Mick Antoniw: Thank you for the question. I have to say, I wasn't quite sure what the question was within that. I was grateful for the comments you made about Wales leading the way, and I think you were mentioning the issue of Senedd reform as well, which is an issue, obviously, that's going to be considering how a Parliament for Wales actually works, how it can work better, and all the issues around that....
Mick Antoniw: I thank Mike for those comments. They are very pertinent comments. He's absolutely right; people clearly do, when you ask them about devolution, want decision-making processes as close to them as possible and to know that they can have the opportunity to influence those. Can I say that I do agree also that how we reach out and we build engagement with others in various forms of devolved...
Mick Antoniw: I thank the Member for his comments. He's absolutely right that those of us with legal backgrounds like to indulge in the minutiae of constitutions and legal niceties. Important as they are within the operation of a parliament, and particularly a legislature, the crux to change, and the crux to determining the sort of change that we could envisage for Wales, how we might govern better and...
Mick Antoniw: Well, can I thank Darren Millar for the very positive and the very constructive statement he's made, and a lot of very valid questions that have been asked? The issue of reform and the delivery of services, which is an issue that frequently gets raised within this Chamber, is one where I think it is well recognised now that there are levers that we just don't have in order to actually fulfil...
Mick Antoniw: Diolch, Llywydd. In May, we secured a mandate from the Welsh people to deliver our manifesto, committed to creating a stronger, greener and a fairer Wales. In our programme for government we have outlined our plans for tackling the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, our departure from the European Union, and the climate change emergency. Our immediate priority is recovery, and, to...
Mick Antoniw: I thank Huw Irranca for those comments, and I also congratulate you and welcome your appointment as Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee—I apologise, the name changed slightly, didn't it, et cetera, but that is such a vital committee to the functioning of the legislative work of this Senedd, often underestimated, sometimes referred to as a committee for legislative...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that question. I won't respond in respect of the issue with regard to Senedd Bills, because I think that is, appropriately, a matter for this Parliament to determine. But you do raise issues in respect of human rights. I would, of course, remind the Member that it's his Government that has been making all sorts of efforts and noises that it wants to abolish the Human Rights Act...
Mick Antoniw: I thank Mike Hedges for the comments he's raised, and, of course, he has raised on many occasions during the debates in the Senedd in the last term, but also even this year. Referring to the social partnership and procurement Bill, this is a long-standing commitment that has been made. I think it, potentially, is one of the most radical and foresighted pieces of legislation, particularly in...
Mick Antoniw: Can I thank the Member for those comments? They are comments I almost in entirety agree with. Just to say to her, in respect of the issues of electoral reform, as Counsel General, I have met with the Electoral Commission, I have met with the Electoral Reform Society. The issue of reform is very much an important issue that needs to be considered. One of the issues, not just in terms of...
Mick Antoniw: I'd like to thank the Member for those comments, and I am very much in agreement with the comments she made with regard to improving electoral registration. The crux of the problem, really, is that our electoral registration and legislation and regulations are archaic. They consist, in numerous places, of numerous amendments and ad hocs, over many, many years, and are desperately in need of...
Mick Antoniw: I thank the Member for that very detailed contribution, and many of the comments I actually welcome. In the 10 or 11 years now that I've been a Senedd Member, I don't think I've attended a single legislative programme debate where the debate doesn't start off with how dissatisfied the opposition are with the volume of legislation, with the quality of legislation, and why it is taking so long....
Mick Antoniw: Well, I thank the leader of the opposition for those comments. If I could deal with them as you've gone through them, I think, in a constructive way. In respect of the issue of backbench ballots, these are clearly an important part of the operation of this Parliament, and clearly the selection and taking forward of such legislation is really a matter for the Senedd rather than the Government...
Mick Antoniw: Llywydd, with this new Government comes new duties and, under the Legislation (Wales) Act of 2019, we must prepare a programme to improve the accessibility of Welsh law. I will lay the full programme in the autumn, but I'm pleased to announce that we will introduce our first consolidation Bill this year, bringing together legislation relating to the historic environment. This legislation,...
Mick Antoniw: The public health emergency remains and the regulations, which have such an unprecedented impact on our lives, will for now at least continue to make commensurate demands on the Government’s policy and legal capacity and the Senedd’s time. Despite the wholly new ways in which the Senedd had to meet and pass legislation, the end of the last term saw us pass major Acts to make momentous...
Mick Antoniw: Diolch, Llywydd. Today, I am pleased to make a statement on our legislative programme, an essential part of our ambitious and radical programme for government, to help create a stronger, greener and fairer Wales. Llywydd, often it is our proposals for primary legislation that capture headlines, but this statement sets out a more complex web of legislative matters that will come before the...
Mick Antoniw: Well, the issue of the legislation and its adequacy is clearly a matter that's under review. The Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 has had a number of representations since and, of course, there have been a lot of demographic changes as well. The Measure set out the legal framework specifically related to travel and transport, and there's correspondence not only from Members of the Senedd,...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for the question. Learner travel and the underlying legislation was identified for review by the previous Government. The pandemic, however, impacted the completion of that process. This is now a matter that will be considered by the Minister and Deputy Minister for climate change, within the context of a new programme for government.
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for the question. I think you actually put the question in exactly the wrong way, from reverse. The question is: if you want to impose restrictions and checks and balances of all sorts, and you could go much further, then you have to say, 'Well, there has got to be a reason to do it.' Yes, we all want to see a free, fair, open and robust electoral system. I believe we have a free,...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that very insightful question, and a very important question in terms of the elections Bill, which has, I think, just been published, the details of it we've only just seen. But I will say that there have been quadrilateral discussions on this; I have engaged with UK Government Ministers on this, and I have a further bilateral meeting imminently to discuss aspects of the...
Mick Antoniw: I have made clear to the UK Government that the Welsh Government does not wish to see voter ID required for devolved elections. We are concerned about the potential operational impact of this, along with other UK Government proposals, on the administration and accessibility of devolved elections, and on voter experience.
