Mick Antoniw: Well, thank you for those comments. And, of course, it's not through my work, it's going to be through our and many other people's work that success will be achieved. Just commenting on Elystan Morgan, I had the great honour of actually working with Elystan Morgan for quite a number of months during the build-up to the 1979 devolution referendum, along with others. And he was one of a great...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for those comments and for those sentiments, and it's always a pleasure to hear someone quoting about the Magna Carta and about sovereignty and the origins of sovereignty. I notice where the Llywydd sits, there is the mace, the symbol of sovereignty. Of course, the mace was a weapon, which shows, I suppose, the origins of where sovereignty originally emerged from: who had the...
Mick Antoniw: The laws of Hywel Dda are mainly contained in three collections of manuscripts setting out Wales's native and distinct legal system. Scholars agree that the most developed version is Llyfr Iorwerth, the Book of Iorwerth, which dates from the thirteenth century. It was named after a lawyer, Iorwerth ap Madog, who complied a llyfr prawf, or test book, which contains all of the core texts that...
Mick Antoniw: Llywydd, this is a process we have started here in Wales, and I'm proud to have today laid the first programme to improve the accessibility of modern Welsh law, as required by the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019. This programme commits the Government to bringing forward consolidation Bills and taking a number of other steps to make the law more easily available and understandable. Work of this...
Mick Antoniw: Now, our consolidation of planning law won't cover cattle trespass and ploughing, but it will provide a comprehensive statement on the use of land, aided by the Law Commission's proposals to simplify and modernise the law in this area. The planning system is essential to shaping sustainable development and places, helping economic growth, while at the same time reflecting social,...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member for a number of very important questions, for his comments and also, as we've come to expect, an interesting history lesson on Welsh law and particularly the references to Roman law, which of course are more the base of the Scottish legal system rather than the English and Welsh system? Well, certainly so far.
Mick Antoniw: You did refer to the issue of more acceptable law in normal times and the resources and the programme that we can expect. It is fair to say that the programme for consolidation, the work on codification, the work on the development of the resources around the development of the accessibility to Welsh law is a tricky one, because the demands on the expertise and skills of the Welsh lawyers,...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member, as ever, for a very far-reaching and wide-ranging series of comments and questions? I suspect if I were to answer in detail all of them, I would attract the ire of the Llywydd, but I will do my best within the time that is available to me. [Laughter.] Can I just say first of all on the issue of planning—and, of course you are right, it is an incredibly complicated...
Mick Antoniw: Could I thank the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for those comments? Of course, the role of the committee in the actual scrutiny, not just of the integrity of legislation, but all the underlying principles and the issues of accessibility, I think, is very fundamental. As this legislature, this Parliament has begun to mature, effectively, that committee has become...
Mick Antoniw: Our programme for government makes clear this Government’s continued commitment to pursuing the case made by the Commission on Justice in Wales for the devolution of policing and justice to Wales.
Mick Antoniw: The location of speed cameras in Wales is determined by GoSafe/Gan Bwyll, which is the Wales road casualty reduction partnership. The partnership is made up of the local authorities in Wales, the four Welsh police forces and the Welsh Government.
Mick Antoniw: The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 and the subsequent coronavirus restrictions regulations, including the No. 5 regulations, have been made in exercise of powers set out in Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the principal powers being those in section 45C.
Mick Antoniw: The reform of our inter-governmental structures and processes often feature in our conversations with the UK and devolved Governments. A reformed and refreshed machinery is now essential to enable genuine dialogue between the UK Governments, and I am confident this can be achieved and delivered.
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for the question. We are actively looking at how we can use technology to improve voters' experiences at all stages of Welsh elections, from how they register, how they vote and how we count those votes. We are working with local authorities to identify whether these innovations could be tested in next May's elections.
Mick Antoniw: Thank you very much for that supplementary question. You are absolutely right, there are very exciting opportunities for innovation within our electoral system, with many examples of new systems not just being employed in Blaenau Gwent, but other parts of Wales as well. There were examples of that, but also around the world, from systems that allow voters to track their postal ballots to...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I think that the Member is absolutely right. One of the objectives of the pilots that I referred to earlier is, for example—. Where we have introduced voting for 16-year-olds in our election system, when people come on to the register, why should we not be able to use technology that, for example, would allow them to vote in their schools? What about voting in workplaces? What about...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that question. The discussions on the establishment of the independent commission on the constitutional future of Wales are continuing. I shall make a fuller statement to the Senedd in due course.
Mick Antoniw: Well, listen, thank you again for that supplementary question. I do apologise if my immediate response was considered too brief. I have been giving quite a lot of quite detailed answers in scrutiny sessions with the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and, indeed, when I made the statement earlier and on other occasions. Before the summer recess, I announced that we would be...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I can give you the assurance that I think I gave also when I originally issued the statement on this issue, that the commission, when it goes out to engage with people, has to be inclusive. It cannot say to people, 'There are certain things you can or that you can't discuss.' I think one of the problems with how the commission may present its work is that it is very easy to fall into, I...
Mick Antoniw: Well, thank you for that very relevant question, and, as you've already identified, the Law Commission is working on this issue at the moment. We are anticipating the report of the Law Commission on the reformation, or the recommendations in respect of issues around reform, of the tribunal system, and, of course, it's worth recognising, isn't it, that this is a significant part of the...
