The amendment has not been selected.

The next item on our agenda is the debate on the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee Report on the implications for Wales of leaving the European Union. I call on David Rees to move the motion.

Motion NDM6267 David Rees

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

Notes the report of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee on its Inquiry into the implications for Wales of leaving the European Union, which was laid in the Table Office on 27 January 2017.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Llywydd, and I move the motion. Before I start, can I join others in expressing my concern over the recent events in Westminster and our prayers for those members of the public and the police service who have been injured as a consequence of this act? I thank you for the reassurances you have provided to us this afternoon about the actions taken here. Llywydd, the Assembly created the external affairs committee—effectively, Wales’s Brexit committee—with a clear principal purpose: to protect the interests of Wales as we leave the European Union and in the arrangements that follow that exit. As part of that work, I’ve been in Brussels, London and Edinburgh over the past month to engage with elected Members, stakeholders and officials, in order to press the issues of importance to Wales, to seek co-operation where appropriate, and to identify emerging tensions where they exist.

The Deputy Presiding Officer took the Chair.

Regardless of how we voted in the referendum, regardless of our political affiliations, we must be united in representing Welsh interests as the Brexit process begins in earnest. It is clear to me that our voice is in danger of being lost amongst the many voices calling for attention under the issues today. As an Assembly, we cannot let that happen. The process of leaving the EU is rapidly evolving, and we only need to highlight the announcement on Monday that article 50 will be triggered next Wednesday to demonstrate that fact. The task given to the committee of seeking how we can protect the interests of Wales has never been more important as we move into negotiations and beyond.

Llywydd—Dirprwy Lywydd—the report we are debating today has already played a significant role in representing the issues of importance to Wales alongside the Welsh Government’s White Paper. It also started the task of sketching out the tasks ahead of us as an Assembly. Our work has not been to rerun the referendum debate; it has been to focus on identifying the issues that are important to Wales as we leave the EU. It has not been an exercise in trying to identify the pros and cons of leaving the EU; it’s been an inquiry into the implications for Wales of leaving the EU. Its strength rests on the fact that it was agreed by all eight members of the committee, representing each of the political parties in the Assembly, and Members who were, actually, on both sides of the referendum debate. I pay tribute to their work and their ability to find a consensus.

I wish to place on record also my appreciation for the work and support provided by the clerk and his team. I’ll also take this opportunity to give a special thanks to Gregg Jones, the former head of the Assembly’s Brussels office, whose knowledge and understanding of the EU has been invaluable to the committee. We have an excellent successor to Gregg in Nia Moss, who continues that excellent relationship.

If there was any doubt to begin with, the evidence we gathered confirmed that Brexit raises broad and complex issues in Wales. It cuts across many areas of policy, as well as raising fundamental constitutional questions about devolution and the power dynamic between the UK Government, Parliament, and the devolved administrations and legislatures. The first part of our report identifies the emerging sectoral issues for Wales, with the aim of advancing understanding of the complex challenges faced by Wales as the UK exits the EU.

On the Welsh economy, the report finds that the imposition of barriers when trading with the EU would pose significant risks to the Welsh economy. The relative prominence of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, compared with the rest of the UK, heightens the Welsh economy’s vulnerability to trade barriers. The vast majority of the evidence we received showed that ensuring free trade for the single market with no tariffs and no barriers is of crucial importance to the Welsh economy. The risk to the Welsh economy of an exit that moves to World Trade Organization arrangements is such that the committee calls for a focus on transitional arrangements after we leave the EU, something I am aware that is also called for by the Welsh Government. Even a relatively short period of time spent under World Trade Organization rules will damage our manufacturing and agricultural sectors, and I’m not afraid of reiterating that this could have serious consequences for the Welsh economy. Transitional arrangements must be an important consideration of the negotiations.

The second part of the report focuses on constitutional issues and draws a number of conclusions that are aimed at strengthening the Welsh role in the process, at both Welsh Government and Assembly level. We are in discussion with the Welsh Government about the scrutiny arrangements we wish to see applied to inter-governmental relations, and we are working with colleagues from each of the UK’s legislatures to explore working together to strengthen our collective approach to this task.

Now, I thank the Government for its response and its willingness to engage with the committee’s work. I hope that this level of engagement continues. Before talking to the recommendations, I want to emphasise that, whilst we made six recommendations, we drew many further conclusions—actually, around 60. I do not intend to explain all 60, Dirprwy Lywydd; I am sure you appreciate that. But we hope the Government and Members take the time to look at those.

Our first recommendation calls on the Welsh Government to publish all evidence on which it bases its position. This has been accepted in principle, but I hope that the Welsh Government will reconsider this and actually act upon the recommendation to offer greater transparency. I am grateful for the information that has been provided by the Government in its White Paper. However, we’ll press for more detailed evidence, and this will be a feature, I think, of the ongoing scrutiny of the Welsh Government, to actually see where they’re coming from and the evidence they are using.

Our second and third recommendations call on the Welsh Government to outline the administrative changes that it’s made in response to the referendum vote and the future role of its Brussels office—again, these have been accepted and, again, the information provided to date is appreciated. But I would like to press for further information and perhaps something we could look at in more detail when it comes to budget scrutiny in the autumn.

Our fourth recommendation calls for the Government to provide us with a Brexit risk register—again, accepted in principle, and we look forward to receiving the outputs from the fresh risk assessment exercise that is due to commence after article 50 is triggered. Perhaps the Cabinet Secretary could elaborate a little on this during his contribution this afternoon.

Recommendation 5 sought information on the steps taken by the Welsh Government to ensure the maximum amount of European funding is secured and utilised before Brexit occurs. The figures provided suggest a good level of progress in this regard, though some funds are in a better position than others. We will reflect upon this information and will continue to monitor progress. Additionally, we are currently undertaking an inquiry into regional policy, and hoping to report before the end of May on that.

