Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:46 pm on 23 February 2021.
Can I ask for two statements and a general debate, if I could, please? The first statement follows on from the previous question, in fact. In terms of our experience of Brexit so far, no matter where you stood on the question itself, I think it's fair to say that it's been pretty much a disaster for these last two months. We haven't just seen the fishing industry affected, we've seen most of our major manufacturers and industries affected by the very poor deal that was agreed before Christmas, and the consequences of being a third country now are having a real implication for our economy and for people and their jobs and livelihoods. Is it possible for the Government to bring forward a statement on the impact of Brexit and the damage that Brexit is doing to our economy so that we can discuss these matters before dissolution?
The second statement I'd like to ask for, Minister, is on the governance of the United Kingdom. The Counsel General gave some very striking evidence to the external affairs committee yesterday, where he described the deterioration in relationships between the Governments of the United Kingdom. It is important, I think, that we have a debate on these matters so that we can understand fully what the difficulties are, and also, then, understand the measures that may be taken by this Senedd in terms of addressing them.
The final issue, Minister, is a general debate on the organisation of business in this Senedd. We will be, at the end of next month, losing a number of highly experienced and respected Members, and I think it is a very good practice to debate not only our Standing Orders, but how we organise ourselves at the end of a Senedd to learn the lessons from what has happened over the previous years. I would certainly be interested to hear particularly from those Members who have said that they do not intend to return in the next Senedd to understand from their experience how they believe the way we manage ourselves and manage business can be improved in the sixth Senedd. Thank you.