales are being urgently assessed by my officials. I am extremely concerned, again, by the lack of engagement on this Bill before introduction, and the limited information available on its content.
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the supplementary question. And I congratulate you for the way in which you have continued to pursue this and to pursue some of the other significant miscarriage of justice issues. I think it's very important that we debate them and we consider…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. I wrote to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice about the considerable demand for a Hillsborough law in August of this year, and have previously raised the matter in meetings and correspondence with UK Government…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, firstly, you are absolutely right in terms of the bill of rights, and, of course, 10 December is Human Rights Day, and I hope there will be a substantial debate in this Chamber. At one stage, it looked as though there might be a debate on Human Rights…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question and thank you for the comments. I certainly agree with you that the content of the publication from Cardiff University contains some really significant information within it. And of course, it raises that point: one of our main…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I think you've just put a very good case for the devolution of justice, because that's exactly one of the reasons why we have been doing that, why we work in partnership where we can, but you need a proper, consistent and organised devolution of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thanks for the question. The discussions that take place and the work that goes on isn’t something that just happened in the last couple of months—it is work of a long, continuous process. One of the reasons it’s part of that long process is because there is…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
My role isn't to answer for the Thomas commission, or to take up specific issues that are in or not within the Thomas commission. What my role has been—Welsh Government's role—is to consider the totality of the recommendations made by the Thomas commission…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you. The Bill is obviously something that is very significant; it transfers enormous powers to UK Government Ministers, who would have the option of not instating, or not retaining, certain legislation in UK Government, almost at their discretion. The…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for the question. We are monitoring the Bill’s progress through Parliament whilst continuing our engagement with the UK Government on the proposed timeline for its coming into force and the implementation of provisions and what this will entail in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Thank you for that supplementary question, and I do totally agree: there is a need for regular engagement, for consistent engagement, and properly planned engagement as well, and that engagement should be taking place in respect of all aspects of the UK…
, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I can emphasise the importance of strong inter-governmental relations and that open engagement between the Governments at every opportunity is taken. The instability of the UK Government and frequent UK ministerial changes have clearly made it difficult to…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
Can I thank you for those comments? I think this is a really exciting consultation, because it has shown that within Wales we can do something different, we can do it better and we can use the powers we have. I think the approach that we’ve had, and something…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
Thank you. I think the points you made early on about inclusiveness, really, about those with disabilities, whether they be sensory abilities and so on, are actually really important. Digitisation and so on create many opportunities for change and for…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
I think that Northern Ireland is a slightly different situation, in terms of its own process. I think, in terms of the common area that is among all parties, that we all agree that there is a need for politicians to inspire, and that is an obligation. I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
Can I thank you for your comments? I agreed with most of the comments, and I certainly agree with the comments that you made with regard to the voter ID. Only I would probably disagree with you there, because there is already emanating a lot of chaos on how…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
Thank you for those comments, and thank you, also, for welcoming the common objective of obviously wanting a well-working, efficient and robust electoral system. I think the crux is that the world is changing: we have technology, we've learned opportunity…
, Plenary
Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Publication of the Electoral Administration and Reform White Paper
Dirprwy Lywydd, last July I published a clear framework for electoral reform with six principles reflecting the values of social justice and the value we place upon democracy in Wales: equity, accessibility, participation, improved citizen experience…
