1. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the proposed changes to the Human Rights Act 1998 on the Welsh devolution settlement? OQ57785

Thank you for the question. The Welsh Government issued a response to the UK Government's Human Rights Act reform consultation on 8 March, setting out our significant concerns and opposition to the proposal to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a bill of rights.

Diolch yn fawr, Gwnsler Cyffredinol. As you know, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European convention on human rights is at the very heart of devolution in Wales. Conformity with convention rights is safeguarded by the Government of Wales Act 2006 and was voted twice by referenda by the Welsh people. Given that the Westminster Government claims to respect referenda, it's surprising that they're willing to potentially pull away this power from the Welsh people to hold the Welsh Government and this Senedd to account.

If the Westminster Government implements their proposed changes, meaning that UK secondary legislation no longer needs to be compatible with convention rights and can no longer be challenged by way of judicial review, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, has the Welsh Government considered what impact that would have on the status of Welsh law? Diolch yn fawr.

Well, thank you for the points you make. This is, indeed, a serious constitutional point because, as you've mentioned, human rights are embedded in our constitutional status. You'll know, of course, that we have serious concerns with the nature of the consultation. Although it mentions devolution, it doesn't actually deal with the devolution issues that are there, and it raises a number of areas that cause us concern when there is talk about rights inflation, i.e. that we have too many rights, apparently, and the failure of it to seek to address the issues of socioeconomic rights.

But on the particular constitutional point of if the UK Government were to proceed ahead contrary to recommendations from its previous independent reviews, then we'll have to consider what the implications are for Welsh law. We'll have to consider what the options are in terms of how we actually preserve the status of human rights law and standards within our own legislation. That is something that I am considering at the moment, and will, if necessary, report back in due course.