Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Counsel General.
Rhys ab Owen: The fact that the Westminster Government won't even allow a reasonable request that the Welsh Government will consent to any changes they make, or any secondary legislation they make, within devolved areas—. Doesn't that show the complete disrespect they have for us as a Senedd?
Rhys ab Owen: we can play hell as much as the health Minister wants—
Rhys ab Owen: and they will not listen. When, colleagues, will we say enough is enough? We will not pass more powers back, or, I can tell you, by the time of the next election, we will have a very different Senedd here. Look at the figures. In the first year of the fifth Senedd, there were 10 Bills brought through the LCM process, with 80 clauses. Already in this Senedd, which isn't 12 months old yet,...
Rhys ab Owen: We cannot hold any despatch box promise to account. They can ignore it entirely, and we can kick up a fuss—
Rhys ab Owen: That's the Bill I'm discussing at the moment. This Bill will give conferred powers to UK Ministers to make secondary legislation within devolved areas. We don't agree with it, we won't give consent on this occasion, but then again, we're more than happy to give consent to the health and social care legislation. This Welsh Government cannot have the penny and the bun. Either we're unhappy that...
Rhys ab Owen: 'we would play hell with them.'
Rhys ab Owen: But this Senedd is not a soapbox; it is a legislature, a legislature that the people of our nation have voted for. In 2011, when the people voted with a huge majority in favour of primary law-making powers for this Senedd, they had no idea that we would consent to an appalling UK Government drawing back those powers. But, that is what can happen with that Bil, and that is also what is...
Rhys ab Owen: For me, this afternoon encapsulates the problems we have as a Senedd with these legislative consent motions. My colleague Sioned Williams will speak on behalf of Plaid Cymru on the Nationality and Borders Bill, an appalling Bill that will lead to many deaths, part of a package of Bills being passed by the Westminster Government at the moment. Then, we have the Health and Care Bill, a Bill...
Rhys ab Owen: Cardiff has been described, Trefnydd, as the fuel poverty capital of the UK, with a quarter of our residents here in the capital suffering in fuel poverty—higher than any other city or town in the United Kingdom. That is 91,000 people suffering. Can we please have a debate in Government time on fuel poverty and the cost-of-living crisis? Plaid Cymru welcomes the announcement today of...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. You're quite right about the wide-ranging powers when Ministers feel that it's appropriate, but I'm sure you also remember, back to your student days, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, being taught that, generally, laws should only be applied prospectively, rather than retrospectively. And I'm also sure, in constitutional lectures, you were taught about the importance...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. Now, we've had the long-awaited inter-governmental relations report, which sets to build a better relationship between the UK Governments, based on principles of mutual respect and to build and maintain trust. But the truth is, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, there is intense mistrust between the Governments, fundamental competing outlooks about the future of the...
Rhys ab Owen: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. At the end of January, my Scottish National Party colleague, Kirsty Blackman, asked a question about post-legislative reviews within the Wales Office. In response to that question, Simon Hart, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, according to the Brexit opportunities Minister, answered that work was under way to assess the Wales Act 2017. As you know,...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr i chi, Llywydd. Counsel General, you're probably aware of Philip Rycroft's evidence this morning to the Wales select committee in the House of Commons. He described Brexit as a shock to the system, and that one of the premises that devolution is built upon—the Sewel convention—came a cropper through Brexit. Maybe not the usual words of a civil servant,...
Rhys ab Owen: 2. What discussions has the Counsel General had with other UK law officers regarding the impact on Wales of the UK Government’s proposals to change the status of retained European Union law? OQ57622
Rhys ab Owen: 5. What advice did the Counsel General give to the Minister for finance on the constitutional implications of the introduction of the Welsh Tax Acts etc. (Power to Modify) Bill? OQ57621
Rhys ab Owen: I'm asking for a debate during Government time to discuss the implications to Wales of the 'Levelling Up' paper by the UK Government. I'm sure the Trefnydd agrees with me that we've seen consecutive Westminster Governments that have been levelling down Governments—taking money away from Wales. To solve the problem of uneven development within the English regions, the Government states that...
Rhys ab Owen: Minister, I don't think you need to take any lectures from the Tory party about wasting money; they are experts at doing so. But, Minister, as a young legislature, with around 50 Acts on the statute book, the Senedd is in a prime position to ensure that all its Acts are efficient, fit for purpose, and are achieving their proposed purpose. Can the Minister provide information about any recent...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, First Minister. It's good to hear the news of what is happening with the Welsh diaspora. It is a wonderful way to enhance Wales's profile across the globe. But it's a disappointment, but not a shock, to read once again that the Westminster Government is refusing to make St David's Day a bank holiday, but, of course, it's not just the Tories that have rejected this; the...
Rhys ab Owen: 7. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to celebrate St David's Day? OQ57549
