The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 24 November 2021.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 3:17, 24 November 2021

Thank you for that supplementary question. Of course, this particular Bill—it's actually three pieces of legislation that have been put together, which is why it's so complex. And there is an irony that there are some items in it that are certainly worth considering, and there are obviously a lot of amendments that are going through at the moment. There's one in respect of serious violence that is being considered at this moment in time as well that may fall within that category. But of course, the Bill has within it a number of what we would call, I think, what are illiberal—contrary to civil liberties—provisions that are wholly unnecessary. The restrictions that it would place on public processions, public assemblies, on one-person protests—and we talked earlier, didn't we, about people participating in democracy and feeling a part of democracy—. This is just another piece of legislation that actually divides people away from the democratic processes.

And, of course, the one that the Member is particularly concerned about—and I can understand that; I know that it is a concern that is seriously shared by Jenny Rathbone and certainly by the Minister for Social Justice and I suspect many people around this area—is the criminalising powers in respect of what are called unauthorised encampments. This is not something we will want to give legislative consent to. We believe that it impacts massively into a devolved area; we have a different policy agenda in terms of the engagement with people and engagement with the Traveller and the Gypsy community and that is something that we want to continue. So, that is something that is of considerable concern. There are a lot of discussions on it at the moment, and I'm sure that the Minister will want to report in due course. And of course, there will be, I suspect, in due course, further supplementary legislative consent memoranda where this issue will arise and be debated in this Chamber again.