Rhys ab Owen: After over 20 years of devolution it makes no sense, does it, that justice is not devolved to this Senedd? If it's good enough for Scotland, if it's good enough for Northern Ireland, why isn't good enough for us here in Wales? Why don't we in this Senedd take responsibility for justice? But even if we put to one side that strange anomaly, that we have a legislature but we can't enact our...
Rhys ab Owen: The coronavirus pandemic has shown that, when Wales takes the lead in public health matters, it is usually far more effective than following Westminster's lead. The Welsh Government, you are rightly proud of your vaccine programme, but now we need to create a justice system that we can equally be proud of. We need to create a welfare system that protects the most vulnerable in our society. We...
Rhys ab Owen: During the election campaign, the First Minister said this: 'We need home rule for Wales, more powers, a position where devolution cannot be pulled back by a whim of a prime minister.' Well, First Minister, well, Counsel General, today you have an opportunity to underpin those words with a proper plan based in statute. Now is the time to act, to deliver on the mandate of the people of Wales,...
Rhys ab Owen: As we slowly make our way to a post-COVID future, it's important that we take this opportunity to build a better Wales. We can't go back to how things were in the past. From the ruins of the second world war, a Labour Government showed the way—they transformed Britain for the better. We today in Wales must think radically once again, but this time, that will happen in Wales, not in Britain.
Rhys ab Owen: The Welsh Government was elected on a manifesto pledge to fight for radical constitutional change. Well, may I say there is nothing radical in your amendment today? One could easily believe that we'd gone back in time to the beginning of the fifth Senedd, as we look at your amendment.
Rhys ab Owen: It's fair to say that Wales is at a crossroads in our development as a political nation. Little did I think as a schoolboy watching the first proceedings of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 that I would be standing here as a Member of the Senedd, a powerhouse Parliament with primary legislative and tax-raising powers. It has been a remarkable journey—or a process, as some have termed...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Last month's Senedd elections gave a clear and powerful mandate for the devolution of substantial further powers to this place, to Cardiff.
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you for that response, First Minister. I do hope that we will see a more confirmed timetable as to how the Government intends to implement the recommendations relating to the Welsh Government. When I came here as a schoolboy in 1999 to the opening of the Assembly, I would never have imagined that I would be standing in the Welsh Parliament asking this question. We're very grateful to...
Rhys ab Owen: I have declared an interest on this question.
Rhys ab Owen: 5. Will the First Minister provide an update on the timetable for implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Justice in Wales report? OQ56523
