Rhys ab Owen: Deputy Minister, my question follows on from Mr Hussain's question and we're very lucky to have his expertise in this Senedd. My question is that, next week, the cross-party group on dementia is to publish a report on hospital care, and one recommendation is to have specific slots to allow those suffering from dementia to leave hospital. The reason for having those slots is to ensure that...
Rhys ab Owen: The Minister, from hereon in, must commit to bring every environmental Bill before this Senedd so that real scrutiny can happen here, carried out by Members of this place and stakeholders in Wales. This is our role, and this is our duty to the people of Wales. Thank you.
Rhys ab Owen: That is how you secure the best outcomes for the people of Wales. That is what real scrutiny looks like. That is our role. Nobody disagrees with the Minister that we need to eradicate single-use plastic. The Minister says, and continues to say, that this is a priority for the Welsh Government and that Welsh Ministers need these powers, but this is the point and this is what goes to the heart...
Rhys ab Owen: At the end of her letter, the Minister expresses her commitment to the Sewel convention and giving the Senedd the opportunity to scrutinise and vote on any new provisions in a UK Bill. Minister, a take-it-or-leave-it vote without hardly any notice or scrutiny is not good enough. A quarter-of-an-hour debate in a graveyard shift on a Tuesday evening is simply not good enough. As the...
Rhys ab Owen: Can I say at the outset that I agree with the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitutional Committee? Part of the work that I’ve enjoyed most is the committee work when we look at the evidence, when we hear from the expert, and cross-party consensus can develop. And this is the case here. Parliamentary scrutiny goes to the very heart of any real democratic country. It improves...
Rhys ab Owen: You will be aware, Llywydd, of the enthusiastic campaign of Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion and the excellent work done by Ben Lake in Westminster in standing up for the rights of women born in the 1950s, who have had their pension rights taken away from them. Trefnydd, you too will be aware, from all of the correspondence that you've received and what you've heard in surgeries, just how many...
Rhys ab Owen: It's very encouraging to see so many people who want to participate in the Welsh Youth Parliament, and it's clear that they have a great interest in a number of issues such as the climate emergency and issues around social justice. It was a little disappointing in terms of the number that registered to vote at 16 and 17 years old, and also the numbers were very inconsistent. For example,...
Rhys ab Owen: I welcome the establishment of the law council of Wales. I think there's great potential there. As you mentioned earlier, a strong and sustainable legal sector in Wales is very important for several different reasons. It's been shown during the COVID pandemic how important technology is. And, in the legal sector, we haven't always been very good with technology, as you know, Counsel General....
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr. And finally, you've touched on my last question already—those comments by Dominic Raab to change the Human Rights Act 1998 to allow some sort of a mechanism so that Ministers can correct court judgments. Now, Counsel General, do you agree with me that Dominic Raab must have forgotten one of his first constitutional lectures at university, because this goes to the very heart...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr. I want to stay with the legislative consent motions. I want to quote some wise words to you, Counsel General. They were written in March 2021, by the then chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, in a letter to the environment Minister. These are the words: 'The arguments you have put forward to support the UK Parliament and UK Government legislating in...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you, Llywydd. Counsel General, many of us here are very concerned about the significant increase in the number of Bills that the UK Government is trying to pass in devolved areas. Many on those benches will be familiar with the verse, 'He that hath ears, let him hear.' Well, listen to this on the Conservative benches: in the fourth Senedd, there were eight legislative consent memoranda;...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch, Weinidog. I'm sure everyone here has been contacted by somebody who has been impacted by the cuts in universal credit. I wanted to give one example: a Mrs D who contacted me recently. She said this, 'Last March, I was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer. Overnight, I went from an independent, self-sufficient woman, counting the years to retirement, to a house-bound unemployable...
Rhys ab Owen: 5. What steps has the Counsel General taken to ensure the law council of Wales's independence from Government? OQ57036
Rhys ab Owen: What legal advice has the Counsel General given to the Welsh Government regarding levels of air pollution in Cardiff?
Rhys ab Owen: You'll remember the old phrase, 'The Anglican church is the Conservative Party at prayer.' Well, perhaps the appointment of a former Archbishop of Canterbury will make sure that you over there will finally listen.
Rhys ab Owen: Plaid Cymru looks forward to working constructively with the commission. The First Minister said today that he will take all possible opportunities to push radical federalism. Well, I will tell you now that we will take all possible opportunities to push for independence, because in the words of the old saying, 'There never lived a nation that ruled another well.' It's true across the world,...
Rhys ab Owen: The commissions of the past were not a waste of time. They have led to the strengthening of this place and have improved the lives of the people of Wales. I'm sure that Rowan Williams is very familiar with preaching with three different topics; may I remind you of three previous commissions? First of all, Lord Richard's commission on better governance. Now, this led to the Government of Wales...
Rhys ab Owen: A senior political lecturer in Cardiff University—not Professor Laura McAllister, I hasten to add—told me at the time of the establishment of the Commission on Justice in Wales that establishing commissions is fast becoming a national sport in Wales. I heard earlier this afternoon cries of 'waste of time' from the opposition benches—the benches opposite me. Well, let's have a...
Rhys ab Owen: Brif Weinidog, a young man with complex mental health issues contacted me recently and praised the work of the Ty Canna day centre within your Cardiff West constituency. For those in the Siambr who don't know, Ty Canna provides transitional services for people transitioning from children's services to adult services. And this work is crucial; as we know, far too many people fall between the...
Rhys ab Owen: Instead of the lack of ambition of Westminster, we need to secure the powers to power Wales. And I will finish with this point.
