Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:58 pm on 24 January 2017.
Can I thank the leader of Plaid Cymru for her comments? Good work was done between our parties in terms of developing the Government White Paper. I can assure her that the next JMC plenary meets on Monday, 30 January. As part of what takes place around the JMC plenary, it’s quite normal to have bilaterals. I last spoke to the Scottish First Minister just before Christmas, but I fully expect to speak to her over the course of the bilateral over the course of the next week. Also, of course, it’s quite normal for bilaterals to be held with UK Government Ministers as well. I had a meeting, by phone, with David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, last night.
We will, of course, work with Scotland. Scotland will have a different end point to us, but many of the interests we have are in common. Northern Ireland is more difficult—it was difficult even before the events in Northern Ireland because of the fundamentally different views held by the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Now, of course, there are no heads of Government in Northern Ireland we can actually meet with. There may be opportunities to meet with Northern Ireland Ministers; we’ll see what representation they bring with them to the JMC plenary.
She’s right to say that the detail on how we leave must be worked through by all of the four nations of the UK. That is something the UK Government has said, so far, will happen. We have to wait and see whether that will indeed happen as a result of their words.
In terms of EU transition at home, there is a council for economic renewal on Thursday. There will be the opportunity there, of course, for questions to be asked at that forum by those who are members of it, in terms of the White Paper, and then, of course, consideration will be given as to how we disseminate the contents of the White Paper as widely as possible.
The White Paper itself is a genuine contribution, I believe, to the debate. It doesn’t seek to attack anybody or any Government. This is the most fundamentally important issue that the UK has faced for many, many years. It is hugely important that the White Paper forms a central part of the thinking not just of the UK Government, but the central thinking as to how Wales can prosper in the future with the circumstances that we face.