Jeremy Miles: Formally.
Jeremy Miles: Llywydd, section 37 is a complex area, and what the Welsh Government is seeking is clarity. This would have been preferable, in our view, before the debate took place today. Unfortunately, there is an obvious difference of opinion between the Welsh Government and the Assembly Commission. We must now move for this issue to be resolved, preferably without recourse to the courts. The Welsh...
Jeremy Miles: Yes, of course.
Jeremy Miles: I don't believe that it does. It sets out a principle, but it's evident, when you look at when the principle might apply, that it doesn't establish to what circumstances it might apply, and if there is a difference of opinion, how that difference of opinion might be resolved. But this is something I'm going to come onto in a moment, if I may. Our strong preference is to work with the...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you for the question. The First Minister has established the Commission on Justice in Wales to provide an expert, independent, long-term view. The commission’s work is well under way and a call for evidence has been issued. I urge everyone with an interest to contribute.
Jeremy Miles: Well, as regards the recommendations of the commission, I don’t want to pre-empt their work, but the purpose of establishing the commission was to ensure that experts could discuss and that very broad evidence would be included in the analysis and it would give an opportunity for those voices to be heard. The Member makes a specific point on the devolution of justice, and I’m certain that...
Jeremy Miles: The agreement is to be reflected in the contents of the EU withdrawal Bill and it will be for the Assembly through the legislative consent motion debate to decide whether what is provided for in the agreement is acceptable for Wales.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I think the Member misunderstands the effect of the agreement—
Jeremy Miles: Well, I'm about to outline the position, and I'll be very happy to take further questions if the Deputy Presiding Officer is prepared to accept them. The question is this: the 26 areas that the agreement establishes as the areas that could be subject to regulation are clear. What has actually not been so clear is the additional powers that will be exercised in Wales rather than at the...
Jeremy Miles: Clearly, acting in defiance of the consent of the Assembly would pose a constitutional crisis, so there's no question around that. The agreement, which is a political agreement—although it has legal aspects: the amendments themselves, the reference to the Supreme Court; those are all legal steps, needless to say—the agreement actually includes the application of the Sewel convention...
Jeremy Miles: Decisions about cancellation of registration for day care providers are made by Care Inspectorate Wales. The inspectorate has operational independence. Day care providers that are the subject of cancellation decisions have a right of appeal against those decisions to the first-tier tribunal.
Jeremy Miles: The Member will appreciate that the individual case that he refers to—it's difficult for me to make much specific comment about that. Any providers who wish to challenge a decision of the inspectorate have a right of appeal to the first-tier tribunal, which is an independent tribunal with expertise in hearing this kind of case. He mentions the childcare provider in his own...
Jeremy Miles: May I thank the Member for the question? I refer the Member to the answer I gave in responding to the motion on 18 April. It’s clear that there is a legitimate difference of opinion about the interpretation of section 37, and we are engaging in constructive dialogue with the Presiding Officer to resolve this.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I’m not going to allude to any specific advice that I give to the Government on these matters, because the Member will understand why that would be impossible for me to do. But he mentioned the debate in particular. I refer him to section 41 of the Act, which anticipates that it would be possible for the Government or the Assembly, or both together, to go to court to seek an...
Jeremy Miles: The Welsh Government has secured changes to the UK Government’s EU withdrawal Bill. As part of the agreement, the UK Government will ask the law officers to make an application to the Supreme Court to withdraw the reference made to the court in respect of the Welsh continuity Bill.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the Member will be aware that this is a matter that is very much in the mind of the Welsh Government, on a number of bases, not least the fact that the volume of Brexit-related legislation and subordinate legislation that needs to be pursued and implemented required all Governments in the UK, and all legislatures, to start the work as soon as possible. So, as the Member will be aware,...
Jeremy Miles: While the Supreme Court has said that the Sewel convention is not legally binding, it has also emphasised that the convention plays a fundamental role in the UK’s constitution. We expect Parliament to respect the will of the Assembly, and not to proceed with legislation that alters the Assembly’s competence, or affects devolved matters, without the Assembly’s consent.
Jeremy Miles: The Miller judgment was very clear that the Sewel convention was not be justiciable, could not be the basis of the claim in court. But it was also very clear that it had the strongest possible political weight, apart from being available as a basis of a claim. And as I mentioned in my answer to a previous question, the Supreme Court regarded that as a permanent feature of the devolution...
Jeremy Miles: Members will know that social security is a reserved matter under our devolution settlement. Removal or modification of this reservation would require either an Act of the UK Parliament or an Order in Council. The UK Government would therefore need to agree this change.
Jeremy Miles: Can I just make one point clear that, in reference to the agreement, this is an agreement that brings more powers to be exercised in Wales than previously was the case? I don't want this idea to take hold that this is in any way handing back powers or trusting the Conservatives not to seek more powers. The inversion of clause 11, which was achieved by the Welsh Government and the Scottish...
