Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 2:43 pm on 12 January 2022.
Well, thank you. You do raise a very important point, and it's a point that I consider across the board in respect of the overall impact of UK legislation legislative consents, and the impact on the devolution settlement. And there are many contradictions and anomalies and difficulties in respect of each piece of legislation that is going through. I've certainly raised that in direct discussions I've had with UK Government Ministers, but I can also tell you: on every single piece of legislation that is going through, the intensity of correspondence and engagement over the issues of consent, over disputes over what may be a reserved matter, what may not be a reserved matter, are all conducted by Welsh Ministers and by Welsh Government on the basis of preserving the integrity of the devolution settlement.
It is certainly right that there are issues that arise in respect of the weakness of the Sewel convention. What I am hoping is that, as progress is being made in respect of the inter-governmental review, the actual creation of bodies and a disputes procedure, and an independent secretariat, will actually provide a mechanism for further engaging, and, I believe, actually enforcing and enhancing the Sewel convention, which has become so weakened, I believe, over recent years, because of direct, I believe, constitutional assaults from the UK Government. So, you're right to raise this point, but I think the inter-governmental arrangements that I would hope there will be further announcements on over the coming weeks and early months will actually begin to tackle part of that constitutional vacuum. I don't think it will resolve it, but I believe it may provide a mechanism for a step towards a more solid constitutional and conclusive constitutional arrangement.