Our sixth and final recommendation relates to the role of Welsh Government in the negotiations, an area where our position aligns with that of the Welsh Government. It is essential that the Welsh Government has a full role in shaping the UK’s negotiating position, and direct participation when those relate to devolved powers or affect devolved powers. Whilst the Welsh Government is making these representations to the UK Government, we are also exploring the level of engagement that there is between the Welsh Government and Whitehall. We have written to a range of UK Government departments, as well as the Welsh Government, and we are grateful to those that have actually already provided responses, and we intend to assess these as part of our scrutiny work, and we will be reporting upon this in the future.

Dirprwy Lywydd, it is vital that our voice is heard and listened to. Whilst obviously in the interests of Wales, I believe also it is in the interests of the wider UK that it is done. Our colleagues in Scotland have also expressed the same view, that it’s important that their voice is listened to. We are no different. I commend this report, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I look forward to hearing Members’ contributions this afternoon.

Thank you. In accordance with Standing Order 12.23(iii), I have not selected the amendment to the motion. Simon Thomas.

Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Can I, at the outset, say that I am personally relieved to have had messages that my own family and colleagues in London are safe, but very much saddened to hear of an attack on a fellow Parliament, and hope that everyone will be well and that things will turn out to be controlled? It’s a very shocking thing, and it’s very relevant to the fact that we are debating a big exercise in democracy that has led us to this position, and it’s as well to remember the role of Parliaments and representative democracy to ensure the rule of law and peace—peaceful resolution of disagreements.

Can I turn to the report and say how much I welcome this report? Very comprehensive, very well thought-out, and very substantial evidence that has been brought to bear, and I very much agree with the way that the Chair has set out the conclusions, which are many—not so many recommendations, because we don’t quite know how some of these things will be panning out, but it’s important we come to some early conclusions about the issues that are important for Wales, our economy, and our public services. I think that I can boil it down, however, to two main things, which is about funding and powers. And when we look at powers, first of all, I think there are several important issues discussed in this report that I’d like to put Plaid Cymru’s view on.

First of all, in the repatriation, as it’s called, by the UK Government of powers from the EU following the decision to leave the European Union, it is important and vital that this is done on a question of parity of esteem between the four nations here in the United Kingdom. I think UK-wide frameworks, which are addressed in the context of conservation, the environment and agriculture in the report, are to be welcomed, and we can work on that basis, but that basis must be one of agreement, not one whereby powers are repatriated to Downing Street and then imposed upon the rest of the United Kingdom. That does mean, in our view, that there should be some development of a UK council of Ministers, and there should also be a development of an independent arbitration or independent adjudication method of dealing with disagreements. We will not be able to go from meeting to meeting, as the finance Cabinet Secretary has said in the past, with no minutes, no progress, no kind of development of ideas. We must have properly run councils of Ministers, and a proper independent system to arbitrate, if necessary, as well. When those powers also return, we’ll need to be sure that those that are exercised now at a European level, which I think need to be still exercised, where relevant, at a European level—I’m thinking in particular, as I asked earlier to the Counsel General, of powers around environmental legislation, environmental justice, the ongoing work of the European Court of Justice, which won’t directly relate to the UK but has a bearing on some of our jurisprudence. That needs to continue as well so that UK citizens have a clear idea of how issues that run across national borders can be resolved again in a peaceable and agreed manner. So, I think there’s an issue there that we need to look at in terms of powers as well.

The Presiding Officer took the Chair.

It does raise the question of what happens if the great reform Bill, proposed in Parliament, does not actually address the devolution of powers that come to Wales. We believe that there’s a good argument, as the Welsh Government’s own White Paper sets out, for a continuity or continuation Bill of these powers. That could provide two benefits. It defends our current constitutional status, and it also will allow us to maintain our standards in terms of agriculture, animal welfare, climate change, environmental benefits and so forth. I note—it’s not a recommendation as such, but it is a conclusion of the report that says, in particular, that the Sewel convention should be considered as extending in this area, particularly—and we do hope that this will transpire—particularly when we have a significant vote in the Westminster Parliament on the deal—on the agreement; on what the Brexit agreement is. There will be implications here that I think we need to vote on here, and we will need to be part of informing the final decision by the UK Government and the Parliament at Westminster on that matter.

The second broad theme—if I can touch on it briefly, although it’s huge—is funding. I think, from the point of view of agriculture, in particular, the report addresses the real need to preserve our participation in the single market. The imposition or the fallout that some people seem relaxed about in Westminster of going straight to WTO rules would be disastrous for Welsh agriculture. The effective tariff on fresh beef, for example, is 84 per cent. The effective tariff on a lamb carcass is 45 per cent. Those figures were presented to the climate change committee by Hybu Cig Cymru. These are not figures that can be immediately dealt with in terms of Welsh agriculture.

The final aspect, of course, in terms of funding is: when we get the resources returned to us from Brussels, they must be distributed in the UK in a fair manner, and certainly cannot be done according to the Barnett formula. We have done better in Wales from European funding than other parts of the United Kingdom, and I think it’s important that we send a strong signal that we don’t expect to be any worse off due to the democratic decision that was made by the people of Wales and the people of the United Kingdom.

I won’t be calling further speakers to this debate. Events in Westminster are still unfolding, but are being treated as a serious terrorist incident. In light of those circumstances, and in discussion with business managers of all political parties, I have decided to adjourn today’s proceedings under Standing Order 12.18. Business will be rearranged accordingly. As I said earlier, our thoughts are with all our colleagues and all involved currently in Westminster. Business is adjourned.

Plenary was adjourned at 16:18.