Group 1: Definitions in Part 1 of the Bill (Amendments 13, 14)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:51 pm on 25 June 2019.

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Photo of Mark Reckless Mark Reckless Conservative 5:51, 25 June 2019

I'd like to support the amendment in the name of Suzy Davies. I think it's very important that we do everything we can to make Welsh law accessible, both to facilitate and support our own debates, but, at least as importantly, for those who are out practically dealing with this law, namely the legal profession still of England and Wales. And we have a Commission on Justice for Wales, chaired so ably by Lord Thomas, and I've been pleased, chairing the cross-party legal group, to agree to engage so substantively with that commission. And one key issue they think, in terms of any difference in jurisdictions, is solicitors who are trained in England and Wales as a single thing—do they look to split that in terms of how solicitors are regulated, or do you look for the competence requirements, in terms of professional development and application, that solicitors should only act in an area in which they are competent and knowledgeable? And I think that, if we do consolidate Welsh law and make it clear what the body of Welsh law is in an accessible way, it will mean that many more solicitors are competent and able to engage with that, without being very specialist and having to spend a high proportion of their working lives on dealing with Wales-specific issues. And I think, particularly on landlord and tenant law, which is such a big area of applicability, this is going to be particularly important. So, I support very much what Suzy is calling for.

I do just want to address one sensitivity there in terms of who does this work. We are the National Assembly for Wales, we are passing these laws—what is our role and what is our standing in terms of ensuring the accessibility of this law, as opposed to the Government? Now, the Government has got much more in terms of lawyers working for it and capacity to do this work, but it's important that, in something that is accessible and there for the people of Wales and others, that is the work and body of this Assembly, making it accessible and the way that's done, surely we as an Assembly should have proper oversight of that process, and what's the best way of the Assembly working with Government to ensure that that law is made accessible and coherent for all to use?