Rhys ab Owen: 'Westminster has rejected the Assembly's request, but negotiations are still ongoing.' Well, I don't know if they're still ongoing—
Rhys ab Owen: —now, but they haven't been very successful so far, have they? And again in 2021, following a request by Gwynedd Council, the proposal to give Wales a bank holiday was rejected by the Westminster Government. Deja vu, groundhog day—call it what you like—but we've been here before. Despite the united voice of the Assembly and the Senedd on this issue, we've not made any progress in 22...
Rhys ab Owen: If the United Kingdom is a union of equals, as the muscular unionists and the not-so-muscular unionists like to throw around, then there would be parity between the nations—an equal opportunity for us to celebrate, to dance, to sing and to rest on the day of our patron saint. And as Tom Giffard said, during the past 22 years, Scotland and Northern Ireland have created extra bank holidays to...
Rhys ab Owen: Of course.
Rhys ab Owen: Funny you say that, Alun, as my next sentence will be, 'For Wales needs to be able to decide when we have our own bank holidays.' [Laughter.]
Rhys ab Owen: Instead of that, we're like Oliver Twist, aren't we, holding out our begging bowls, hoping for a few crumbs. Well, we should not have to rely on the charity of another Government to ensure that the day of our patron saint is a bank holiday. It was lovely to hear Tom Giffard speaking Welsh on Radio Cymru yesterday morning, and lovely to hear you speak Welsh today—stick with it, friend, do it...
Rhys ab Owen: I'll finish with this now, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Rhys ab Owen: During that time, my father has lost the ability to speak entirely, but his words, and through them his voice, remain. He ended his speech by quoting the last words of our patron saint, 'Brothers and sisters, rejoice and keep your faith and your belief, and do the little things.' My father, Deputy Presiding Officer, went further by saying this: 'Note the words "byddwch lawen", which mean...
Rhys ab Owen: —the unanimous voice of the Assembly and the Senedd. I sincerely hope, friends, that we will not be back here in another 22 years having the same debate. Thank you very much.
Rhys ab Owen: 2. What discussions is the Welsh Government having with the Ministry of Justice and police and crime commissioners to tackle racial discrimination in the criminal justice system in Wales? OQ57734
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you, First Minister, and thank you for the Government's work within the criminal justice system in Wales, which, of course, is not devolved to Wales.
Rhys ab Owen: Now, we have known for decades about the prejudices faced by people of ethnic minority within the justice system globally. What we have not known, until recent years, is that racial prejudice within the justice system in Wales seems to be worse here in Wales than in England. Through the work of the Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre, we now know that black offenders receive the...
Rhys ab Owen: 7. What discussions has the Minister had within the Welsh Government and externally to ensure locally sourced food and drink are available in schools, care homes and hospitals? OQ57733
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. As we're reminded often by Jenny Rathbone, there are so many positives from rebuilding a local food economy: it creates jobs, it's great for the environment also, and there are so many excellent business opportunities here, as the local demand far exceeds the local supply at the moment. We've been reminded again, haven't we, recently about the importance of not being...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you very much to my colleague Mike Hedges for tabling this debate today. Thank you also to John Griffiths for his work chairing the cross-party group on police, an important job of work, and also to my colleague Alun Davies. When he was a Minister—remember he was a Minister at one time—Alun Davies established the Welsh policing board, an...
Rhys ab Owen: Because this is not a new debate. Like last week, with St David's Day, we have been here before, and, let me say this quietly to you over there, it has previously had Tory support. Back in the early 1990s, Lord Hunt, the then Secretary of State for Wales, had come to an agreement with Ken Clarke, the Home Secretary, to devolve justice to the Welsh Office. Now, that was stopped because of the...
Rhys ab Owen: Well, that exists already with police and crime commissioners, and this is executive devolution in Manchester and London, which is completely different. And nobody here has mentioned the unification of the Welsh police force except for you, Mark Isherwood. The Thomas commission did not recommend it; the Silk commission did not recommend it. Now, the political symmetry—if you really are that...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm very pleased to see this cross-party element in this debate. A number of Conservatives have decided to contribute, perhaps it's the title 'taking back control' that attracted them to join in. But I'm giving a minute of my time to Peredur Owen Griffiths, to Mabon ap Gwynfor, Carolyn Thomas, Joel James, the two Samuels—Kurtz and Rowlands—and to Tom...
Rhys ab Owen: When Wales was squeezed by Conservative austerity to pick up the bill for bankers, councils across our nation were forced to sell off community assets. While citizens in Scotland and in England were able to organise, work and mobilise to buy and protect their assets, this was not the same story in Wales. We will never know the full extent of community loss this nation faced during those years...
Rhys ab Owen: For a nation that's often called a community of communities, the lack of rights for community groups here beggars belief. Local gardens and parks, allotments and urban farms increase the value of an area, socially and economically. Community assets have been, and will continue to be, one of the most effective ways of strengthening community spirit, of facilitating collaboration and of...
