Jeremy Miles: Visit Wales is working closely with VisitBritain and across Welsh Government in preparing for the impact of Brexit on tourism in Wales. We are adopting a proactive yet flexible marketing approach in a number of international markets, including Ireland, and are continually monitoring the situation as it evolves.
Jeremy Miles: While the Welsh Government cannot protect all businesses from the wide ranging damaging impacts of Brexit, it is doing all it can to support businesses in preparations for EU exit and this support is available to businesses in all parts of Wales.
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. By next week, the Conservative Party leadership election will be over, and we will know the identity of the new Prime Minister. We have all watched a leadership campaign characterised by a race to see who can talk the toughest about a 'no deal', and a competition for the top job that focuses on the needs of the Conservative Party and not the needs of the...
Jeremy Miles: Yet again, Dirprwy Lywydd, we are back to chasing unicorns. We have a situation where appeasing grass-roots Tory supporters is taking precedence over the reality of the negotiations with the European Union. Gaining support of the hardline Brexiteers has been made the top priority, and not the national interest. The dire consequence of all these factors is that crashing out of the EU without a...
Jeremy Miles: The Welsh Government and this National Assembly reject a 'no deal' exit. Any rational look at the hard facts of the implications of a 'no deal' exit shows that this will be catastrophic. During the referendum debate three years ago, 'no deal' was not put forward as a viable option. Access to the single market and seamless trade with the EU is what was promised by those backing 'leave'. There...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for that series of questions. It's his constant refrain that we need to respect the result of the 2016 referendum. He knows very well, of course, that on these benches we sought to find a version of Brexit that fulfilled the instruction in 2016 whilst minimising the damage to the Welsh economy. It was a version of Brexit that he and his party were not interested in in their...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for those questions. I'll try and deal with them succinctly given the Dirprwy Llywydd's instruction. On the question of an emergency funding commitment from the UK Government, no commitment of particular sums of money has been made by the Treasury in that particular context. She will know that the Minister for finance has been very clear that in the circumstances in...
Jeremy Miles: I thank David Rees for his questions. I will deal with them in turn. On the question of haulage and the permitting, we are in close contact, obviously, with the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association in relation to the issues that they will face, both here in Wales and also, of course, further afield. The impact of this felt across the UK could potentially impact the...
Jeremy Miles: I believe he asked whether the Welsh Government's arrangements could be said to be prudent, to which the answer is 'yes'.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I thank the Member for his questions. I will just say, I simply do not share his optimistic outlook on the trade prospects for the UK outside the European Union—£3 out of every £4 earned by Welsh businesses from exports are earned by virtue of our membership of the European Union, and I think we throw that away at our peril, and much more importantly, at the peril of those business...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Although this is a technical Bill—it is law about the law—it's also an important Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to make Welsh law more accessible and to create legislation that is clear and consistent and which is also co-ordinated. It is a Bill that, on the one hand, looks to the future, a future where we will bring our long and complex statute book...
Jeremy Miles: May I just thank Suzy Davies for her observations and her commitment to the ongoing project, for which the Bill is the foundation stone in many ways? So, thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr.
Jeremy Miles: Presiding Officer, I understand that you've given permission for questions 1 and 3 to be grouped. I refer the Members to the written statements that I published yesterday and on 2 September. I intervened in the case because it is appropriate, necessary and proportionate to do so in order to safeguard the interests of Wales and this Assembly.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I think the Member fundamentally misunderstands the situation. The Welsh Government hasn't teamed up with anyone. As law officer, I have intervened in these proceedings, and I have had permission to do so by—
Jeremy Miles: —the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Member may remember that the last time the Welsh Government intervened in a Miller case the Supreme Court found in favour of Miller, because the Supreme Court understood that the actions of the UK Government were designed to sideline Parliament. Those circumstances are the circumstances we face today, with a new Prime Minister seeking to sideline...
Jeremy Miles: And that opportunity has been denied Parliament to sit and consider that legislation by the prorogation. So, I make no apology at all for standing up for the rights of this Assembly. She shouts at me from a sedentary position the question of costs. The costs of intervening in the High Court stage were £8,937.91 plus VAT—with apologies to Mark Reckless for the question he'll be asking me later.
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for that supplementary question. She is right, of course, to point out that the Court of Session in Scotland concluded that, whatever the reasons the Prime Minister gave publicly for seeking the prorogation, the actual reason was to stymie, as they put it, Parliament's consideration, which they concluded to be constitutionally unacceptable and unlawful. She is right to say...
Jeremy Miles: Welsh legislative powers do not extend to regulating vehicle emissions. However, the Government supports the use of challenging new vehicle standards to reduce emissions from transport and the Government is acting in areas where it has competence and has consulted on the clean air framework to lead local government actions to improve air quality and reduce emissions.
Jeremy Miles: Well, I won’t elaborate on any legal discussions, for reasons that the Member will understand fully, I believe. But the question of the steps that Welsh Government can take to secure a low-carbon society is a very lively discussion that is held often within Welsh Government. I would refer the Member to the ‘Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales’ policy document, which describes in...
Jeremy Miles: The cost of intervening in the High Court stage was £8,937.91, and VAT. I consider this proportionate to the fundamental importance of the issue, both for this place and its ability to give voice to the interests of Wales, and to the rule of law and the constitution more generally.
