Rhys ab Owen: People want to live in communities that are unique, that are personal, not some carbon copy of every other town and village. People don't want to live, nor do they want to visit, clone towns that offer nothing exciting, personal or dynamic. What work, therefore, has the Welsh Government done to streamline the process of community asset purchase and when will we see the Senedd codifying the...
Rhys ab Owen: Jenny Rathbone—I'm pleased to see Jenny still with us online—has raised consistently the threat to the Roath Park pub on City Road. That's a pub that has stood on that spot since 1886, a meeting place for local people to come together to discuss and enjoy themselves. After a furious response to a planning application to demolish the pub and replace it with a block of soulless flats, the...
Rhys ab Owen: Warm words are not enough for these communities.
Rhys ab Owen: It's time for us to correct this failure time and time again. It's time for this Senedd to show the communities of Wales devolution at its best. It's time for us to empower people, empower communities, and, by doing so, empower every part of the nation. A nation's strength is its communities. Thank you very much.
Rhys ab Owen: 5. What recent discussions has the Minister had with the Ministry of Justice on the establishment of the first residential women’s centre in Wales? OQ57779
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. Data just released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre showed that there has been an increase in the average number of Welsh women in prison between 2020 and 2021—gone up from 208 to 218. It also shows that women from north Wales are being held in the prison estate right across England, far away from their...
Rhys ab Owen: 1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the proposed changes to the Human Rights Act 1998 on the Welsh devolution settlement? OQ57785
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Gwnsler Cyffredinol. As you know, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European convention on human rights is at the very heart of devolution in Wales. Conformity with convention rights is safeguarded by the Government of Wales Act 2006 and was voted twice by referenda by the Welsh people. Given that the Westminster Government claims to respect referenda, it's surprising that...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Cwnsler Cyffredinol, you're more than aware of the concern that I and many in this Chamber—from Plaid Cymru and the Labour Party—have of the impact of the legislative consent motions on the devolution settlement and their increased use in this Senedd. The letter today from the Deputy Minister for the arts shows the chaotic nature of the LCM process; it...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. I look forward to hearing your statement next week about taking forward the recommendations of the Commission on Justice in Wales and the Law Commission report on Welsh tribunals. More of the justice system in fact is devolved to Wales than most people think, especially on those benches opposite me. But one strong argument to devolve the rest would be to...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr.
Rhys ab Owen: 4. What discussions has the Counsel General had with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Law Society on the proposal by the SRA to close the solicitors indemnity fund? OQ57784
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Cwnsler. I know that you are more than aware of the nature of the profession in Wales, especially in rural and post-industrial areas. We do have ageing legal professionals and practitioners. In a place like Mid and West Wales, over 60 per cent are over 50 years of age practising criminal law, and a high percentage also of petitioners in these areas. Now, the solicitors...
Rhys ab Owen: 3. What work is the Welsh Government undertaking to reduce the number of children in care in Wales? OQ57822
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, First Minister, and I know that this is something very close to your own heart, and that you have been working to try and identify the problem.
Rhys ab Owen: The recent research by the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre at Cardiff University commissioned by the Welsh Government saw an increase of 87 per cent in the rate of children in care from 2004 to 2020. And what surprises me is the huge variation within local authorities—so, Torfaen, an increase of 251 per cent, whilst Carmarthenshire has no increase whatsoever—and the...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you, Llywydd. I am delighted contribute to this afternoon's debate on behalf of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and I wish our Chair, Huw Irranca-Davies, well on the happy occasion of the graduation of his son, which has been postponed a number of times as a result of COVID. We considered these regulations at our meeting of 14 March, and our report to the Senedd...
Rhys ab Owen: Our first merits point noted that the significant increase in the charging authority’s discretion, from 100 percent to 300 percent, appears to engage article 1 of the first protocol of the European convention on human rights. Whilst it is, of course, recognised and accepted that states can interfere with a citizen's possessions, in this case by increasing the council tax charge on long-term...
Rhys ab Owen: Our second merits point draws attention to the consultation undertaken by the Welsh Government in respect of these regulations, and specifically how this is discussed in the accompanying explanatory memorandum.
Rhys ab Owen: Taking into account the very high number of responses to the consultation and the fact—probably hardly surprising—that the majority of those responses did not support the proposal to increase the percentage rate discretion, we were unclear why the approach was adopted in the regulations. In response, we were told that the Welsh Government has taken full account of all consultation...
