Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr. I want to stay with the legislative consent motions. I want to quote some wise words to you, Counsel General. They were written in March 2021, by the then chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, in a letter to the environment Minister. These are the words: 'The arguments you have put forward to support the UK Parliament and UK Government legislating in...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr. And finally, you've touched on my last question already—those comments by Dominic Raab to change the Human Rights Act 1998 to allow some sort of a mechanism so that Ministers can correct court judgments. Now, Counsel General, do you agree with me that Dominic Raab must have forgotten one of his first constitutional lectures at university, because this goes to the very heart...
Rhys ab Owen: I welcome the establishment of the law council of Wales. I think there's great potential there. As you mentioned earlier, a strong and sustainable legal sector in Wales is very important for several different reasons. It's been shown during the COVID pandemic how important technology is. And, in the legal sector, we haven't always been very good with technology, as you know, Counsel General....
Rhys ab Owen: It's very encouraging to see so many people who want to participate in the Welsh Youth Parliament, and it's clear that they have a great interest in a number of issues such as the climate emergency and issues around social justice. It was a little disappointing in terms of the number that registered to vote at 16 and 17 years old, and also the numbers were very inconsistent. For example,...
Rhys ab Owen: You will be aware, Llywydd, of the enthusiastic campaign of Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion and the excellent work done by Ben Lake in Westminster in standing up for the rights of women born in the 1950s, who have had their pension rights taken away from them. Trefnydd, you too will be aware, from all of the correspondence that you've received and what you've heard in surgeries, just how many...
Rhys ab Owen: Can I say at the outset that I agree with the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitutional Committee? Part of the work that I’ve enjoyed most is the committee work when we look at the evidence, when we hear from the expert, and cross-party consensus can develop. And this is the case here. Parliamentary scrutiny goes to the very heart of any real democratic country. It improves...
Rhys ab Owen: That is how you secure the best outcomes for the people of Wales. That is what real scrutiny looks like. That is our role. Nobody disagrees with the Minister that we need to eradicate single-use plastic. The Minister says, and continues to say, that this is a priority for the Welsh Government and that Welsh Ministers need these powers, but this is the point and this is what goes to the heart...
Rhys ab Owen: At the end of her letter, the Minister expresses her commitment to the Sewel convention and giving the Senedd the opportunity to scrutinise and vote on any new provisions in a UK Bill. Minister, a take-it-or-leave-it vote without hardly any notice or scrutiny is not good enough. A quarter-of-an-hour debate in a graveyard shift on a Tuesday evening is simply not good enough. As the...
Rhys ab Owen: The Minister, from hereon in, must commit to bring every environmental Bill before this Senedd so that real scrutiny can happen here, carried out by Members of this place and stakeholders in Wales. This is our role, and this is our duty to the people of Wales. Thank you.
Rhys ab Owen: Deputy Minister, my question follows on from Mr Hussain's question and we're very lucky to have his expertise in this Senedd. My question is that, next week, the cross-party group on dementia is to publish a report on hospital care, and one recommendation is to have specific slots to allow those suffering from dementia to leave hospital. The reason for having those slots is to ensure that...
Rhys ab Owen: Tomorrow, First Minister, the cross-party group on dementia will publish a report on hospital care, and at this point, I would like to pay a very deserved tribute to Lynne Neagle for her excellent work on this report before she joined Government. First Minister, the pandemic has once again demonstrated the huge importance of close collaboration between the health and social care sectors....
Rhys ab Owen: Trefnydd, many in this Siambr will know that this Senedd has been built on a dry dock, and it's probably right to say that this building wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for the port of Cardiff and the coal of the Valleys. Therefore, it's apt for me to ask for a statement today from the Welsh Government about their ports and maritime strategy. As during the industrial revolution, our port...
Rhys ab Owen: The health of our democracy is based on trust—trust that has been severely tested recently, yet again, by the antics of MPs at Westminster and corruption—and I use my words carefully—corruption at the very heart of Government. If the numerous well-paid second jobs aren't enough, the Westminster Government also are putting people off from voting by forcing compulsory voter ID. It is...
Rhys ab Owen: The Westminster Government itself has shown that 2 million people, including 100,000 people here in Wales, could lose the ability to vote because of the introduction of voter ID. Forty-eight per cent of black people in the UK don't have a driver's licence, and all of this, as the Counsel General said, is being done despite the evidence that there is no problem to resolve. Northern Ireland is...
Rhys ab Owen: While Welsh elections are becoming more and more inclusive and democratic, Westminster elections will see a step back with this Elections Bill, taking us back to the Victorian way of elections, with fewer people being able to vote. The work of voting reform should be in the realm of inclusion, not exclusion as you're doing at the moment.
Rhys ab Owen: According to the pilot—
Rhys ab Owen: Okay, Darren. Yes.
Rhys ab Owen: Well, we haven't had the vote yet, Darren, but—
Rhys ab Owen: Darren, what the Conservatives fail here is that this not an issue. It has not been an issue with elections in England and Wales in the same way as it was in Northern Ireland in the 1983 general election. We don't have compulsory IDs in this country as they do in Europe. Do you want that, Darren Millar? Do you want the civil liberties of people being taken away, that they need compulsory IDs...
Rhys ab Owen: I'm pleased, Counsel General, to see this pilot. I am pleased to see the four areas extending the ability to vote, but I note that they are all urban, highly populated areas. Wouldn't it be better to have included at least one rural area? How did you come to a decision as to where to locate those four areas? Research commissioned by Welsh Government published in March 2020 states that one...
