2. What advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government on any future litigation arising from jurisdiction conflicts, as a result of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill? OAQ52281

I thank the Member for that question. The inter-governmental agreement on the EU withdrawal Bill agreed with the UK Government at the end of April provides a sound basis for our future working relationship. The agreement respects established constitutional conventions and, consistent with those, there is a commitment from all parties to seek to proceed by way of agreement.

Thank you for that answer. The exact parameters of what will be devolved and what will become newly reserved in terms of common framework policies under the terms of the EU withdrawal Bill have not been formally established, and what we do know is that the 24—now 26—areas acquiring common frameworks could increase without our consent. Wales has, of course, the courts to deal with these issues if they become the subject of litigation in future, but, under the joint jurisdictional arrangement, it is unclear where cases should be commenced and whether lawyers based in Wales will even be instructed by the parties in any future disputes. What steps are you as Counsel General taking to prepare for what is probably inevitable litigation?

Well, I take issue with the Member's assumption that this Assembly will not be required to consent to the matters that become the subject of framework discussions between the Governments. As she will know from previous statements that the Welsh Government has made, there are additional extra powers coming to this Assembly as a consequence of the agreement that the Government has reached, and there is a consent mechanism that is laid out in the inter-governmental agreement.

One of the issues that needs to be resolved in future discussions between the Governments is the content of the common frameworks that she mentions in her question. One of the dimensions of that is how disputes between Governments, as equal partners to that set of frameworks, are resolved in future. The mechanism for resolving those disputes is one of the issues that remains to be agreed between the Governments. The existing arrangements are not fit for purpose, and I'm sure she would agree with me wholeheartedly in relation to that.

She'll be aware of the new ministerial forum on EU negotiations, which exists for all four Governments to contribute to the negotiating position in relation to future EU discussions. And she may also be aware of the current review of the existing inter-governmental arrangements under the memorandum of understanding. That is now a document that is coming up to 20 years old and is in need of reform, and all four devolved nations are participating in that review. Our ambition is that we move to a shared governance model. She will be aware of the Government's position in relation to the creation of a UK Council of Ministers, which would exist to avoid disagreement where possible and to resolve disagreement where it arises. Again, fundamental to that is a question of a secretariat to support the work of the Council of Ministers, and a dispute resolution mechanism.