2. What discussions has the Counsel General had on the application of EU laws in Wales post Brexit? OAQ(5)0025(CG)

This question engages the law officers’ convention. But I can say that we are at every level working to ensure that powers to deal with EU legislation in devolved areas following withdrawal sit in Wales so that decisions about future policy in those areas are taken by Wales and in Wales’s best interests. This will involve a critical consideration of the UK Government’s great repeal Bill.

Thank you for that. What is the Counsel General’s assessment, then, of the areas of legislative competence that will be most affected and what action is the Welsh Government taking in mitigation, post Brexit?

The Member will understand that there are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties in the UK Government’s whole approach to this area. It’s clear that there are a significant number of areas in which the EU has legislated but which fall within devolved competence. Amongst those will be agriculture, fisheries, food standards, water resources, waste, pollution prevention and control, climate change, nature conservation, including the habitats directive, environmental assessment schemes, including environmental impact assessments, plant health, animal health, higher education, and public health. What I can say is that we are also exploring the possibility of legislating in the Assembly to make provision about how to deal with EU law in devolved areas following withdrawal, if the great repeal Bill proves to be inadequate. What I can say is there are considerable concerns about what the great repeal Bill might actually amount to, what it will actually consist of, and how it will affect Wales. There are serious concerns over the extent of engagement of the UK Government over that particular piece of legislation, so the situation is being monitored very, very closely, but clearly there are significant impacts on Welsh areas of responsibility and they are being given very careful consideration.