9. What were the costs to the Welsh Government of the legal challenge to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020? OQ58472

Thank you for your question. The Welsh Government took the important step to challenge the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 because it purports to undermine the devolution settlement. The costs incurred by the Welsh Government for doing so are £132,283.67.

Thank you, Counsel General—£132,000. A freedom of information request stated that the Welsh Government have spent over £200,000 in court cases against UK Government, which could far better be used supporting the Welsh people. Will the Counsel General put minds at ease and ensure that Labour Ministers won't waste any more money on politically motivated, self-indulgent legal challenges against the UK Government, and focus more of your time and energies on the real problems that Wales faces, with one fifth of the Welsh population on an NHS waiting list?

It really does emphasise that old saying of Nye Bevan that the Tory party know the price of everything and the value of nothing, because one of the functions of any parliamentary democracy and any Government is to ensure that it exercises its responsibilities in terms of its obligations and powers. When it becomes necessary for clarification through the court system, which is the only mechanism for doing so, it is important that that is done. The decision to seek that clarity was absolutely right.

One could turn round and say that the millions of pounds it cost to introduce the internal market Act would have been better spent elsewhere, in which case we wouldn't have needed to challenge it. We have still not got the clarity that we want in terms of the actual functioning of the internal market Act or even the proper rationale and reasoning as to why it was introduced, other than as a sort of backdoor attempt to undermine devolution.

The fact of the matter is that the arguments that were raised were perfectly valid ones. They were ones where legal opinion was taken, legal position was properly considered, the constitutional issues were considered, and it would be irresponsible of us to disregard our responsibilities as a Government. I believe that it is a matter that has, probably, majority support in the Senedd.

I thank the Counsel General.