Mick Antoniw: I thank the Member for his thoughtful questions and comments. If I might start by actually saying how important I recognise the role of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee is, and in fact, I think I'm taking one of your papers home, which is a critique of one of our legislative consent memoranda, so I want to think about that very, very carefully, but it is a very important...
Mick Antoniw: Can I firstly congratulate the Member on waking up this morning? And the first thing he did was to exercise some thought. I hope this isn't a one-off. Can I also thank him for the comments because I think, within the positions he's expressed—I understand why he's making them—obviously it's important to show goodwill to the overlords in No. 10 Downing Street, and I'm sure that features in...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member for his comments? He says, 'Why now?' Well, if not now, when? Because when you are facing change, when you are facing dysfunction, when you are facing the inclarity in the decision-making process, the inclarity in the financial arrangements, and that situation impacts on the lives of people of Wales, when also it impacts on the democratic mandate the Government has and...
Mick Antoniw: The Welsh Government is committed to tackling air pollution in Wales and I understand the concerns around air pollution levels in Cardiff, and in Wales generally. The Welsh Government has taken action in order to bring areas which were not compliant with pollution limits into compliance in the soonest possible time.
Mick Antoniw: The Senedd has established the Special Purpose Committee on Senedd Reform to consider this matter as part of its wider remit, and the Welsh Government stands ready to prepare legislation once the Senedd has agreed a package of reforms.
Mick Antoniw: The Welsh Government continues to ensure elections in Wales are run free and fairly with a high level of public confidence. The Electoral Commission’s report of the 2021 Senedd Elections supports this, noting that the public were confident the elections were well-run despite taking place in unprecedented and challenging circumstances.
Mick Antoniw: I published a written statement on Justice on 30 September, and just over ten days ago I had the privilege of addressing delegates at the Legal Wales Conference during which I re-affirmed our commitment to pursue the case for the devolution of justice and policing.
Mick Antoniw: I thank the Member for an important question. The Welsh Government supports the Law Commission's proposals for a framework that would allow non-religious belief organisations to conduct legally binding weddings. The Minister for Social Justice has written to the UK Government expressing support of these proposals and seeking this work being taken forward in a timely fashion.
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that supplementary question. I should mention I am a member of Humanists UK. This is an issue that has been raised from time to time in this Chamber. We know that humanist marriages gained legal recognition in Scotland in 2005, in the Republic of Ireland in 2012 and in Northern Ireland in 2018, after a Court of Appeal decision. In Jersey 2019, in Guernsey 2021, and in the...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that question on the law council of Wales. Since the beginning of 2020, we have been working closely with the legal sector to establish the law council for Wales, through discussions with the Law Society, commercial law firms and high-street practices, the bar, law schools, the judiciary and other leading representatives of the sector in Wales.
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that question, and as has been indicated, the establishment of a law council for Wales is one of the recommendations of the Thomas commission, and the recommendation also built on a call by Lord Lloyd-Jones for an institute for Welsh law to be established to promote the study of Welsh law and proposed a law council, but one with a wider remit than just legal education so that it...
Mick Antoniw: Well, our position on further devolution to local authorities is basically that we have a commission that is set up that will look at governance within Wales, the well-being of that governance, how it might move forward, how we might work to empower and support—I think the empowerment of communities and individuals within Wales, and I look forward, in due course, to the recommendations of...
Mick Antoniw: I think it has always been the case that, within this Senedd, we have worked fairly in respect of across Wales and with a view to encompass all the views of the people of Wales. I do wonder whether you actually listened to the speech that I made yesterday, because in that speech and earlier statements, I'd always talked about how the ethos behind the commission is about the empowerment of...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I think it's probably true that you did listen to my statement yesterday, but you certainly didn’t hear what I said. And I certainly wonder what your understanding is of the concept of empowerment of people and communities. And I wonder what your understanding is of the broad objectives that were set, which are really about the future of Wales and the enhancement of Welsh democracy...
Mick Antoniw: Well, I think the Member has made his points very, very well, and they’re ones that, certainly, I’m very focused on. And perhaps to add to some of the examples that he gave, I would also express concern that some of those pieces of legislation that we will need to consider, because of their implications for devolution, actually go to the heart of our democracy and the democracy of the...
Mick Antoniw: Well, firstly, I do stand by those words—they remain. I have always caveated, of course, when I've attended evidence sessions and so on, that there are, from time to time, areas where there may be benefits to Wales in pursuing a particular course of action, where there are either overlapping responsibilities—. Environment, of course, is one of those areas where there are major decisions...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member for those particular points? They are absolutely valid points and they've been made by a number of organisations within the legal profession, and we can put it this way: Parliament without the framework of the rule of law is effectively a dictatorship that is elected every five years. The rule of law is what sets the framework in which the exercise of power takes place....
Mick Antoniw: I thank the Member for the question, again on a very important subject. The safety of our communities is paramount and we continue to work at pace to address coal tip safety. The Coal Authority and local authorities undertake regular inspections on the higher-risk tips and ensure any other maintenance works are identified.
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank you for that interesting supplementary question and statement? You've very selectively chosen from the Law Commission report, because there is far more detail about the issues of complexity, about the complexity of law and the confusion of law since the privatisation of the coal industry and all the consequences since then, from the National Coal Board to British Coal, through the...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member for that further supplementary comment? I agree, and I believe that if the UK Government does not honour its obligations to the people in the mining communities who live with these coal tips, and accept the responsibility that is there, it will be an indication of yet another betrayal by the UK Conservative Government.
