Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:24 pm on 28 September 2021.
Thank you very much to Adam Price. And when I responded to Darren Millar, I expected Darren Millar to say I was being too mean to the UK Government, and I was expecting Adam Price to say that I was being too friendly. There are a number of important points that Adam Price has raised, and there are a number of examples where I can draw attention to examples where the UK Government hasn't been reasonable with us at all. It's something small but it does show the context. We are responsible for the next meeting of the British-Irish Council. The subject to be discussed in the council is minority languages. So, we will be leading in Wales on the work that is going on, and it's important work, and it's important in Ireland, in the whole island. We wanted to invite people from Cornwall to attend the council, not to speak, because they're not members of the council, but just to listen to the discussion and, when they had things to say, outwith the council, they would have an opportunity to do so. The UK Government weren't willing for that to happen at all. So, it was a small idea, which is relevant to us in Wales, because we're responsible for that subject in the council, and reasonable, as Adam Price said, but no, nothing. A complete lack of willingness to allow that, and we're the ones planning the meeting and were responsible for that meeting. They weren't willing to agree on that small idea. I use that as an example of the thinking or the mindset that you find when you try to do reasonable things, as Adam Price said.
In terms of the LCMs, one of the things that are vital for next year is the Sewel convention. Now, we have set out in our document ways to strengthen that convention, and we have worked with others on those ideas as well. If the UK Government thinks that Sewel means nothing, well, that's going to cause more and more problems.
And, Llywydd, Adam Price suggested a number of possibilities to strengthen the report and to use the report for other purposes, and I welcome those ideas, and we're willing to consider those. When you work with Scotland and Northern Ireland, you work with people from very different political backgrounds, and that's a great thing, isn't it, because you learn things and you find ways of collaborating with people from those different backgrounds, and to do that alongside the people who live in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, that's something I'm eager to strengthen over the coming year.