1. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government on consolidating existing legislation in order to enshrine the rights of Welsh citizens to challenge environmental decisions after Brexit? OAQ53692

Our consultation on environmental principles and governance, published on 18 March, seeks stakeholder views on citizen complaint procedures to hold Government to account on implementing environmental legislation. This work is ongoing and, working with stakeholders, we will be aiming to ensure coherent and effective governance arrangements for Welsh citizens.

I thank the Minister for that answer. I'm sure he'll agree with me that one of the critical protections afforded to citizens of the EU under the current arrangements is the ability to legally challenge Governments, as we've seen with landmark legal judgments such as those in air pollution brought by Client Earth repeatedly. In terms of a 'no deal', Client Earth's legal team have already warned that the UK Government claims that European Union protections will be fully maintained after Britain leaves the EU are false, and warned that a 'no deal' is the worst possible scenario for Britain's natural environment, climate and air quality. But I want to ask the Minister to try and give me as clear an answer as possible at this moment on what protections will remain for the citizen to legally challenge Governments under different forms of so-called 'soft Brexit' and, indeed, Theresa May's deal itself if it is brought back. Will the rights of the citizen to take on Governments be weakened or will they be maintained under these different scenarios? If the answer is that we don't know that yet today or it's too complex, I think I and other Members would be really grateful if the Minister could write to us when it is clear. 

Well, I'm certainly happy to write to the Member with more detail, but as he will know, one of the tasks in which we have been engaged for many, many months is the task of ensuring that the statute book, which contains much of the legislation that he is referring to—the European statute book—becomes part of the Welsh statute book, if you like, the UK statute book, and that has been operating on a 'no deal' basis from the start. The point of that, as he may recall, is to ensure that as of the first day after we leave the European Union the rights that exist in law are preserved, if you like. So, that is the intention of that exercise. Obviously, leaving the European Union will mean that we will lose the role of the EU Commission and its oversight role, and, clearly, one of the objectives that we are working on at the moment is ascertaining how best to put in place arrangements in Wales that enable a Government to be held to account.

There are discussions ongoing and have been for some time between the Minister for the environment and UK counterparts in relation to some of these arrangements. Legislation is being proposed at a UK-wide level, but the landscape here in Wales in terms of environmental protection is very different in many ways, as I know the Member knows very well. We have the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015; we have our own environment Act here and other specific legislation. So, the task is to ensure that the arrangements that we have here in Wales recognise the different landscape within which we already operate—we would describe it as a more protective landscape—and there will be an opportunity to ensure that members of the public can contribute to our thinking in relation to that during the consultation period, which closes on 9 June, and I'd encourage the Member—all Members—and members of the public to engage fully in that process to inform the Welsh Government's views as fully as possible. 

The truth of the matter, of course, is that you've had two years to sort this out—over two years, in fact. The UK Government published their plans for an environmental safeguarding office last year. The Welsh Government was supposed to publish something in the summer, that became the autumn, and then it moved into the New Year—10 days before what was to be the Brexit departure date, your Government published a consultation. Now, you've said that you were approaching this and looking for effective and coherent arrangements. Well, there’s nothing much effective and coherent about the way in which the Government has dealt with this issue to date. So, can you tell us when legislation will be brought forward and arrangements put in place. If there’s anything that’s a risk to the Welsh environment, then the way your Government has dragged its feet on this issue is the greatest risk of all.

May I thank the Member for his question? I do not accept the premise of his question. As I was saying, this process has been ongoing for some time in order to ensure that we secure the principles that are appropriate for us here in Wales. It’s not appropriate for us just to accept without any further consideration the arrangements that are UK-wide. They have to be appropriate to our legislative landscape here in Wales, and the rights that the people of Wales have here, which are different to the rights that people across the UK have in many respects.

The process of ensuring that legislative basis has, as I said in my response to Huw Irranca-Davies, been ongoing for a significant amount of time. And as the Member will know, there is also a process of ensuring that future developments happen in parallel with the other Governments in the United Kingdom. I know his party opposed the basis on which that has been happening, but it has been happening in a very effective manner, and we hope that that will come to fruition in due course.

Question 2—Huw Irranca-Davies.