The Debate on the Permanent Secretary's Inquiry Report

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General – in the Senedd at 2:31 pm on 2 May 2018.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 2:31, 2 May 2018

(Translated)

Well, I’m not going to allude to any specific advice that I give to the Government on these matters, because the Member will understand why that would be impossible for me to do. But he mentioned the debate in particular. I refer him to section 41 of the Act, which anticipates that it would be possible for the Government or the Assembly, or both together, to go to court to seek an explanation on parts of the Act that are unclear or that need further analysis. So, the Act itself actually anticipates that as a possibility.

It was clear in the discussion on that day that the Government had broader issues in mind rather than the specific question on that report. And the Member talks about the importance of establishing an understanding between the Government and the Assembly, or any legislature, regarding these important issues. In the Westminster Parliament, for example, the rules are different, because the Westminster Parliament is not a statutory institution but one that arises from common law. So, the rules are different and the modus operandi is different, but now we have an opportunity to discuss these issues with the Assembly, with the Llywydd, and it’s a way, if you like, of establishing a protocol and ways of working that deal with the same kind of challenges that Westminster and other legislatures have succeeded in dealing with.