It is fair to say that we had not expected, during the first year of the sixth Senedd, to have spent quite so much time reporting on the Welsh Government's legislative consent memoranda for UK Bills. We expressed concern at the extent to which the UK Government is seeking to legislate in devolved areas, notably in circumstances where it is with the support of the Welsh Government. Reporting on memoranda for legislation being made in the UK Parliament, which we have no scope to influence or shape, is frustrating.

We would have preferred to have contributed to the improvement of legislation being made here in the Senedd, as a means of delivering the best possible solutions for communities across Wales—a role, of course, for which we as Senedd Members are elected. This also highlights one of the problems with the legislative consent process: there is no role for the Senedd to influence a decision of the Welsh Government to pursue provisions in a UK Bill in the first place.

Now, we do recognise, Counsel General, that in some cases it is appropriate to use UK Bills to legislate in devolved areas. However, our report highlights that the Welsh Government's principles for using UK Bills to legislate contain—we think—too many caveats and get-out clauses, which in our view render those principles of little practical value in this sixth Senedd period. So, we do therefore intend to draft our own principles by which we can then hold the Government to account.

Overall, Counsel General, we are concerned that too much legislation in devolved areas is being made in the UK Parliament. In certain circumstances, the Welsh Government and the UK Government could legislate in parallel, which would allow for co-operation between Governments where appropriate and for the Senedd to undertake its primary legislative scrutiny role.

Ultimately, the effect of the Welsh Government seeking devolved provision in UK Government Bills or the UK Government including devolved provision in a Bill without any consultation is one and the same: the creation of a democratic deficit and a corresponding decline in accountability here in Wales. That should concern us all, because if this approach continues, there is a danger that it could undermine the Senedd as a legislature and the underlying principles of devolution.

Our report highlights our scrutiny of two Bills introduced to the Senedd in the first year, where we were able to influence the Welsh Government to amend those Bills. It also draws attention to our concerns about the Welsh Government's approach to making law on matters of taxation—and I can see the Chair of a sister committee here as well—and in particular our desire to see primary legislation, rather than subordinate legislation, used to change tax law. Such an approach, we would argue, would respect the democratic mandate and the legislative supremacy of the Senedd.

So, let me turn now to matters concerning the constitution and to external affairs. A new inter-institutional relationship agreement has been agreed for the sixth Senedd, and we have been monitoring how the Welsh Government is performing against its commitments to share information with the Senedd and its committees. Broadly, we believe that the agreement is working well, and we will work constructively with the Welsh Government to help it make some improvements, whilst maintaining the integrity of our scrutiny function.

We have started to pay particular attention to the circumstances in which the Welsh Ministers are consenting to the UK Government making subordinate legislation in devolved areas. In particular, we have raised concerns at the limited time available to committees to give an informed view on whether the Welsh Government should give its consent. This is an issue that we will continue to monitor. It's one that is assuming greater importance, not least with the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill having recently been introduced to the UK Parliament.

For those not aware, before the end of 2023 the UK Government is currently planning for it and the devolved Governments to review all retained EU law in order to decide what to keep, to reform or to remove. This amounts to a significant undertaking, because the UK Government estimates that there are approximately 2,400 pieces of retained EU law in force. That figure does not include retained EU law made in Wales and, as many of you will be aware, reports emerged yesterday that the figure is now likely to be closer to 3,800 pieces. If the timescale introduced by the Bill is not changed, it will represent a huge burden, not just for the Welsh Government but for my committee and actually for the Senedd as a whole. It could well threaten the ability of the Welsh Government and the Senedd to function effectively.

Another area of our remit is that of UK-EU governance, and our report sets out the work we have done, which includes mapping the responsibilities of the Welsh Government, monitoring its engagement in post-Brexit UK-EU committees and securing a commitment from the First Minister to improve transparency on these matters. This work has formed the basis of our continued engagement with the EU institutions, including the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, which met again for the second time this week.

Our report also details our overarching role on common frameworks and the work we have undertaken on international agreements. Monitoring the implementation and operation of international agreements is important in order to assess their impact on Wales, and so it is pleasing to report the success we've had in securing more information from the Welsh Government in this area to aid that process. Moreover, our work has enabled us to further develop our engagement with committees in other Parliaments—something that is of increasing importance.

That represents another aspect of what we do that I'd like to highlight today: it's building those productive relationships with other Parliaments in the UK so that we share knowledge, with the collective aim of holding our respective Governments to account. In the last 12 months, we have hosted committees from the House of Commons and the House of Lords and, last June, we met committees from those Houses in Westminster to discuss areas of mutual interest. Just before recess, the Interparliamentary Forum met in the Senedd to discuss, amongst other things, inter-governmental relations, the Northern Ireland protocol, the retained EU law Bill, as well as holding a really excellent Q&A session with the Counsel General, who once again gave his time very willingly.

As I indicated at the start of my speech, the breadth of this committee’s remit is challenging, and with a substantial proportion of our time being taken up with the consideration of legislative matters, our scope to be proactive in scrutinising justice issues has been limited. We recognise that there are significant challenges facing citizens in Wales related to the operation of the justice system. We have met with the president of Welsh Tribunals, the Law Council of Wales and Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd on matters relating to justice in Wales and, for the first time, we undertook draft budget scrutiny on aspects of the Welsh Government’s justice portfolio. The commitments the Counsel General gave to increasing transparency on delivering the justice work programme and on the Welsh Government’s spending on justice are very welcome, and we look forward to judging progress in the next budget scrutiny round.

We also welcome the steps the Welsh Government has taken this year to respond positively to the Commission on Justice in Wales’s recommendations and support its continued joint working with the Ministry of Justice to identify the recommendations it can take forward in partnership. Although progress is being made, it is evident from engagement work that we undertook with legal practitioners that there is still much work to do to respond to the challenges currently faced by the legal sector and the barriers faced by those seeking access to justice in Wales.

So, as my comments this afternoon highlight, our ability to be proactive is somewhat limited at the moment. But, to counter this, we consider and we publish regular monitoring reports, highlighting developments within the range of subjects we cover, and then we draw them to the public’s attention as well as to that of the Senedd. It is also why we decided to prepare this annual report, to pull together in one place all the work we have undertaken between May 2021 and August 2022, and I invite the Senedd to note this report.

In closing, can I thank all the Members of the Senedd who have contributed to the work that is reflected in this report, the members of my committee, and also our clerks and research team, without whom we would frankly be submerged beneath the deluge? I look forward to other contributions this afternoon from committee members and from others, and including the Minister's response as well. Diolch yn fawr iawn.