Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We laid our report on this LCM immediately after our meeting yesterday afternoon. The Minister will know we had very little time to consider the memorandum, given that it was laid on 8 December 2022, and we were asked to report by 16 January 2023. That period only included 11 days when the Senedd was sitting, but we've managed to turn it round. We do acknowledge what's...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Our report notes the Welsh Government’s view that the Bill makes relevant provision in relation to Wales as a result of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, or UKIMA, as I will now refer to it, and specifically that its requirements mean that the provisions in the Bill will allow the sale and marketing of PBOs—precision-bred organisms—in Wales, which is currently prohibited by...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Diolch, Llywydd. Hello, again. [Laughter.] Neil Diamond, I think—'Hello Again'.
Huw Irranca-Davies: I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate as we, the Senedd, undertake our first consideration of a Welsh consolidation Bill, proposed by the Welsh Government, on Welsh historic environment law.
Huw Irranca-Davies: As the responsible committee for considering consolidation Bills, we were tasked with determining whether the Bill should proceed through the Senedd as a consolidation Bill. Our aim was to satisfy ourselves: that the scope of the consolidation is appropriate; that the relevant enactments have been included within the consolidation exercise; that the consolidation exercise is correct and the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Llywydd, we recognise the importance of the Bill as the first of its kind for the Senedd and for Welsh law, not least because of the practical impact that it will have in making Welsh law available in both official languages, in improving accessibility to the law that applies in Wales, and in contributing to better access to justice in Wales.
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Bill marks the start of this Welsh Government’s ambitious plans for the consolidation of Welsh law, and it is indeed an endeavour that should be welcomed by this Senedd. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you very much, Janet, for giving me a minute to contribute in a very interesting debate. There are a couple of early-stage proposals within the Bridgend area, actually, for hydrogen projects, green hydrogen projects. And indeed, hydrogen might well have a role to play in our transitioning to a greener economy. But I want to make two points. The first is that we have to make sure that...
Huw Irranca-Davies: 6. What assessment has the First Minister made of the impact of the UK Government’s legislative programme on Wales? OQ59005
Huw Irranca-Davies: First Minister, thanks for that answer. If the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill proceeds as it is now, and on the arbitrary timescale set by the UK Government, then by December next year, we will see thousands upon thousands of regulations covering essential environmental and employment protections and much more, many of which fall directly within devolved competence, being...
Huw Irranca-Davies: It's good to see that already today colleagues have been raising the issue of the effect on businesses of the cliff edge at the end of March of the drop in support for energy prices. Both Vikki and Jayne Bryant have raised this. I think they're right in raising the fact of the impact of this upon things such as retail outlets, local pubs and clubs, and so on—that's absolutely right. But I...
Huw Irranca-Davies: We considered these regulations on 16 January and our report has been laid to inform Members in this afternoon’s debate.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Our report on these regulations contains three merits points, and I thank the Minister very much for providing a timely response. I'm going to focus on our third merits point, which I'm going to chalk up as a small but very important piece of progress in terms of the Welsh language and actually having Welsh and English legislation and regulations at the same time. Because it noted that the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Thank you once again, Llywydd. We also considered these regulations on 16 January and our report is included with this afternoon’s agenda to inform this debate.
Huw Irranca-Davies: Our report on these regulations contains two merits points. I will start with the second, which noted that there had been no consultation on the regulations. In particular, we noted a paragraph in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the regulations that states that as temporary permission to stay is a product of reserved UK Government policy—namely immigration—the Welsh Government did...
Huw Irranca-Davies: 2. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the impact of the apprenticeship levy on legal training in Wales? OQ59002
Huw Irranca-Davies: I thank the Counsel General for that answer and, indeed, there has been progress, working with partners in the legal profession, with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, with colleges and further education providers over the last few years to get to the point where we do now have foundation stage level 3 and advanced stage level 5 of the new CILEX professional qualification, the...
Huw Irranca-Davies: 5. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the impact of the UK Government's Public Order Bill on Wales? OQ59004
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Counsel General, the Minister, like me, will have been on many protests of different types over the years. And, in fact, over the decades, and indeed over generations and centuries, in Wales, there has been a vigorous tradition of public protest, and it's right that there should have been. From the earliest Greenham Common protestors drawn from Wales, including my own late friend and...
Huw Irranca-Davies: Brynle Williams, my apologies.
