Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Counsel General – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 18 January 2017.
I thank the Counsel General for that response. I was hoping that the judgment would have been made by the time I asked this question, but may I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has spent £84,000 to protect the interests of this place and democracy in Wales? I think it was worth every penny. I compare that expenditure with the expenditure by the Westminster Government to challenge Assembly legislation in the past, specifically the agricultural wages Bill—the expenditure of one Government is acceptable while that of another Government is not. For me, it’s more than acceptable that the Counsel General has approved this expenditure. Without the expenditure and without this case, and without being part of the case in the Supreme Court, I doubt whether we would have got the wording that we had in the statement and speech made by the Prime Minister, Theresa May, yesterday, when she made it clear that consultation was required with the Welsh Parliament and Government before we proceed with the process of leaving the European Union. So, I do think that this place has been protected in this case.
Now, assuming that there will be a court case, and that the Westminster Government believes that the court’s decision will go against them, what practical steps does the Counsel General consider to be appropriate for this Parliament to take as we proceed and respond to the triggering of article 50?