Jeremy Miles: Making Welsh law more accessible continues to be a priority. We are finalising a legislation Bill that is intended to formalise the Government’s long-term commitment to simplifying Welsh law and making it more accessible. I intend to introduce the Bill before the end of this year.
Jeremy Miles: Absolutely. I believe very strongly that, whether it's in this place, or in the UK Parliament, where rights are created for individuals, and a responsibility is imposed on others, we have to ensure that people's rights are protected, and that people have a realistic ability to access redress through courts and through tribunals where their rights and entitlements are being infringed. For us...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and to state the Welsh Government's support for the proposal to introduce this Bill. The Wales Act 2017 has brought new powers in this area, and it's right that they should be used to make our legislature more effective, accessible and diverse in terms of representation.
Jeremy Miles: The reforms proposed for inclusion in this Bill are important in ensuring that the Assembly's role, its processes and its electoral arrangements are clear. In particular, I welcome the proposal to extend the franchise for voting in Assembly elections to 16 and 17-year-olds. Unlike Gareth Bennett, I think 16 to 17-year-olds are perfectly capable of exercising that level of democratic...
Jeremy Miles: I don't have a view on that. I think it's obviously important that we make sure that we have an informed electorate at all ages, and I think we should take every opportunity that we can to make sure that is the case. The responses to the consultation that the Commission has conducted suggest that if we encourage people to engage with politics at a young age, they are more likely to remain...
Jeremy Miles: The Welsh Government continues to press the UK Government to guarantee that EU nationals in the UK won't lose rights, even in a 'no deal' Brexit. Creating a hostile environment in which EU nationals choose to leave would be deeply harmful to our economy, our public services and our international reputation.
Jeremy Miles: Can I just echo the point that the Member has made in relation to that? It is profoundly unsatisfactory that we are having to have these kinds of conversations and, difficult though it is for us, it's immeasurably more difficult for those individual citizens whose lives are in limbo, in some senses, because of a lack of long-term clarity around some of these areas. The Government did...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Mike Hedges for that supplementary question, and the issue that he raises is an issue that I'm sure many, if not all of us, have had raised with us in our surgeries, as have our Member of Parliament counterparts. It just goes to show how deep into all communities in Wales this issue reaches. Under the settlement scheme, the constituent who you've described their...
Jeremy Miles: Well, his party may have campaigned on that basis in the last two elections, but it certainly didn't campaign on the basis of an open and inclusive society during the Brexit referendum itself.
Jeremy Miles: And a fair amount of the anxiety caused and suffered by people living in the UK and overseas is as a consequence of the sorts of representations and arguments being made by his party during that referendum.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the Member makes a very important point. It's absolutely vital that we make sure that EEA citizens have the same protection as EU citizens will have under the deal that we understand. We've paid careful attention to the successive drafts of the withdrawal agreement, and we'll continue to make representations in support of that.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the case raises an important question around the interpretation of article 50, which it would be helpful to have answered to ensure that a fully informed decision can be taken on any withdrawal agreement reached between the UK Government and the European Union, or in the case of a 'no deal' outcome.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I thank the Member for that further question. It may be helpful just to remind ourselves what's at stake in the case itself. The claim alleges that the UK Government's interpretation of article 50, and in particular its apparent assertion that it's not legally possible to unilaterally revoke an article 50 notification, is incorrect. That's the argument being put. The UK Government's...
Jeremy Miles: The memorandum of understanding between the Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State for Transport, which essentially makes arrangements to facilitate the appointment and funding of a Traffic Commissioner for Wales, was finalised in 2016. My officials provided advice as to the legal basis when memorandum of understanding was entered into.
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for bringing that matter to my attention. There are, I think, two points to make. The MOU between the Welsh Government in relation to the traffic commissioner effectively provides funding for enhanced services. Since the MOU was entered into, there's been a change in the devolution settlement, and now, bus registration services, which are provided by the transport...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for her question. The devolved Welsh tribunals are operating effectively with a significant caseload, but I'm aware that the England-and-Wales tribunal system, which is a much bigger system, is working at the moment to overcome some specific capacity issues in light of the Supreme Court’s very welcome judgment on employment tribunal fees last year.
Jeremy Miles: Thank you for that question. I would just like to echo the fact that I think that, in bringing that case to the Supreme Court, Unison, who I know she previously worked for, was doing a great public service, and it was clear that the introduction of those tribunal fees had the effect of suppressing great numbers of injustices and their ability to be resolved. So we have seen, since the...
Jeremy Miles: I've met with a number of law firms across Wales over the past six months and, whilst their take-up and interest in new digital technologies necessarily varies, it's clear that all of them see the opportunities to improve productivity and enhance their specialist knowledge and their skills. The utilisation of tech and innovation within the legal sector is very welcome.
Jeremy Miles: The Member makes a very important point. I, in fact, met this morning with officials to discuss this topic, amongst other topics in fact, and it's clear, as I hinted at in my initial answer, that the challenge and opportunity of technology is felt across the sector, although, admittedly in different ways, in different parts of the sector, as you would expect. He mentioned the question of...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate today on the Wales committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's annual report for the year 2017-2018. The review was launched earlier today in the Assembly with the UN rapporteur on poverty and human rights, and with the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee,...
