Mick Antoniw: ...the Bill in order to minimise the damage it will cause to Wales. That point has been made, and I confirm we will do all that we can, as the Bill proceeds through the House of Lords, in terms of representations with regard to the sort of changes that need to be made. Again, I'll continue to share detailed thinking with the Senedd. I'll just comment very briefly on a few of the points that...
Mick Antoniw: ...2016, the Welsh Government has been writing to the UK Government to highlight our concerns regarding the communication of changes to the women’s state pension age? I will continue to make those representations. I will have to access the correspondence in respect of the replies that we have had, and I can write to you separately about that. What I can also say though, is, of course, the...
Mick Antoniw: ...? That was about constitutional reform; it was about almost nothing else other than constitutional reform. The establishment of democracy is about constitutional reform. Keir Hardie, on the Labour Representation Committee before the establishment of the Labour Party, talked about home rule, constitutional things, because they recognised the importance in terms of identifying where power...
Mick Antoniw: ...issues, constitutional issues, governance issues and so on. It really is for them to determine the areas that they think are, actually, important, where the evidence they conclude and the representations they get within the framework, where that leads them. I'd be very surprised if all of those issues are not ones that are being looked at, and looked at in some detail and being engaged...
Mick Antoniw: Can I say, firstly, that I think your representation of the interim report and the work up to that stage is, indeed, a misrepresentation? Because what they have done is put forward a whole series of evidence sessions. Again, you're right in terms of the online consultation, and, to be honest, that's the same with just about every online consultation that takes place, that you have a large...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, again, for the question. Representations have already been made. You'll be aware that I am—and, indeed, the First Minister is—very much on the record in a similar tone. It will be raised at future meetings that will be taking place. But, of course, in terms of the UK Government, I have to say, on this Bill, we have had no engagement. There has been no consultation, no...
Mick Antoniw: ...from across the UK, with the Welsh Government inquiry team recommending to them that advice be sought from the bar's Wales and Chester circuit. It is the case, of course, in terms of the legal representation being organised by the Welsh Government, that there is significant input from the Welsh bar, and obviously I will do everything I can, in every sphere that I work in, to actually...
Mick Antoniw: ...to fall at an alarming rate—with several police station schemes on the verge of collapse.' We know that in our Valleys, our advice deserts. 'Access to justice—including the fundamental right to representation at the police station—is in serious peril and the government is ignoring the threat.' It says the reckless decision is 'likely to prove to be a fatal blow to a criminal justice...
Mick Antoniw: ...of a Hillsborough law, which would not only place a duty of candour on public servants, but also put bereaved families on a more equal footing to public bodies by ensuring publicly funded legal representation is available. I'm disappointed also that the Public Advocate (No. 2) Bill is unlikely to progress. So, we are maintaining pressure on the UK Government over this issue and about some...
Mick Antoniw: ..., and if they go to the Supreme Court, they should be heard in Wales. That's something I very much support and will encourage. I'm prepared to look at that further with a view to perhaps further representations being made. I have read the reports on that. I certainly do agree that we want the Supreme Court to deal with Welsh matters in Wales. I don't think there is a closed door on that...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for the question. I am pleased to note the resumption of Welsh representation on the Supreme Court following the reappointment of Lord Lloyd-Jones last month. I continue to raise the necessity for formal, rather than fortuitous, representation of the Welsh judiciary in our highest court with the Lord Chancellor and justice Ministers.
Mick Antoniw: ...I hope will be a question that continues to reappear as we begin to assess the challenges that are faced within not just the criminal justice system, but the justice system overall in terms of the representation and the balance and presentation of the justice system, all of which are things about the diversity of our justice system overall. In terms of the devolution of justice, well,...
Mick Antoniw: ...with advice deserts and there are very significant intrinsic and now institutionalised issues that undermine the future in respect of access to justice and the ability to get access to proper legal representation.
Mick Antoniw: ...bereaved through public tragedy, legally binding on all public bodies; a duty of candour on public servants; proper participation of bereaved families at inquests, through publicly funded legal representation, and a public advocate to act for the families of the deceased after major incidents. That, it seems to me, is something that goes to the core of basic justice. I've made the point...
Mick Antoniw: ...just a process for the funding of lawyers in legal cases. When it was established in 1949, they were creating an NHS for the law, and it was recognised that access to justice, the right to advice, representation and support, is a fundamental human right. It is not just about the courts, it is about empowerment of people, it is about ensuring that all have genuine rights in society. Is it...
Mick Antoniw: ...General is that I do not want to see any diminution of human rights in terms of our compatibility with human rights legislation, and I think we'll make that clear and many other points clear in the representations that we actually make to the UK Government. You know, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. If ever there was a time to be eternally vigilant, now is it.
Mick Antoniw: ...way Hillsborough developed and so on. Now, the proposals, as I understand them, have come, actually, from the Bishop of Liverpool, and three of the key ones were that there'd be a public advocate, representation at inquests, which is something that I've always argued for, and the duty of candour. And, of course, there are others. So, I think that this is something that is a very, very...
Mick Antoniw: ...seriously indeed. You made reference also, I think, to what are the significant concerns about the impact that the voter ID issue might have, and, of course, there have been a number of reports and representations, particularly by the Electoral Reform Society, who've expressed very serious concerns about the impact it would have on minorities and have highlighted the point that it has no...
Mick Antoniw: ...about the fact that these tribunals will, I think, become increasingly inquisitorial, rather than adversarial, and that is there to actually seek the right outcome, rather than who has the best representation on a particular day. And I think that is a way in which this part of our Welsh justice system can actually do things very differently. So, I think there will be those changes, and I...
Mick Antoniw: ...the issue of accessibility, the extent to which people are now participating in court proceedings, either directly or even by mobile phone, on serious issues as litigants in person, with no legal representation, is an absolute scandal for the fifth richest country in the world.
