Communicating with the Welsh Public

Part of 3. Questions to the Assembly Commission – in the Senedd at 3:57 pm on 18 April 2018.

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Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 3:57, 18 April 2018

Please don't feel limited at all in asking questions of me, Mandy Jones. I welcome the question you've asked. We held four public meetings to discuss the electoral reform consultation throughout Wales. I attended all of the meetings, and they were reasonably well attended, especially the last one I attended, which was in Wrexham in your region, and it was a lively Friday night in Wrexham. I enjoyed myself immensely and learnt a lot from the people of that area about their view on electoral reform and all other interesting matters as well. 

But you raise very important points about the need to be innovative at all times in how we do our consultation. We're not able to hold meetings in every single village hall in Wales to discuss any matter—neither us as a Commission nor the Welsh Government nor anybody—but we need to continually think and question ourselves, as you've raised this question today, on how we do our communicating with the people of Wales and allow them to express their views to us more directly, more vigorously and in every part of Wales. That's a challenge to me and a challenge to all of us, as elected Members, here representing communities throughout Wales, and it's where we want to improve all the time.