Jeremy Miles: Well, I'm not going to comment on the individual matters under negotiation or discussion with the UK Government, for reasons which I hope the Member will understand. Obviously, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government have worked together in relation to mainly clause 11, but on other clauses of the Bill, and now together in discussions with the UK Government. Obviously, the Welsh...
Jeremy Miles: The Welsh Government continues to work closely both with academia and the legal services sector to understand the impacts and opportunities that automation is likely to bring.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the Member's question focusing on repetitive and tedious tasks takes me back to the early years of my practising career, so, thank you for that moment of nostalgia there. But the serious answer to the Member's question is that there are obviously risks here, but there are also opportunities. I was pleased to see recently the launch at Swansea University of the Centre for Innovation and...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'm very pleased to be able to respond to this report and I want to thank and congratulate the committee for producing a detailed and meaningful analysis of the current situation in terms of inter-governmental relations and inter-parliamentary relations, and for a clear statement of the reforms that are needed in order to put these relations on a firmer footing....
Jeremy Miles: But meeting the goal of becoming a Parliament of course requires more than simply a focus on name and numbers, as we all know. We should have the confidence, as well, to test the parliamentary procedures and ways of working against the best equivalent examples anywhere in the world. And it's incumbent on us, as well as tackling the high-profile reforms, to look at the machinery that underpins...
Jeremy Miles: The First Minister has established the Commission on Justice in Wales to provide an expert, independent, long-term view. It has started work and has issued a call for evidence. I urge everyone with an interest to contribute.
Jeremy Miles: The Member acknowledges that the issue isn't straightforward. There are divergent views on this issue. He will be aware of the Welsh Government's position, as set forth in the Government of Wales draft Bill that itself put in the public domain. It is perfectly evident that being the only legislature that we can think of that does not have its own jurisdiction poses very significant...
Jeremy Miles: I noted the content of the debate that Jenny Rathbone brought forward in the past few days, and the Member's contribution to that debate in that context. The commission has sought evidence from people in the context of the criminal justice system, and I would urge the Member, and others, to contribute to that. The Cabinet Secretary, in his response to the debate, said how important it was...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for his question. Wales currently meets the legal limits for almost all air pollutants, but faces significant challenges in reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide. I fully support the Welsh Government’s commitment to improving air quality across Wales, including various initiatives to tackle air pollution to ensure compliance with the relevant statutory duties.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the Member will be aware that the Welsh Government intends to consult on a clean-air zone framework, by the end of April 2018, which will set out the principles for operating clean-air zones in Wales, and as a means of accelerating compliance where it's needed, and helping to reduce pollution more widely. I know from previous questions that he's asked that he's paid close attention to...
Jeremy Miles: I am aware of the statement of opinion tabled last week in the names of Jenny Rathbone and Julie Morgan, and that the Member had subscribed to that statement. I was in the Chamber yesterday to hear a question posed to the First Minister on this topic also. In Scotland, pregnant women can take the second stage of a medical abortion at home. However, this position has recently been challenged...
Jeremy Miles: Well, the Abortion Act 1967 gave powers to Ministers in Scotland to use those powers, and to Ministers here in Wales, to be able to list categories of locations as places where it is possible to allow the second phase of an abortion to take place. What has happened in Scotland, which gives context to the discussion here in Wales, is that the Ministers took that decision last October and...
Jeremy Miles: Well, the issue that the Member identified is of course a critical issue about the safety of women and the supportive environment in which what is a medical process continues to the end of the process, if you like. And, so, that is obviously the live issue at the heart of this question. As I say, the legal framework is the same for Ministers in Wales as it is in Scotland. I think it's...
Jeremy Miles: We listened to the debate on the petition that was held last week, and there were almost 6,500 signatories to that petition. Welsh Government is committed to exploring opportunities to bring forward legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses in Wales.
Jeremy Miles: Well, with section 12 of the 2006 Act, what is important is that strong evidence supports the argument for animal welfare. The UK Government has been clear that there isn't a sufficiently robust basis for that, and more than one report has demonstrated that. The Welsh Government commissioned a report that demonstrated that there was evidence to support that to some extent, but the risk within...
Jeremy Miles: Well, I'll just refer the Member to the discussion I've just had about that, which is about the availability of evidence supporting that. There is a question around that and as I've said, I'm not going to discuss legal advice that I'm giving on this particular point, but I've heard the discussion in the debate and the comments of the Cabinet Secretary in relation to that.
Jeremy Miles: We value the freedoms and access that come with EU citizenship. Our future prosperity is intrinsically linked with our ability to secure full and unfettered single market access, including Welsh citizens’ ability to work in Europe.
Jeremy Miles: I think he's partly referring to the report commissioned by Jill Evans in this area, which I've had the opportunity of reading part of and there are many creative arguments in there for the continuation of European citizenship. When I was a member of the Brexit committee, the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, we visited the European Parliament and met with Guy...
Jeremy Miles: The Member's position on this is very clear and he repeats it at every possible opportunity. We have a fundamentally different view of what the nature is of being a citizen living in the EU in the twenty-first century. In common I think with most Members of this Chamber, I regard it as important that Welsh citizens, UK citizens, are able to move freely and are able to settle freely as far as...
Jeremy Miles: We are studying the EU’s draft document carefully. Our priorities for transition are certainty, clarity and minimum disruption. It's essential that the transition period is agreed at the March council because the current uncertainty prevents proper planning, and that is unhelpful to say the least.
