Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister (in respect of his "law officer" responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:29 pm on 25 June 2019.
I thank the Counsel General for his reply. No doubt, he was as disappointed as I was in the response that was received, and I know that we're very grateful on the opposition benches for the fact that the Government shared that response with us.
With regard to the litigation, if we do end up in a situation of appeal, which seems likely if the court finds in favour of the women, can I ask the Counsel General to look again at whether or not it may be possible for the Welsh Government to take some part in that litigation? I would suggest to him that the grounds for that may be the overall impact on the Welsh economy of those women not being provided with the funds that they had the right to expect. I think it might be more complicated to try and make the case around the impact on Welsh public services of, for example, women having to continue to work in roles for which they're no longer physically fit because of these changes, but I think the impact on the economy ought to be considered. And if he does reconsider and comes to the conclusion he's unable to make such representations, will he undertake to publish the basis for that advice, so that the women who are hopeful of getting more concrete support from the Welsh Government, though they very much appreciate the Welsh Government's support in principle around this non-devolved matter—? It would be useful to see, if he is unable to take any concrete action, on what basis he's come to the conclusion that he cannot do so.