3. Statement by the First Minister: The Legislative Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 5 July 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:51, 5 July 2022

As an early priority, Llywydd, we will bring forward a Bill to ban or restrict the sale of some of the most commonly littered single-use plastics in Wales. This will meet our key programme for government commitment in this area. But, in addition, the Bill will also support our ongoing legal challenge to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. In the current litigation, brought by the Counsel General, the court has indicated it would find it helpful to consider a practical example, in the form of a piece of Senedd legislation, against which it can test the issues under consideration. This Bill will provide that practical example, and in that context we will be seeking the agreement of Business Committee to expedite the scrutiny of the Senedd on this Bill.      

Llywydd, a clean air Bill is a significant priority for this Government. We want to build on action already under way to reduce emissions and deliver vital improvements in air quality, supporting healthier communities and better environments. Our White Paper set out how we intend to enable ambitious air quality targets and put in place a more robust regulatory framework to support them. This will be accompanied by measures to make sure all parts of society play their part in reducing air pollution, and I look forward to working with Members across the Chamber to develop that Bill once it is introduced.

Llywydd, we have set out our ambition to reform the way agriculture is supported in the future, with an emphasis both on high-quality and sustainable food production and rewarding farmers for the delivery of environmental and associated social outcomes. We will publish an outline sustainable farming scheme ahead of the Royal Welsh Show and the series of summer agriculture events that follow. Llywydd, the timing here is deliberate. It will allow for meaningful engagement on the detail of the proposed scheme ahead of the introduction of the agriculture Bill itself, which will be brought before the Senedd in the autumn.

Members will also be aware that we have made significant progress since establishing our coal tip safety taskforce two years ago. The Law Commission's landmark report, 'Regulating Coal Tip Safety in Wales', was published earlier this year. It clearly concluded that the law as it stands is not fit for today's purposes. The report informed our White Paper consultation and we will introduce a Bill on coal tip safety to establish a consistent approach to the management, monitoring and oversight of disused coal tips throughout Wales. This will protect those communities that bear the legacy of our industrial past, as well as support critical infrastructure and the environment by reducing the likelihood of landslides.

Llywydd, we're also committed to simplifying the consenting process for specified types of major on and offshore infrastructure, and we will, therefore, introduce an infrastructure consenting Bill to provide more certainty for communities and developers alike. The Bill will replace existing statutory regimes for the consenting of Welsh infrastructure projects, and it will rationalise the number of authorisations required to construct and operate a project into a single consent.