Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister (in respect of his 'law officer' responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 21 May 2019.
Can I thank the Counsel General for his response to Hefin David? I am sure he will understand that there will be a great many women in this category who will be disappointed to hear that he does not have—. And we must take his word, Llywydd, that he has given consideration to whether it was possible to take any action. Of course, the women bringing the case are optimistic about a possible positive result. If they are successful, there will, of course, then be an appeal.
Can I urge the Counsel General and the Welsh Government to look again at whether there may be some way, if there is an appeal—? It's too late now I think to make any representations in the context of the judicial review hearing itself, but, if there is an appeal, I would submit to the Counsel General and to the Welsh Government, for example, that the Welsh Government has got a material interest in this case, because the Welsh economy has lost millions of pounds, because those women did not have that money to spend in their local communities. So, can I urge the Counsel General, today, while expressing a regret of my constituents and Hefin's and many others who I know will have been in contact with us—? I had a letter just today from a lady who had to lose her home—had to sell her home—because she couldn't afford to keep up payments and couldn't afford to pay the bills. Can I ask the Counsel General if he will, if there is an appeal, look again and seek some further advice as to whether, given the loss to the Welsh economy, that what I firmly believe has been maladministration on the part of the Department for Work and Pensions—? Given that potential loss, I would submit that there may be a material case for the Welsh Government to oppose an appeal if the women are found in favour of the week after next. I realise it's a very sensitive situation, because the matter is not devolved, but, on the other hand, if there has been maladministration, this maladministration has had catastrophic effects not only on those individual women, but also on the communities where those women did not have income to spend.