7. 7. Plaid Cymru Debate: The Wales Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:50 pm on 15 June 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Steffan Lewis Steffan Lewis Plaid Cymru 5:50, 15 June 2016

I thank all Members for their contributions today. I thank David Melding for his kind comments, although I have to inform him that my quoting of Robert Peel was purely for historical colour and not out of any sympathy for his party. But, he raises an important point about the need for a level of consistency across the constitution of the United Kingdom, and he is absolutely right to say that whilst we in Plaid Cymru support the establishment of a Welsh state, for as long as Wales is part of the United Kingdom we want it to work as best as possible for the people of this country.

Sian Gwenllian raised the issue of access to justice. A basic foundation of democracy is having access to justice, and she linked that, of course, to the right to access to justice in both our official languages.

On Mick Antoniw’s contribution, I welcome very much his optimism and I agree wholeheartedly that the logic behind the list of reservations from the United Kingdom Government needs some explaining. And we agree, of course, with the explanation he gave for the practical implementation of a distinct jurisdiction.

Dai Lloyd raised the crucial point that, in order to truly address the issue of reoffending, which is still at a high level in Wales, it makes total sense to bring all agencies that are responsible together, as part of a coherent devolved Welsh public service. And, of course, the leader of the opposition addressed the scandal of the privatisation of the probation service, and she spoke about the artificial barriers that exist between different agencies that deal with different offenders, and gave us a sober warning about the future of post-privatisation probation.

Jeremy Miles makes the valid point that a growing body of Welsh law requires a pragmatic updating of our legal system, and the challenge that he raised of the common law system of setting a precedent in one part of the jurisdiction covering all of it. Dawn Bowden broadened the debate on the future of devolution to include extending the electoral franchise to include 16 and 17-year olds. Of course, that is something that I and the Plaid Cymru group wholeheartedly support.

I welcome very much the support from the First Minister for Plaid Cymru’s motion today, although it’s a pity that it seems that Labour’s failure to vote with Plaid Cymru in Westminster this week was down to a technicality more than anything else. But he was right, of course, to highlight the inconsistencies in the current Wales Bill: there are issues that are inextricably linked where some are devolved or set to be devolved and others are still to be reserved. Again, that goes back to the point that was being made earlier about the logic behind the United Kingdom Government’s approach to, particularly, its list of reservations, although we hope that will be addressed.

The justice impact assessments are a tool that will apply, it seems, only to Wales and not to any other devolved administration in the United Kingdom, and the First Minister was quite right to raise doubts about that. I welcome very much the reaffirmation he gave today that he supports Wales being treated as an equal nation within the United Kingdom, and for a devolution settlement to reflect that.

And then Mark Isherwood. The irony of being called a separatist by an anti-EU isolationist was a particular highlight. [Laughter.] But I will say I am at a loss to understand why he’s opposed to bringing Welsh public services closer together in order to improve outcomes for people and for better accountability, when as the First Minister pointed out, that is something that is accepted by his party in Scotland. [Interruption.] I won’t be taking an intervention.

Plaid Cymru looks forward now to working with others to deliver a strengthening of Welsh nationhood that, in turn, leads to tangible improvements to the day-to-day lives of our fellow citizens. And in closing, Llywydd, I wish to pay tribute to police officers today for their work in keeping our communities safe and, indeed, to all members of our emergency services. Quite often in these debates their endeavours are overlooked, but I wish to place on record Plaid Cymru’s gratitude to them and I’m sure the whole Assembly would join me in doing so.