Lord Thomas, the former Lord Chief Justice, in a recent evidence session to the legislation committee, described the devolution settlement in Wales as complicated—complicated even for lawyers—and the use of LCMs complicates matters even further. It will make no sense to the vast majority of people that a law within a devolved area, a matter that has been devolved for over 20 years, is being passed by Westminster. The Welsh Government are adding to the complexity. They are breaching their own duty under the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019 by consenting—but not only consenting; at times, encouraging—the Westminster Government to pass legislation within devolved areas. Imagine a lawyer, let alone a layperson, looking for law relating to the environment in Wales. That person would rightly believe that any recent law within a devolved area will have been passed here by the Senedd, but that is not the case. The devolution settlement in Wales is complicated enough without the Welsh Government adding to that confusion.

LCM Bills will not be bilingual. They cannot form part of the codification plans of the Welsh Government, and they will not be scrutinised properly by the Senedd. We saw that only yesterday in the two committees' response to the leasehold reform Bill. Both committees complained about the lack of time for scrutiny. The LCMs will also hinder future Senedds from passing legislation within these areas. Members, are we really happy to hand back powers to a Tory Government in Westminster that moves from one scandal to the next, from one mismanagement to the next?

The people of Wales voted twice in favour of this Senedd, and there was a significant pro-devolution majority elected to this place in May. We must not undermine this clear democratic mandate by passing over our powers to Tory Ministers without any real scrutiny here at all. Welsh laws should be scrutinised properly by us as Members. That's our job. I want to see a Senedd that is strong and democratic, an empowered Senedd that uses its powers fully to effect positive change to the lives of the people of Wales.

The Welsh Government cannot always pass the buck to Tory Ministers in London. We need to see an urgent review into the LCM process, one where we ask ourselves if they are even relevant, should they exist at all, where we forensically analyse the impact they have on the legislative process in Wales and make sure that Members in this place can effectively scrutinise legislation. Members, we must stand up for our Senedd, for its powers and for Wales—a Senedd that delivers radical, thoughtful and scrutinised legislation. That isn't happening with the LCM process. That's not how good law is drafted and enacted. It's our role and our duty, as Senedd Members, to scrutinise law and to make sure that the people of Wales have the laws that they deserve passed by their Parliament. Diolch yn fawr.