4. What analysis has the Counsel General made of the restrictions the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 places on the Senedd's ability to legislate now that the transition period has come to an end? OQ56192

It's clear that the Act creates uncertainty in terms of the Senedd's ability to legislate. Therefore, I have issued formal proceedings in the administrative court here in Cardiff seeking permission for judicial review in terms of its impact on our Senedd.

I'm grateful to the Counsel General for that response. It's clearly unacceptable that we have now lost the power to ban the sale of single-use plastics and to legislate in this area, so I do hope that the Counsel General is successful in the court proceedings.

I'm interested in the fact that the Counsel General said in an external address recently, on the basis of the proceedings, that the basis to take our powers would be unaccountable, even if the Westminster Government were serious about safeguarding environmental standards and workers' rights. You also said that you were in favour of increasing the powers of this Senedd. Now, this is an argument in favour of the principle that the powers that this Senedd needs should lie here, come what may, so that we can regulate in a way that accords with the aspirations of the people of Wales. Does this mean that you are now in favour of a confederal constitutional settlement, with the Welsh Parliament deciding which powers to retain and which to share with the rest of the UK?

Well, I've been clear on this in many contexts, that I believe that we should have as many powers as the people of Wales aspire to have in Wales under the control of this Parliament and this Government, in terms of ministerial responsibilities, here in Wales. So, that's certainly a principle, I would say, that is non-contentious these days. What we have seen after the efforts of the Westminster Government in this recent legislation is that our constitutional settlement is placed under specific pressures, because we have a Conservative Government in Westminster who are certainly trying to undermine the devolution settlement, and all of us who are supportive of it, and want to see more powers coming to Wales, must respond appropriately to that.

Counsel General, I see questions like this, and I hear the answers, and I understand completely why this place is called 'a bubble'. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, people have lost their lives and livelihoods, they've lost hope, and we appear in this Senedd to be navel gazing. That being said, I'd be grateful to know what is the Welsh Government prevented from doing by this Act that it could do unfettered previously? And what difference does it actually make to our constituents? Thank you.

Well, she may feel that she works and lives in a bubble; I certainly don't feel that. The point about the Act is it makes a very real difference to people's weekly shop. So, if you're interested in making sure that food is of the standard that Welsh producers and Welsh consumers are accustomed to, this Act poses a threat to that. If you're interested in making sure that we don't pollute our environment with excessive use of plastics, this Act represents a threat to that. If you want to make sure that there are proper regulations in relation to service providers in Wales, this Act is a threat to that. These are not, as it where, simply constitutional matters; they affect the daily lives of all our constituents, and I think that is why it is of such significance that people should be aware of what this Act contains, and I would ask her to help us extend some of that outside the bubble that she describes.