Rhys ab Owen: I'm very concerned, Prif Weinidog, that we are sleepwalking into a very different Senedd—a Welsh Parliament by name but with much weaker powers. Your answer last week to Adam Price that if we elect a Labour Government, that's the way to protect devolution in Westminster—what happens if we don't have a Labour Government? The answer cannot be in Westminster, it has to be here in Wales. What...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. Counsel General, could I begin by echoing the comments of Lord Justice Green, the chair of the Law Commission, and congratulate the Welsh Government on this important step in making Welsh law more accessible? Now, maybe this is not of interest to everyone, but I'm very excited about this important step. This is a step that's going to transform the law in...
Rhys ab Owen: 8. Will the Minister provide an update on national milestones for achieving the Welsh Government's well-being goals? OQ58297
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. You'll be aware that I'm concerned about the lack of enforceability powers behind the well-being goals. What would be the consequences of not achieving the national milestones?
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Cwnsler Cyffredinol, in a recent article for The National newspaper, a leading Welsh academic, Richard Wyn Jones, said that the debate about the future of Wales's constitution lacked realism. He said that, despite there being a strong consensus in Wales for further powers, there's obviously no appetite for it in the Westminster Government and he said that there's no...
Rhys ab Owen: I agree with you there, Cwnsler Cyffredinol: the answer is here in Wales. And I was rather concerned when the First Minister, last week, seemed to suggest that the answer was a Labour Government in Westminster. Now, Brexit is totally incompatible with the Good Friday agreement and it's leading toward the reunification of Ireland. The leader of the Labour Party won't admit that Brexit is a...
Rhys ab Owen: 9. What support has the Counsel General provided the Welsh legal sector following proposed changes to working practices by the UK Government? OQ58299
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Gwnsler Cyffredinol. The UK Government have been becoming increasingly hostile towards the legal profession, especially those holding them to account by stopping illegal removals from the United Kingdom and holding them to account against human rights abuses; all of this, also, whilst criminal barristers are striking. The current median annual income for a criminal barrister...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. We've heard some clear and factual reasons this afternoon, from Cefin Campbell, from Luke Fletcher, from Jane Dodds, of why we should join the single market. In fact, I think we heard some clear and factual reasons from Vaughan Gething, the Minister, on why we should join. Now, we know that Boris Johnson dismissed the impact of Brexit on the economy in very...
Rhys ab Owen: No, you've had plenty of time. To answer James and Rhianon: people are allowed to change their minds, James and Rhianon. That's why we have regular elections, and the Conservatives will find, at the next general election, that a lot of people have surely changed their minds. On Monday—[Interruption.] I'll take an intervention from you, Hefin, yes.
Rhys ab Owen: Yes, of course. We want to be part of a bigger European Union, part of an equal nation with the other European nations. We are an internationalist party; that's the answer, Hefin David. And our position is very clear and consistent with this, whilst Keir Starmer's newest slogan, 'Make Brexit Work', is completely nonsensical. He spoke against rejoining the customs union on Monday. The Welsh...
Rhys ab Owen: What discussions has the Counsel General had with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice about the continuation of the Support Through Court scheme at Cardiff Justice Centre?
Rhys ab Owen: Will you take an intervention?
Rhys ab Owen: You'll understand this reference. I was a bit of a doubting Thomas when it came to this policy. I've changed my mind completely. Stopping when you're driving 30 mph—six car lengths; stopping at 20 mph is three car lengths. As a father of a 20-month-old, and you'd know this, with several children of your own—children run. You can hold them as much as you like, but they run, and they run...
Rhys ab Owen: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the economic impact of Brexit on Wales? OQ58339
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Gweinidog. Brexit is not working for Wales. It has cost us and the UK billions in lost trade and lost tax revenue; GDP is down, investment is down and goods trade is down. With the highest inflation since the mid 1970s, with the cost-of-living crisis biting the people in our communities, the current position of the Welsh Government and Labour in Westminster is not tenable....
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Counsel General. We as a party welcome this statement. We've been campaigning for years to ban single-use plastics. But, since the growth in plastic's popularity in the 1960s, it has become a prominent part of our lives, from food packaging to plastic fibres being blended into our clothing—so, that's visible and invisible plastic around us and surrounding us. Although...
Rhys ab Owen: We can all agree that we want the elimination of such plastic waste, but I am afraid that the path ahead of us is riddled by obstacles—riddled by man-made obstacles, Westminster-made obstacles. The infamous internal market Act—not only does that Act enable UK Government to spend within devolved areas and ignore the devolved settlement, it also enables the UK Government to ignore food and...
Rhys ab Owen: 2. Will the Minister provide an update on the building safety fund? OQ58400
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Weinidog. Now, you may be aware that, last month, there were two balcony fires in the Victoria Wharf development, not far from here, in Cardiff Bay. Taylor Wimpey, the developer of that development, said over two years ago that they would be willing to do the remediation work there, but it still has not started. Now, I'm on record as saying that I wanted a Welsh Bill with...
