Mick Antoniw: 1. What discussions has the Counsel General had in relation to administrative justice in Wales? OAQ52642
Mick Antoniw: Counsel General, you'll be aware that the President of the Supreme Court, Lady Justice Hale, her predecessors, many reports from the Law Society and other research institutes have all identified the fact that changes under this Government to legal aid have effectively abolished legal aid for the majority of the population of our society and there is no longer access to justice. They also...
Mick Antoniw: 11. What consideration does the Welsh Government give to the views of healthcare providers during the planning process? OAQ52662
Mick Antoniw: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's strategy to tackle anti-social behaviour?
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. You'll know that I've written to you about this matter that, in practice, very little happens in terms of consultation with the health boards. Many of them do not engage with it properly and it certainly doesn't feed down to the general practice level. In a number of recent applications involving substantial planning developments in my constituency what we...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Llywydd. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate about the changes to Standing Orders that arise as a consequence of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. In July, my committee reported on operational matters relating to the scrutiny of regulations that will arise as a result of the 2018 Act. We made 12 recommendations, nine of which had implications for Standing...
Mick Antoniw: Will you take an intervention?
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for giving way. Is it your view, then, that if Theresa May's deal is a bad deal, Parliament should vote it down?
Mick Antoniw: Will you take an intervention?
Mick Antoniw: Well, I find myself disagreeing with most of my Labour colleagues and Plaid Cymru colleagues and sadly find myself almost agreeing with the Conservatives and with UKIP, because I think it was a relatively simple matter, and I think most people were completely clear about what they did vote for. Those who voted to leave the European Union clearly voted because they were assured that we would...
Mick Antoniw: Please, please sit—
Mick Antoniw: I will take an intervention when I've actually made a few more points, okay? So, don't jump in; hold your horses. What he said was: 'Absolutely nobody is talking about threatening our place in the single market.' And Owen Paterson, Tory MP, prominent campaigner for Vote Leave, also said, 'Only a madman would actually leave the market.' So, people were clear on that. They also said—we had...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I think you've actually made the point for a people's vote, because the only way of testing that comment—which I disagree with—would be by actually putting it to the people. Because I think what you actually have is that people did know what they were voting for, but what is clearly happening now is that is unravelling and it is completely clear that every promise that enabled...
Mick Antoniw: Cabinet Secretary, I always get disappointed when I hear the Tories dissing the way in which some of the European funding has actually been used to regenerate parts of Wales. If they want to come to Pontypridd, they can see what I think is a model example of the way a town that suffered so grimly out of the mining industry and the industrialisation—the regeneration that is actually taking...
Mick Antoniw: 6. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the role that educational institutions will play if the voting age in Wales is lowered to 16? OAQ52757
Mick Antoniw: Cabinet Secretary, thank you for that answer, although I don't think it actually goes far enough. I did a consultation in two schools in my constituency—in Y Pant and Bryn Celynnog—and it resulted in this submission, which went in, in fact, to the Welsh Government's consultation on electoral reform in local government, but is directly relevant to the legislation that's being proposed now...
Mick Antoniw: Leader of the house, I raised with you on a number of occasions a similar example to that my colleague Hefin David has raised, and that is the Dyffryn y Coed development, which is a Persimmon development, which I think is a classic example of some of the failings within our planning or our development system for housing. This is a new development in Llantwit Fardre, where the first phase...
Mick Antoniw: Will the First Minister make a statement on the importance of policing to community safety?
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We reported on the renting homes Bill on 24 October, and we made 12 recommendations. Overall, we welcomed the steps towards the creation of a subject-specific body of Welsh law relating to housing. We see this as a positive development ahead of the Welsh Government’s more comprehensive plans regarding consolidation and codification, and it should assist...
Mick Antoniw: Moving on, our approach when scrutinising Bills includes considering the extent to which the Member in charge has clearly explained which legislative powers in the Government of Wales Act 2006 are being used to make the legislation. It is not an attempt to undermine the Welsh Government’s or indeed the Llywydd’s assessment of legislative competence. We noted the evidence from the...
