5. Legislative Consent Motion on the Environment Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:06 pm on 28 September 2021.

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Photo of Rhys ab Owen Rhys ab Owen Plaid Cymru 5:06, 28 September 2021

(Translated)

On an issue of fundamental principle, Deputy Llywydd—a fundamental constitutional principle—it's the Welsh Senedd that should legislate in devolved areas. It is as simply as that. Areas such as the climate emergency are far too important to be left to Boris Johnson's Government. It was most unfortunate, as Huw Irranca-Davies has said, how little information was contained within the memoranda as to why this should happen. We need clear principles that are consistent before we should allow memoranda like this to be passed. A lack of time and a lack of capacity are not good enough reasons. This consent would mean that the Bill would only be available in English, it wouldn't be accessible to the people of Wales, and it would limit our powers to legislate in this area for the future. We would be ceding powers—the Welsh Government would be ceding powers. I've seen—and I've heard the Minister say today—that they've done a great deal of work to secure Welsh interests in the Bill, and as Huw Irranca-Davies said, it's not the role of the Welsh Government, it's our role—it's our role in the Welsh Senedd—to scrutinise and to propose amendments to Bills that relate to devolved areas. It's the role of the Welsh Government, Deputy Llywydd, to draft Bills on the environment—a clean air Act, a biodiversity Act, an environmental governance Act. Why, after a decade of having full legislative powers, are we asking a Government that has such a terrible environmental record to do this on our behalf?