4. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government regarding the debate on the Permanent Secretary's inquiry report held on Wednesday 18 April 2018? OAQ52087

May I thank the Member for the question? I refer the Member to the answer I gave in responding to the motion on 18 April. It’s clear that there is a legitimate difference of opinion about the interpretation of section 37, and we are engaging in constructive dialogue with the Presiding Officer to resolve this.

Thank you for that response. The record will show, of course, that the Assembly didn’t actually cede to the threat of legal challenge at that time, and indeed that the Government didn’t proceed with launching that legal challenge. The Government argued, and you argued at the time, that a dangerous precedent would be established here. But the truth is that there is plenty of precedent in parliamentary practice internationally already in existence, where Parliaments can insist on the publication of important reports.

Of course, there is another report in the pipeline, dealing with the same circumstances—the very tragic circumstances, of course. So, what is your advice to the First Minister on the need to move as quickly as possible to publish the details of the remit of that other inquiry?

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.