Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 26 May 2021.
Thank you, Mike Hedges, and, obviously, I'm very well aware of the cross-party support that was there for the LCM. But, unfortunately, the UK Government proceeded with the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, despite the lack of an opportunity for the Senedd to give consent, owing to the election, and it was during the pre-election period, when I did not think the LCM would be coming forward at that time. We didn't think the Bill would be processing that quickly, so I did write to the UK Government immediately to express my concern in relation to this. I think it's another example of the disrespect for the Sewel convention by the UK Government. I will be issuing a written statement—maybe this afternoon, but certainly hopefully by tomorrow—and I will also be writing to the UK Government again. What I want to provide is detail to Members about how it happened and what action we took as a Welsh Government to avoid it.